CounterSpy

Editor's Notes

Digital PS4 version reviewed. 'CounterSpy' is a cross buy title and a single purchase yields the PS4, PS3, and Vita versions of the game.

Introduction

Dynamighty, a small team based out of San Francisco, has partnered with Sony to bring their first game-development efforts to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita. Billed as a stealth-based action game set in the cold-war era during a twisted space race to nuke the moon, 'CounterSpy' promises fresh gameplay experiences through procedurally generated levels. With a style that clearly resembles the glory years of Ian Flemming's 'James Bond', its focus is on epic espionage. Now it's time to see if 'CounterSpy' has substanc as well as style.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Straddling the line between the Imperialists and Socialists – an obvious representation of the Americans and Soviets – 'CounterSpy' assigns the playable character missions to recover both the nuclear weapons' plans and flight paths in an attempt to hinder all-out war between these two powerful nations. In terms of progression, the player has the choice of which side to infiltrate, which really comes down to a choice of when but is a nice break from the often-linear path most videogames force on the player, while still providing smaller, bite-sized missions to complete.

Sneaking into weapons complexes on both sides of the border, the player is tasked with eliminating these threats through stealth or force, while controlling the fluctuating DEFCON meter. Being spotted by either enemy guards or security cameras results in said meter rising to an eventual mission-ending status. Then, if the countdown clock begins, the player still has a final, last-ditch opportunity to race through to the end of the level to stop the missiles from launching, but by that point the mission has all but failed.

Developed as a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer, 'CounterSpy' adds an interesting point-of-view element that seamlessly alters the player's perspective. When using any number of the clearly identified cover spots, the camera immediately shifts to an over-the-shoulder view, allowing for better aiming and shooting mechanics. Although this drastic change in perspective is initially jarring, it quickly becomes a nicely realized mechanic to what begins as an otherwise routine sidescroller.

While the objectives from one mission to the next are generally the same, there are numerous opportunities to search for and locate weapon blueprints and skill formulas that can be purchased and equipped for later levels. These upgrades help you to better prepare for the inevitable increase in difficulty the further along you progress, and are worth taking the time to find.

For such a small development studio, I was impressed with Dynamighty's ability to deliver an incredibly smooth playing experience. The controls are tight and responsive, and the automatic change in perspective when taking cover is a unique mechanic. However, with such a focus on stealth (albeit, not entirely forced), I was never confident in my abilities to sneak past armed guards or incapacitate them when the opportunity arose. This mostly speaks to inconsistent AI response. Some guards would wander the room with blinders on, while others would see me coming from a mile away, resulting in my playing much more offensively than what I feel the game was designed for. One shootout led to the next, and I often left a pile of bodies in my wake.

While a relatively short game – an initial play through can be completed in approximately 4 hours – 'CounterSpy' provides enough entertainment value to justify its reasonably low price. The quick, 10-15 minute, missions help to fill in the gap between longer play sessions of other games currently in rotation, and the setting touches on events in our history not often accounted for when developing a video game.