Spy vs. Spy (2005) Critic Reviews

Vicious Cycle did an excellent job in recreating the comic in a video game, too bad there's only one safe house to spawn from.

It's downright lame. It feels exactly like what it is – a cell-shaded game where you have to navigate large deathmatch maps essentially picking up "keys" in order to progress to the next level. It's loud, it's uninspired, and gets boring after a few hours.

If you don't have any friends over 30, the developers have kindly provided 'bots.

It's simplicity personified, and it will never be the classic that the original was, but Spy vs Spy still has that mischievous spirit to bring a childish smile to everyone's face.

A great little game which mirrors Mad Magazine characters perfectly. It's not groundbreaking, but it's fun, and that's the main key to remember.

The combat is solid, and the exaggerated spy look/feel to the game gives it an extra something that sets it apart from other combat games. However, the modes aren't varied that much, and the single-payer experience is weak at best, resulting in a title that will be a blast for a few days, and then fades to the back of a collection.

It's a shame Global Star didn't spend more energy on the single-player experience, or perhaps even drop the Story mode completely in favor for still more multiplayer modes and/or maps.

On the one hand, Spy vs. Spy is a fun, engaging, throwaway platform game that comes in at the right price. The addition of the multiplayer modes and classic game are just a bonus. On the other hand, you've got a fairly buggy and technically inferior platform game that contains just enough inventiveness to get by.

With a few friends (or online), you may have some fun for a time, but more than likely its clunky controls and limited offerings will quickly become a bore.

For a party of friends – either local or online – Spy vs. Spy would make a great weekend rental, but gamers looking for substance in their action platformers would most likely be disappointed with Spy vs. Spy.

The stylized and cartoon-like depiction is as accurate as I could hope for, from the slinky spy creeping movement to the peculiar and lethal traps.

It's inventive, funny, engaging and somewhat original although I think the developers should have stayed true to Prohias' vision.

Overly simplistic and staged cause-and-effect do not a good Spy vs. Spy game make.

In the end, Spy vs. Spy fails to innovate-nothing sets it apart from the Sly Coopers and Maximos of the action genre, except for its mediocrity.

Spy vs. Spy continues Vicious Cycles' tradition of graphically strong games that lack solid game play.

This game is very shallow. Instead of being a content-rich $20 game such as Phantom Dust, that's as deep as an ocean, we get a mediocre action game that's has the depth of a kiddie pool.

The game is good for those who are just after a laugh and a fun time with their mates away from 'stat slaves', which have become far too frequent on a little-known FPS called "Halo 2."

Suffers from a very pedestrian single player game that lacks the humour of the comic on which it's based, which is very disappointing considering how funny and clever they often were. Multiplayer is more fun, and is a good game for weekend hire.

A madcap, farcical mishmash of both online and offline multiplayer options, along with a fairly weak, platformer-centric single-player Story Mode.

And while the graphics are fun, the translation into 3D has been totally mishandled and lost the whole appeal of the gameplay.