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Odd stuff here - a coin-op conversion with a different name from the coin-op, appearing on a re-release label without ever having been actually released in the first place. Still, that's enough trivia. Sly Spy brings together nine (count 'em!) simple little arcade sub-games, mostly involving scrolling and shooting and precious little else, in an unfeasibly coherent whole. There's actually a half-decent semblance of atmosphere on display here, although the programmers seem to have done their best to wreck it (motorbikes gliding along the screen without their wheels ever moving, for example) and it turns what's a breathtakingly shallow and simplistic collection of bite-sized chunks of action into a game which is surprisingly good fun to play.

The drawback is that while you're having this Surprisingly Good Fun, you'll also be making some pretty speedy progress through the game's levels, to the extent that you shouldn't have any difficulty completing it the same day you buy it if you stick with it for a while.

Unfortunately, Sly Spy isn't really the kind of game you're ever going to want to come back to and play again repeatedly once you've finished it, so after that first day of Surprisingly Good Fun you're not very likely to get any more entertainment from it. Then again, if you want lasting value, you should be out there buying Populous or something.

Wafer-thin but superficially enjoyable little James Bond romp that's actually better than most 'proper' James Bond games. It's probably one for the youngsters, really.