Price: £39.99 Players: 1 Spy Hunter was one of my favourite mid-80s arcade classics and on the PS2 it's riding high again. In my early teens the arcade game was a top-down driving game which saw you racing along in your car, shooting down enemy vehicles, knocking other cars and bikes into the side of the road, all in order to score points. As you progressed along the terrain you passed over water, at which point your vehicle would transform itself into a boat, while other means of transport on land included your motorbike. When you're running out of puff, the IES van will appear for you to drive into and get all items of ammo etc. recharged. Miss this and it'll soon be "game over". Level after level, wave after wave of bad guys and no let-up in the enjoyment stakes. Those who wish to remain in the 80s can find MAME (Multi Arcade Machine Emulator) and the ROM for the original game and stop reading here, but those who want to see what the new century has got planned should read on.

Feeling more James Bond-style than before, Midway's 21st century update turns the game into a third-person into-the-screen driving game, but still with the same essential action and relentless pace. Sony and Acclaim have set the 2001 benchmark high with their offerings in the form of Gran Turismo 3 and Extreme G3 and although this game slightly skimps on the graphics, it's certainly nothing to complain about in any great manner. By comparison with the above two games, what you see on the screen needs some anti-aliasing to smooth out the jagged lines, but it's largely pleasing to the eye and you wouldn't turn your nose up at it if you were playing it in the arcade.

Musically, the sound in games like Spy Hunter won't win any prizes for originality. The car engine revs, the gunfire rat-tat-tats, the missiles explode... you know the drill. However, it does rock in surround sound. Driving forward is no problem, but the handling leaves a bit to be desired as you can't reverse so have to accelerate forward when stuck and watch the car jitter about as it turns round. The first level you'll play is the training one, which tests your skills but isn't quite as strict as would have you believe (thankfully). It's worth noting that when you first see the change from car to boat it happens onscreen Matrix-style as the virtual camera spins round you.

Overall, the important thing is that this game is fun. After the initial level, the second - and first mission proper - tells you that Nostra is testing a new helicopter code-named "Dragonfly". Destroy it and then rendezvous with your van in Frankfurt... In order words, run your car through the chopper to blow it up and then shoot a few trucks along the way while setting off some satellite navigation points. Believe me, if some of this doesn't make sense now it will do when you play and it's very easy to pick up. As the levels go on, so will your movements around the world. Now Midway, please can we have more 21st century updates of 80s classics?

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Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2001.