The Spy Who Loved Me is a vehicle-based combat game, with a few extra parts to mix things up. The levels vary as the game progresses. For this one, I ended up playing the Atari ST version over the Amiga version, as the emulator I used for the Amiga didn’t like it.
The first two levels have similar gameplay. You drive upwards, dodging enemies, shooting them and collecting Q coins. There are civilians hanging out on the road, and you’ll lose points for hitting them – but squishing them is so satisfying and the best part of the game that I did it anyway.
The first level transitions from a car to a boat (the gameplay doesn’t change) and finishes once you stop at the end. The second is a looping track – you need to collect enough Q coins to purchase a submarine upgrade to finish the level. The big flaw with these levels are that, even though you can go fast, it’s much more beneficial to go slow – enemies eliminate your easily if you travel by speed, and going slower helps avoid obstacles and collect coins.
The third level turns the game into an extremely tough vertical scrolling shooter. Power ups float down from the top of the screen and you’ll need some upgrades to stand a chance against the level’s boss.
Next is a short lightgun-style level. The screen doesn’t move, just shoot people until you make it through the enemies.
After that is a codebreaker, like the Mastermind board game. This level is also a form of copy protection – you need to enter coordinates from the game’s manual to proceed.
The final proper level is a Jetski level, it plays similar to the first two, but more focus on shooting than dodging obstacles.
The final part is another lightgun-style section, shoot some enemies, and then jaws to beat the game.
The vehicles section might have been fun if enemies weren’t bullet sponges and dealt so much damage, while the others sections are just tedious. This is Domark’s last James Bond film tie-in, so they went out on a low note.
The first two levels have similar gameplay. You drive upwards, dodging enemies, shooting them and collecting Q coins. There are civilians hanging out on the road, and you’ll lose points for hitting them – but squishing them is so satisfying and the best part of the game that I did it anyway.
The first level transitions from a car to a boat (the gameplay doesn’t change) and finishes once you stop at the end. The second is a looping track – you need to collect enough Q coins to purchase a submarine upgrade to finish the level. The big flaw with these levels are that, even though you can go fast, it’s much more beneficial to go slow – enemies eliminate your easily if you travel by speed, and going slower helps avoid obstacles and collect coins.
The third level turns the game into an extremely tough vertical scrolling shooter. Power ups float down from the top of the screen and you’ll need some upgrades to stand a chance against the level’s boss.
Next is a short lightgun-style level. The screen doesn’t move, just shoot people until you make it through the enemies.
After that is a codebreaker, like the Mastermind board game. This level is also a form of copy protection – you need to enter coordinates from the game’s manual to proceed.
The final proper level is a Jetski level, it plays similar to the first two, but more focus on shooting than dodging obstacles.
The final part is another lightgun-style section, shoot some enemies, and then jaws to beat the game.
The vehicles section might have been fun if enemies weren’t bullet sponges and dealt so much damage, while the others sections are just tedious. This is Domark’s last James Bond film tie-in, so they went out on a low note.