CGC#8: Spy Hunter (NES)

[A Black Falcon]

The arcade classic...

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/game/8150.html

(the FAQ's have basic control/enemy info if you don't know it)

[The Former DMiller]

Ah, I dominated at this game at the arcades. My local ice cream place had an arcade machine until they closed down 2 years ago. I didn't hear that they were auctioning the machines until it was too late. The Spy Hunter machine only went for $150! They also had a Double Dragon machine that went for $50, but it was in pretty crappy condition.

Anyway, for some reason I can't get RockNES to let me play in a screen bigger than about 250 x 200 pixels so my horribly low score of my first run shouldn't be taken as my true talent at this game. I will take on all comers!

[A Black Falcon]

I can do better...

[The Former DMiller]

Damn that helicopter! I still had two lives and he took me out twice!

[Fittisize]

Why bother posting my score?

[A Black Falcon]

Hard... it only gives you one life once time runs out unless you manage to earn more which isn't easy...

[The Former DMiller]

The arcade version was definitely better than this version from what I remember. The limos were more difficult to destroy in the arcade, and the cars with the spikes would follow you forever. In the NES version if you speed up to pass by them they will disappear. There also seems to be some slowdown but I don't know if that was present in the actual game. Anyway, here's my score:

[The Former DMiller]

I also realized you can't shoot the trucks in this version. That was alwasy fun to do. And at top speed you can die by knicking the side of a motorcycle. That wouldn't happen in the arcade, you could only be killed by motorcycles by ramming them directly from behind.

[A Black Falcon]

*goes to find MAME arcade rom*

*Finds it*

Have MAME (is there a Mac version? :) )? The arcade versions of these games are always better...

[The Former DMiller]

If you go to http://www.emulation.net you'll find out that Mac emulation is definitely up to par with PCs.

[A Black Falcon]

You wouldn't think so given how much you complain about how bad that NES emulator of yours is...

[The Former DMiller]

There's a good one I used to use, but I don't have the registration code for it. And the problem is something I'm not doing. I doubt they'd make an emulator that only plays in a tiny screen.

[A Black Falcon]

Well then.

Note -- the NES version is still the only one used for the contest... the two are different so they can't be used interchangably and the NES one is a lot more accessible to the forum -- I bet not that many people have MAME when compared to a NES emulator...

Anyway, here it is.

Oh, and since its MAME you probably have to put it in the mame roms subdirectory... and you can't change its filename.

[The Former DMiller]

Sweet, thanks. I've never used MAME before, but I'm definitely going to download it to play Spy Hunter.

[A Black Falcon]

Yeah! Much better!

[A Black Falcon]

No new scores? Anyone? Why hasn't anyone else (Whitefleck, Weltall, etc...) entered... this is a great game...

Oh, and I wouldn't recommend trying to play the arcade version without a analog controller for the left/right axis (and using the up/down axis for the throttle and brake (the game controls dont call it that but that is what it does...) is helpful -- but not necessary -- too, because it give you analog speed control), don't bother... it is way too hard to control the car with a dpad since its made to be played with a wheel...

Anyway, I haven't beaten that score in the NES version yet... the arcade version may have better graphics, and more buttons (seperate controls for each weapon instead of one to fire and another to switch weapons), and a gearshift (high/low speed), but the NES version is easier to play... :)

[The Former DMiller]

Woah, I didn't realize you had posted a new score. Back to work...

[The Former DMiller]

Well I finally got my emulator to play with a bigger screen. Stupid me, I was trying to set it to 5x, but it can't go that big with the resolution I'm using. I didn't even bother trying 2x or 3x. Anyway, I had forgotten how hard the boat section was. I went into it with 2 extra lives, and ending up getting a game over pretty quick.

[The Former DMiller]

Haha, didn't realize my jpg would actually be as big as the pic. This just shows you how small of a screen I had been playing in. My previous pics were actual size. :D

[A Black Falcon]

I'm playing games in a 2X size window... but those are the size screenshots I get with no editing. For some reason FCEU saves them that size no matter the resolution (or multiplier) you use... which is very nice... I just have to save the screenshot and then upload it (they are .png)...

