Back in 1961 Mad Magazine published the first in a hugely popular cartoon strip going by the title Spy vs Spy. 23 years later after they were used in a variety of media and advertisements the Spy vs Spy video game was released to much critical acclaim. And now First Star Software have brought it to iOS for a whole new generation to enjoy the classic title.
The aim in Spy vs Spy is to hunt down the 4 special objects in the form of your passport, money, a key and the secret plans place them all in your suitcase and escape to your plane before you adversary does the same, it’s just that simple, get to the plane before your opponent will win you the level.
There are 24 levels in total, with many of them new to this version of the game, and each of the levels are based in progressively larger embassy’s that eventually become a rabbit warren of rooms and countless doors for you to hunt through.
People who know the Spy vs Spy cartoon strip will feel perfectly at home in the game, it’s perfectly recreated and whether you play it in the 8 bit retro version or the modern retina display the graphics look great. The style doesn’t lend itself to eye-popping graphics but they look great and sell the game expertly.
While you are hunting through the cabinets, cupboards, hat-stands, tv’s and other pieces of furniture you will often bump into your Spy opponent and when you do you have the option to fight him or to run away. If you beat the other spy you will get the opportunity to grab whatever he was carrying at the time. Choose your battles based on what you have to lose, and gain!
Hunting for the 4 artifacts is not just a game of hide-n-seek though, there are booby traps throughout the various embassy’s and unless you have the correct item to defeat the booby trap you will be killed, only to re-spawn later with any objects that you previously had, lost.
The single player game is fun in itself, it’s when you play the multi-player option though either locally via wi-fi/bluetooth or globally via the Game Center integration is where the real fun begins as defeating a ‘real’ spy is much more satisfying the defeating a cpu one.
The only flaw is the controls, while I like the idea of a floating d-pad to control your Spy, meaning that you can touch the screen anywhere to move your Spy, it’s not as responsive as I would like and sometimes getting the alignment of your character right so that you can search an item of furniture or get through a door can sometimes be a little frustrating.
Spy vs Spy is a universal app and is currently only 99 cents in the App Store, whether you are new to Spy vs Spy of want to revisit a classic game from yesterday year Spy vs Spy will be a dollar well spent.
[rating: 4.5/5]What we like
- 24 challenging levels
- Endless multi-player options
- Faithful to the original
What to know
- Controls can be frustrating
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