Rupert Higham 

CounterSpy review – more Austin Powers than James Bond

This stylised indie game, full of cold war bunkers, silhouetted agents and lunar armageddon plots, is competent but its intrigues can only carry you so far, writes Rupert Higham
  
  

CounterSpy
CounterSpy: 'as many pieces of 1960s cold war paraphernalia as can be crammed into a briefcase'. Photograph: PR

The latest in a line of boldly stylised indie games to infiltrate PSN, CounterSpy is a stealth-'em-up set in an alternative cold war timeline where imperialists and socialists compete to launch nukes at the moon. The tone is more Austin Powers than James Bond, though the soundtrack is definitely best served with a shaken martini. As a perpetually silhouetted Counter agent, players must sneak through a never-ending selection of randomly generated 2D bunkers, collecting microfilms, blueprints and as many pieces of 1960s cold war paraphernalia as can be crammed into a briefcase.

Jumping into cover allows a switch to a first-person view in order to snipe heads and security cameras, while being spotted pushes the Defcon gauge up – reach maximum and you're given 60 seconds to end the alert or burn in nuclear armageddon. It's certainly enjoyable and competent at what it sets out to do, but a little let down by the repetitive gameplay and limited structure.

 

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