Oh, and I haven't gotten to the boat part yet.

[A Black Falcon]

Where is this boat section? I haven't been a boat yet... do you have to take that very small turnoff I passed or something?

Bah! Didn't get a screenshot... I thought I hit the key! :( I had 53,000...

[The Former DMiller]

You can go for a long time without getting to the boat section. I usually try to avoid it, but I was in a battle with a limo and accidently took the wrong path. If you see a really skinny fork in the road that is the path to the boathouse.

[A Black Falcon]

Okay, yeah, I passed it in that last 53,000 point game... I'd think it would be hard to turn into it...

[The Former DMiller]

Well, I trust you got that 53,000 point game, but I think I just put an end to this competition. I got to the snow area for the first time playing this ROM. You can probably guess what's harder about the snow area. It simply moves you 2 spaces instead of one every time you move left or right. I still haven't come anywhere close to my arcade record of 198,000, though, and I doubt I will. I was in the zone that day.

[A Black Falcon]

98,950, I assume? Wow...

Oh, this contest started on Friday, so when should it end? This friday?

I won't give up yet... :)

[A Black Falcon]

Bah. I'd done pretty well too... then one of those stupid cars pushed me off the road...

[The Former DMiller]

Nope, I actually meant 198,000. There is an extra digit to get into the hundred thousands.

[A Black Falcon]

I'm talking about your best score with the NES version... I assume it is that screenshot there? Its hard to read the numbers in this game, but it looks like 98,950... you can't use the arcade score. The versions are just too different...

Oh, and gotten MAME to work? See what I mean about how its more complex and super hard to control the car if you don't have a analog controller for it?

[The Former DMiller]

That is actually 88,850, not 90,000-something. Sorry for the confusion, I was talking about my high score in the arcade. Anyway, I haven't tried out MacMAME yet, but I will this weekend. I've wasted enough time playing Spy Hunter this week. You probably couldn't tell, but I have 2 exams today. :o

[A Black Falcon]

I had an exam today and one yesterday...

Oh, and yeah, that's why I was asking... its so hard to read some of those numbers the game uses...

[A Black Falcon]

Noooo.... I just lost it a couple of times... :(

Have I mentioned that this game is great? Well it is... MORE PEOPLE PLAY!

The new SpyHunter game for modern consoles is a lot of fun too... I'm looking forward to the sequel. I just hope its longer... or harder...

[The Former DMiller]

I've been meaning to play the new Spy Hunter, but I haven't gotten around to it. Maybe I'll give it a rent when I have some time this Summer.

[WhiteFleck]

I tried, I failed. I don't feel like sinking in the time it would take me to "master" this game... so compete amongst yourselves.

[A Black Falcon]

If you like action-shooting games with cars you'd like it... I really liked the game.

But don't buy it unless its REALLY cheap because its not hard at all to finish in under a week... I beat all the levels and had most of the objectives completed in a 5 day rental... but it was a lot of fun so if I see the game someday for cheap ($20 or something) I well might get it.

[The Former DMiller]

ABF, what do I do with all those files that I downloaded for the arcade version of Spy Hunter? I tried putting them in MAME's ROMs folder, but that didn't seem to do anything. It still doesn't show any games available in MAME.

[A Black Falcon]

I thought I explained it already...

Don't unzip it.

And the filename of the zip file must be the one it was, because MAME will only find games that have zipfiles with the correct name... its kind of annoying, but that's how MAME works -- it only can 'see' games if they have the zipfile named correctly.

Oh, and for me anyway it can only find the games if they are in MAME's rom subdirectory...

[Great Rumbler]

And just to throw everyone off, Great Rumbler throws in his score!!

[A Black Falcon]

Well, no one's anywhere near DMiller's score and probably won't be, so I guess it'll end today (today being a week after it started)... and unless something big changes, DMiller, you should think about what game you want next...

Oh, and Whitefleck (right?), you still can choose one sometime if you want since you were given a choice and never chose a game...

[WhiteFleck]

Okay, if I stumble across something I'll bring it up.