Spyhunter was one of those arcade games that got a lot of attention not only because it was original, but also because it was a lot of fun.  High-speed car chases on a never-ending road with awesome weapons like oil spills, smoke screens, and missiles were addictive and would gobble up your quarters like nothing else.  The music was great - the Peter Gunn theme is easily one of the most recognizable in gaming history.

This remake originally appeared on the Playstation 2, and shortly afterwards appeared on the Xbox.  Strangely enough, the PS2 version was actually a bit better.  Despite some extra content, the Xbox version had some peculiar graphical problems.  The framerate wasn't as solid as the other version's, and the game's brightness level was noticeably darker.  Now the game is available on PC, so just about anyone can enjoy it.

The game doesn't require hefty equipment to run, so just about anyone with a computer from the past few years should have no trouble running it.  The weird though, is that even with hardware well over the recommended specs, the game - much like the Xbox version - stumbles along with a not-so-great framerate.  It's more than bearable, but a rock-solid framerate would have made the game feel that much nicer.  It also suffers from a few other common PC-port symptoms; the menus require keyboard input and are generally simple, and of course, steering is not nearly as much fun with a keyboard as it is with a controller.

These problems aside, Spyhunter for PC is a nearly identical port of the PS2 remake, which isn't a bad game.  The game consists of a number of missions - fourteen in all - where you must drive the Interceptor in its various forms through a variety of environments.  Each mission has a checklist of objectives to complete, much like in the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series.  At first, I was a bit disappointed, especially in the first training level; you have to complete quite a number of objectives to pass on to the next stage, and if you didn't complete certain objectives then none at all were counted.  Thankfully, in most of the levels the objectives are actually fun to complete.  You'll chase down trucks, attach tracking sensors to boats, blow up helicopters, activate satellite units, avoid obstacles, and keep civilian casualties low - and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  There are dozens of challenges spread throughout all of the stages.

The Interceptor is quite the capable car.  It maneuvers fairly well, with sharp steering and the ability to easily powerslide.  With a quick double-tap of the gas, it can use up some turbo for a speed boost.  It's got a heavy-duty machine gun, some powerful missiles, and tracking beacons - not to mention the abilities of oil spills, smoke screens, and more.  One neat thing about the game is how your car kind of "levels up" as you progress, earning some new abilities or upgrades.  This baby can also transform into a water-traversing vehicle, or when it's taken enough damage, it'll drop its armor plating and reduce its size to that of a small motorcycle-esque form.

The level designs are quite good and give you a lot of room to experiment with your car.  Sometimes the solution to figuring out a tricky problem is a subtle hint right in front of you.  For example, in the first level, one of the objectives is to avoid all of the barrels.  Some of them require some slick maneuvering to get around, but for the most part, it's reasonably easy to get around all of them in the level - except for one small area, where there's one straight line, like a road-block, right in front of you.  I tried going in between them, tried shooting them... then I finally figured out that I needed to use a turbo just off to the left of the barrels, which will allow you to ride up the side of the course and just narrowly miss the closest barrel.  Of course, then you have to quickly readjust yourself so you don't miss out on one of the other objectives - but that's half the fun in this game.  Finishing a stage with every single challenge completed is truly a satisfying task.

The graphics in the game are not awful, but they do look dated.  Considering the game is more than a year old, it's not exactly a showcase title.  The graphics are more than adequate though, with lots of detailed models, intricate level designs, and some cool effects - water looks nice, as do some of the weather effects.  The framerate could be better, as I said before, but overall you shouldn't be too worried about the graphical quality of the game.

The sound is decent, too.  There's a lot of the Peter Gunn theme going on here in various remixes, and it works really well.  The band Saliva also contributes some songs to the game's soundtrack -a great addition if you're a fan, although it probably won't make a difference either way if you don't care about the band.  Sound effects are pretty good, with nice engine noise, gunfire, explosions, and even the occasional voice-acting isn't too shabby.

Overall, this is a game that shouldn't be taken too seriously, but can be quite a bit of fun.  It's hardly innovative - it really doesn't bring much new to the genre.  But what it does do here is reasonably solid, and is definitely a worthy remake of a classic arcade title - and that's a lot more than other "revival" titles have going for them.  If you were a fan of the old game, or just want to see what it's about, don't hesitate to give it a go.  It's no "must-have", but if you're in need of a game and haven't tried it yet, it's worth a look.

Gameplay: 8.0

Not terribly innovative, but quite solid, Spyhunter can give you a fairly fun time.  The level design, controls, and mission objectives all work well together.

Graphics: 6.8

The game doesn't look really bad by any means, but you can't deny that it looks a tad bit dated.  The graphics are fine for the most part - they just aren't really impressive.  The framerate isn't quite as great as one might like, but it's bearable.

Sound: 7.5

With remixes of the classic Peter Gunn theme, as well as some contributions from Saliva, the game's soundtrack is pretty good.  Sound effects and voice-acting isn't that bad, either.

Concept: 7.5

You have to give the team some credit.  So many of these "3D remakes of 2D games" turn out horrible, and Spyhunter is actually a lot of fun.  There's nothing really here that hasn't been done somewhere by someone before, but the whole package is quite solid and works well.

Difficulty: Medium

Multiplayer: 7.0

There are a couple of multiplayer modes available in the game.  None of them are really worth writing home about, but they may keep you and a buddy busy for a little while.

Overall: 7.6

It suffers a bit from Console-to-PC port problems, and generally lacks the polish the Playstation 2 version seemed to have, but this is still a good game that will keep you entertained until you finish it.  It's a worthy remake of an acclaimed arcade game, and that alone is something worth bragging about.