Spy vs. Spy

"The deranged comic becomes a deadly dull game"

One is tempted to like Spy Vs. Spy, very tempted, in fact. What's not to like? It has the characters of the classic Mad Magazine spy duo, Black Spy and White Spy; it has weapons and mayhem, and a crazy maze of corridors to run around.

Of course, it doesn't help that the game is pure tedium. You play as one of the spies, it doesn't matter which since they're exactly the same, except for superficialities such as color of their overcoats. You are then let loose in a building of some sort, possibly an office buildling, the game isn't quite specific on that. Your goal is to get a briefcase, and escape on a plane. This could take 5 minutes, if you're lucky, or 5 hours, if you're not.

Since both spies are after the same document, naturally they get to kill each other a lot. This is the only good idea in the game, but it is executed rather poorly. In the game each character has a small arsenal of weapons that they can use. They can booby trap an object in the game, or just go up to the other spy and attack them. There are also other objects which prevent traps from killing your spy. How this is done poorly is that there just isn't that much variety. Once you've seen one death, you've seen them all. What should have been the bright point of the game, is in fact reduced to nil by the fact that there's only so many times you are interested in blowing up another spy. And they don't stay dead long either (although it gets longer with each death). Although your spies can carry unlimited bombs and whatnot, they can only have one thing in their hands at a time, so if you have the briefcase, you can't have the Knife.

Graphically this game looks like a NES game, and not a very good one either. Each room is a BOX, which has the effect of making them all look the same. Argh. Which means that you will get lost, just give up hope now, you will get lost. You'll think you know where you are and what you're doing, then you'll open a door that you trapped yourself, but forgot was there, because you were so busy not knowing what you were doing anyway.

Sound? What sound?

The best feature (if such a thing applies to such a poor game) of this game is the two playered game, where you get to beat up on your poor hapless friend. Or they kill you. Either way, it's a lot more fun. (which isn't saying much)

This game gets a 3 because there's just not much of a game here! You can play this for an hour and have done everything there is to do in the game, several times.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/00, Updated 04/06/00