It's late 1983 and your grandfather is a bright young thing with a new Filofax and one of those new compact disc LP players pumping Kajagoogoo's Too Shy into the room. He adjusts his sweatband and reflects on the awesome new game he's been playing at the arcade, Spyhunter 2. It's "skill". Fast and action-packed. Little does he know that four years later, Spyhunter 2 will come out with a shonky new 'look' and extinguish most of your grandpop's fond memories of the original...

Fast forward to 2001 and keyed up from your dad's hand-me-down stories of the first game, you shell out for Midway's remake of Spyhunter 2. Surprisingly enough, it captures the energy, hi-tech espionage action and ballistic momentum of its predecessor. In short, it rocks some, in a no brainer, fire and forget kind of way. As you defeat the final NOSTRA boss, you put your DualShcok 2 down and conclude that if there's ever a Spyhunter 2, you'll be first in the queue for some of that...

See a pattern developing here? Three years on, and here comes a sequel complete with a new developer, an overhauled look and, well, how do we say this best? Spyhunter 2 is definitely the legitimate offspring of the first PS2 game and far from broken, but something has gone awry and the result isn't the festival of fun it should've been.

A pity, especially since the initial signs were good for a stonking second outing. After all, the new developer, Angel Studios, knows its driving onions. It's responsible for the Smuggler's Run series and both Midnight Club games, so giving the G-8155 Interceptor a thorough tune up should have been child's play. However, Angel Studios changed hands recently, and we can't help wondering if Midway's baby hasn't suffered a little neglect as a result, because, whilst the core ideas are good, the execution isn't up to the standard of we'd expect.

As before, the car's the star and the new Interceptor is even more unfeasiby gadget happy then last time. The default model looks like a SEAT supercar concept complete with an extras package that includes various type of proactive safety optons, by which we mean missiles, chain guns, mine layers, smoke screens and the like. Drive it into the drink (by accident or design!) and it transforms into its speed boat from. Meanwhile, take on enough damage and the Interceptor sheds most of its body work and becomes an escape vehicle/armoured sea doo. It all makes cup holders and headrest DVD screens seem a bit tame, doesn't it? Those familiar with Spyhunter 2 may already know a little about the Interceptor's schizophrenic chassis. However, they won't have seen the new car's ability to mutate into a chunkier, grippier off-road variant and a sled equipped arctic battler. There's also more choice in terms of your arsenal. As you progress through the game's fifteen levels you'll unlock new weaponry and counter measures that can be equipped to your personal taste in subsequent missions. So, if you prefer the twin M165 Gatling guns to the officially superior M234 HEMP rockets then feel free to keep them fitted. We did.

We'll let you discover the game's plot for yourself, suffice it to say it boils down to you - working for the International Espionage Section - versus the evil NOSTRA crime syndicate. As such, missions follow a standard pattern. Zip from A to B (with the occasional optional detour via C) while NOSTRA's finest try and incinerate you at every turn. At the end of each cluster of missions there's a boss level that apes the original coin-op's 'endless level' mechanic by randomly generating your route as you battle to wear out a huge enemy vehicle's defences. As a nod to retro gaming it's a neat idea.

Pick up Spyhunter 2 and, for a while at least, you're likely to vroom and kaboom around happily enough. It's not long, however, before you start coming across scratches in the game's paint job. Irritatingly, invisible trackside walls and inexplicably solid objects are everywhere. Pop-up is also a constant travelling companion and if you've ever played SH2's predecessor, the chances are that, like us, you'll conclude that its graphics were altogether crispier.

From a gameplay perspective, the story's not much better. There's a patchiness to the difficulty curve that can't help but start to sap your goodwill. While one level will be relatively brief with a refreshing pit stop courtesy of the IES weapons vehicle, the next will be a marathon of relentless, automotive ambushing that'll have you repeatedly hammering restart before you die, simply because you know what lies ahead and can predict that you'll never make it. We're all for difficult, but there are moments here where you begin to question just how much fun you're really having.

Spyhunter 2 does try and please with extra arena-based two-player deathmatches and a co-operative mode that enables you to play through the single-player campaign with player two manning the weapons. Frankly though, we'd trade these extras for a tighter, better-paced core game in an instant.

It's all a bit of a shame. As a franchise, Spyhunter 2 should be hard to get wrong, but while there's still dumb fun to be had behind the wheel of the Interceptor, we just can't wholeheartedly recommend Spy Hunter 2 over the original. Seems the curse of Spyhunter 2 has struck again.

Graphics 60%
Smudgier than the original PS2 Spyhunter 2!

Sound 70%
Spot on weapons FX are a high point.

Gameplay 60%
Irritating AI and uneven difficulty prove tiring.

Lifespan 60%
Persist and the fifteen missions won't last long!

Overall 60%
Spyhunter 2 takes a decent fusion of shootin' and drivin' but trips up with lacklustre production values. It's okay, but we prefer the original.