1. Gameplay

2. Reception

3. Sequels
    Spy vs. Spy: The Island Caper {{anchor|islandcaper}}  Reception  Spy vs. Spy: Arctic Antics {{anchor|arcticantics}} 

4. References

5. External links

Atari 8-bit
{{Video game release|NA|1984}}Commodore 64
{{Video game release|NA|1984}}Amstrad CPC
{{Video game release|NA|1985}}Apple II
{{Video game release|NA|1985}}ZX Spectrum
{{Video game release|NA|1985}}NES
{{Video game release|JP|April 26, 1986|NA|September01 - October 31, 1988^[1]|PAL|July 27, 1990}}Sega Master System^[2]
{{Video game release|JP|September 20, 1986|NA|1986|PAL|1986}}Amiga
{{Video game release|NA|1989}}Atari ST
{{Video game release|NA|1989}}Game Boy
{{Video game release|NA|January 16, 1991}}Game Boy Color
{{Video game release|NA|August 1, 1999}}Xbox
{{Video game release|NA|April 29, 2005}}iOS
{{Video game release|WW|July 26, 2012}}

Spy vs. Spy is a game published by First Star Software in 1984 for the Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64 and Apple II computers. It was a two-player, split-screen game, based on MAD Magazine's long running cartoon strip, Spy vs. Spy, about the slapstick antics of two spies trying to kill each other with improbably complex and elaborate traps and weapons.

It was later ported to a much wider range of platforms including the ZX Spectrum, Acorn Electron, Atari ST, BBC Micro, Commodore 16, MSX, Amstrad CPC, Amiga, Master System, Game Boy, Xbox, Game Boy Color and Nintendo Entertainment System, which was emulated on the Game Boy Advance. A remake with a retro version was also released on iOS in 2012, which was later incompatible with the advent of iOS 11 (and the exclusion of 32-bit apps).

Gameplay

The object of the game is to collect various secret items in a briefcase and exit the building through a door to the airport before the opposing player, or before the timer runs out. While searching for the items, traps can be laid to take out the opponent (or the player himself, if careless). Each spy has a personal countdown timer which depletes by 30 seconds upon each death.

The arena is an embassy, constructed from a series of interconnected rooms laid out on a grid pattern. Higher levels have more rooms, and therefore a larger play area. As well as hand-to-hand combat (achieved by wiggling the joystick or directional pad left and right or up and down when the spies are in proximity to each other) the spies can place traps on the furniture and doors which occupy the playing area. These traps are triggered when a spy searches a piece of furniture for an item or opens a booby trapped door, resulting in a cartoon style animation showing the subject being shot, blown up, etc, and floating up to heaven as an angel. The game is an example of the broad "trap-em-up" genre, which also includes games like Heiankyo Alien (1979), Space Panic (1980), and Lode Runner (1983).

Strategy is introduced by limiting the quantity of each trap a spy can use, and by allowing the traps to be triggered by either spy. Some pieces of furniture also contain 'remedies' which match up to specific traps – these allow a trap to be defused, but can only be fetched one at a time.

Reception

Sequels

Two sequels to the original 1984 game were produced. These were Spy vs. Spy - The Island Caper and Spy vs. Spy - Arctic Antics. The third game was also released for the IBM PC. These kept the basic gameplay, while tweaking some core features.^[7]

Spy vs. Spy: The Island Caper {{anchor|islandcaper}}

Spy vs. Spy: The Island Caper (also known as Spy vs. Spy II: The Island Caper)^[8] introduced a side scrolling play area, which effectively allowed for a small number of very wide "rooms" (the action actually takes place outside, on a tropical island).^[7] It also introduced the idea of traps being built from the sticks and coconuts on the island, meaning that each spy no longer started with a fixed number of traps, but must compete to acquire the raw materials necessary to build their traps. The spies must gather the three segments of a rocket and then dive into a sea where a submarine awaits them. However, only connected segments can be carried at any one time. The second installment also included more complex scenery and continued the dual-screen interface present in the first.^[7] The game starts with the two players parachuting onto an island in search of a buried missile. As they search, players are able to build traps to slow their enemy's progress.^[7] This game was going to come out on the NES in North America from Kemco but was scrapped because of poor sales of the first game on NES, but in 2009 reproductions of the game in cartridge form were released in both regular and black and white limited edition cartridges.

Reception

Andy William Farrell of The Australian Commodore Review said the game "has excellent graphics and sound, and not unlike the original version, is a lot of fun to play", giving the game a rating of 92 out of 100.^[7] Ahoy! praised the real-time two-player gameplay and called the graphics "beyond reproach". The magazine concluded that the game "demands quick thinking, but it's guaranteed to keep players on the edge of their chairs until the final seconds".^[9] Compute's Gazette approved of the game's "excellent color graphics and sound", stating that two-person play was "even more fun" than against the computer.^[10]

Spy vs. Spy: Arctic Antics {{anchor|arcticantics}}

Spy vs. Spy: Arctic Antics (also known as Spy vs. Spy III: Arctic Antics)^[11] was the third game in the series, and switched the location from a tropical island to the frozen wastes of the Arctic. The spies fought by means of throwing snowballs at each other and setting traps, which decreased their body heat bar. Tools the spies used included a saw which allowed a hole to be cut in the ice for the second player to fall into and lose body heat. Lost body heat could be restored by moving into an igloo with a heater inside.

References

External links

• {{WoS game|id=0004786|name=Spy vs. Spy}}
• {{moby game|id=/spy-vs-spy|name=Spy vs. Spy}}
• [https://archive.org/details/C64Gamevideoarchive105-SpyVsSpy/ Video from the C64 version] on archive.org

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