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Sammy and Access Games try their hand at the stealth genre. Spy Fiction is a by the numbers stealth game for the most part, with some additions to keep fans from crying “me too game.”
Spy Fiction throws you in the shoes of a Phantom team member. Phantom is a secret organization which runs special missions for the government; the type where all evidence of you would be swiftly eliminated if you were to be found. The game begins near the end of the plot with the Enigma group trying to take over the world and then backtracks to show you how this happened. The story is typical spy stuff for the most part. It is good enough to keep you going but I never felt particularly attached to it.
The game allows you to play through the story with either Billy or Sheila and while their stories differ in some trivial areas, they are largely the same. Gameplay-wise, both characters are nearly identical with the exception being that Sheila can disguise herself as a male and female, while Billy is limited to only males.
As I mentioned above, Spy Fiction doesn’t do much to diverge from the big names in this genre. You’ll go around the game, completing your objectives while attempting to remain unseen. To do this, you’ll need to be sneaky and stick to shadows and make sure you know where the guards are so you can avoid them or make sure you are behind them, allowing you to get the stealth kill. Unlike other games though, Spy Fiction doesn’t force you to remain hidden. While stealth is encouraged, but you can simply shoot down guards if they find you which doesn’t have much consequence since the bodies simply disappear when dead. Unfortunately, the rather clunky shooting interface doesn’t make shooting people as fun as it could be.
A good spy game is always made better by giving you an assortment of gadgets to play with. This is one area that Spy Fiction certainly doesn’t lack in. You’ll have a camouflage tool that allows you to be hidden from the guards (who aren’t that smart and will forget about you if you do use it), a grappling hook of sorts to let you hang from the ceiling, and a see-through / field of vision combination device. In addition, you’ll have access to the typical spy toys dressed up as a simple pen or mobile phone.
The coolest gadget is the 3DA camera which allows you to take a picture of someone and then emulate them perfectly. This means that you can walk around and not be bothered, since the guards won’t know it is really you unless you make an overly foolish mistake. And while the disguise system is neat, even that isn’t an original idea since the Hitman series has been using something similar for years.
There are a few simple puzzles in the game, but nothing too difficult. Moreover, most of them involve you and your newly acquired disguise.
In visuals, Spy Fiction performs admirably. The environments are typically corridors to corridors, the standard of the genre as defined by Metal Gear Solid. The game also gives a nod to Splinter Cell with its train and jungle levels, as well. Character models are rather detailed, although the animation is a bit off in some bits. The guys at Access Games sure like their anime as the character models in the game will remind more than some of anime.
The stealth genre isn’t known for its dramatic soundtrack and Spy Fiction doesn’t deviate from the norm. Otherwise, the sound effects are excellent as everything has a unique sound and sounds how you would expect it to. On the other hand, the in-game voice acting by the guards is extremely repetitive and some of the voice acting during the cut-scenes is merely sufficient.
Steath genre fans will like Spy Fiction as the gameplay is solid if typical. There is nothing particularly wrong with the game (with the exception of the negligibly annoying shooting system) but it doesn’t seem to make any strides in the genre, particularly with a heavy weight like Metal Gear Solid 3 coming in a few months. -- Jose Liz, PGNx Media
---- Sep 14, 2004
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