Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run features the likeness of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who plays the lead role in the corresponding movie. Problem is that here we have the game, but no movie to be found. Then, there’s a gameplay curveball that may anger Spy Hunter purists – on foot sequences. We’re not starting off on the right foot are we?

Not surprisingly, The Rock’s inclusion as the main character, Alex Decker, is one of the few bright spots here. As The Rock in the former WWF now WWE, he was always a charismatic person and it peeks through in Alex’s witty lines. Unfortunately, that too is sometimes off because of the wooden script, which leads to some awkward deliveries. But, at least they managed to squeeze in some of Rock’s trademark wrestling moves in the on-foot sequences.

Thankfully, the car sequences are still intact and are done pretty well for the most part. There is a huge variety of weapons to use, all of which are useful in certain situations, as many fans know. The Interceptor, which the car is known as, will change form depending on the terrain – car on land, boat over water, and a motorcycle at certain points. The transition between the modes is seamless, so switching between land and water is a fun change of pace. The problem with these sections is that the controls aren’t very tight. No matter what form the Interceptor is in, it controls very floaty. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the control for the salvo mechanic. When using the salvo, the game freezes and allows you to move a reticule to target multiple targets at once, unleashing a barrage of missiles. Unfortunately, getting that reticule to move where you want is a chore since it doesn’t want to respond to direction you want it to go. And with a limited supply of salvos, trying to get all of the targets in one shot is more irritating than it is useful.

I haven’t picked up a Spy Hunter title since the original arcade title, so all I know are the linear driving levels featuring a car with more weapons than a Bond car. And when I started the game as a third-person action game, my first reaction was “what is this doing in my Spy hunter?!” Though I will admit that the initial reaction wore off pretty soon and I warmed up to the out of car sequences somewhat.

You would think that switching between the foot sequences and car sequences would create an uneven pace, but Nowhere to Run always keeps the action going by including side objectives, like planting explosives or assassinating a character. The switching between the two gameplay types is done logically as well. For example, you start the game as Alex on foot because the Interceptor was stolen and it’s up to him to get it back. After recovering the Interceptor, you control it as you make your escape.

Alex Decker is, in some ways, a poor man’s Master Chief. He can only carry two weapons at a time and he can regenerate health if he avoids damage for an amount of time. But what really makes the third person sections really bad is how broken some of the fighting mechanics are.

In most cases, guns do more damage than fists. Don’t tell that to Alex Decker. Apparently, the development team wanted The Rock to be the true focus of Spy Hunter, not Alex because his fists and wrestling moves are more devastating than an assault rifle. You can combo between light and heavy punches. But by holding down the heavy punch, Alex will perform a stun punch, which opens them up to a finishing maneuver. By pressing a face button when an opponent is stunned, you’ll activate that finisher, with each button corresponding to a different move, including The Rock’s trademark finisher, “The Rock Bottom”. After that, you have no need to worry about that peon any more. Unfortunately, you can still take damage during these animations, so while it lessens one problem, it opens you up to another one.

As for the AI, well they are dumb as bricks. While you can be shot during the finishing animations, most of the time, the other soldiers will just watch as you wail on their hapless friend. Other times, they will actually run away from you. Is Alex really that scary looking?

Graphically, Nowhere to Run isn’t that great looking. While Alex is almost a spot-on recreation of Dwayne Johnson, he looks a little blocky, and he isn’t the only one. The environments look muddy and muted and some of the animations look stilted. At least the framerate maintains a steady clip throughout even when things get a tad hectic.

The music is mostly forgettable and the sound effects don’t stand out, sounding like typical action game fare. However, at least the entire cast, not just The Rock, sound quite good outside of some cheesy lines, but the blame for that lies with the writers and the script.

Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run is an odd title. Is it a deliberate third-person action shooter or a fast-paced action driving game? In that sense, it’s like you’re getting two games in one seamlessly transition package – unfortunately for it, it does neither genre well. The third-person sequences feature decent gunplay partnered with broken hand-to-hand combat mechanics, while the driving sequences feature loads of destruction paired with somewhat frustrating controls. Other games do both kinds of gameplay much better than Nowhere to Run. I hate to say, but I really can’t see anyone actually wanting to spend money to play this.

Third-person in my driving Spy Hunter game?! Preposterous? No. Done well? Also no..

Nothing outstanding. Actually looks like other titles of the same ilk.

Nothing memorable here either, but the voice cast does a good job with what it was given.

Two different game types sound fun, but not when either is polished well.

Multiple difficulties and that’s all she wrote.

]]> Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:20:00 -0500 The Gaming Horizon Archive http://www.gamebump.com/go/the_rock_talks_spy_hunter http://www.gamebump.com/go/the_rock_talks_spy_hunter http://www.gamebump.com/go/the_rock_talks_spy_hunter# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.The original author is Nate Francis.

Were you a fan of the original, SpyHunter?

I was a big fan of the original game. When Midway came to me with the idea, of course, we were still in the development of the movie. So my first question was how is this game going to be different? How can it compete? They said for the first time the fans of the video game Spy Hunter are going to be able to get out of the car and actually become this character who's been driving this car all this time. So I thought, okay, how else can we compete because the video game market is so ultra competitive? How can we be creative? How can we maim and bring death to the opponents creatively with my bare hands? :)

Since your character gets out of the car for the first time in franchise history, do you think this makes SpyHunter the next Knight Rider?

Okay, well let me tell you something. Comparing Michael Knight to Alex Decker is like comparing wine to vinegar. Alex doesn't care about wearing the coolest jeans or the coolest jacket. He just has one mission, which is to hunt down spies and to kick ass like there's no tomorrow.

I can only imagine that he followed that last line up with the People's Eyebrow, and then knocked the interviewer out with one meaty hamfist to his temple. Seriously, comparing The Rock to this guy? Please.

]]> Tue, 18 Jul 2006 07:38:00 -0500 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/nowhere_else_and_beyond_world_completed http://www.gamebump.com/go/nowhere_else_and_beyond_world_completed http://www.gamebump.com/go/nowhere_else_and_beyond_world_completed# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.