Agent Intercept PlayStation 5 Indie Video Game Review

Originally released back in the 1980s, Spy Hunter is generally considered an arcade classic which in a way created its very own genre. The basic premise of the game was that you were driving a tricked out spy car filled with weapons which you used to destroy enemy vehicles that got in your way. While the game has its fan base, the genre that Spy Hunter created never really generated the number of games that other classic games eventually created. The Spy Hunter franchise itself has been sporadic and many of the games weren’t all that great. While not a huge fan of Spy Hunter, I was intrigued to check out a more modern take on the genre which is why Agent Intercept intrigued me when I first saw it. Agent Intercept is a fun little combat racing game that fans of the genre will likely enjoy even if the game is on the shorter side.

In Agent Intercept you play as an agent for the Agency. The Agency’s longtime nemesis is CLAW. CLAW is up to something and you are tasked with figuring out their latest plot and shutting it down before it is too late. To assist you in this mission you are given access to the Agency’s latest technological marvel, the Sceptre. The Sceptre is a transforming car that can change between various types of vehicles for whatever mode of transportation is needed for the current task. Can you stop CLAW before they are able to implement their latest nefarious plot?

If I were to describe the gameplay of Agent Intercept I would say that it actually reminds me lot of games like the old Spy Hunter series. The game has a number of mechanics from a range of different video game genres.

Probably the most obvious mechanic is the driving aspect of the game. Much of the gameplay is built around racing around tracks chasing down enemies and avoiding dangers. Unlike a normal racer the game takes place on a sort of rail. You mostly control the left and right movement of your car. You can’t drive backwards and your only impact on forward movement is whether you want to use your turbo in order to get a speed boost.

While the driving aspect is different than you typical racing game, I found this element of the game to still be quite fun. The game thrives on speed as you race around corners while dealing with the enemies that stand in your way. Straight paths can feel a little slow as you can only use boost to move through them quicker, but it is really satisfying drifting around the corners which the game highly encourages. Much of your success in each mission involves drifting around corners and avoiding obstacles that will damage your car or slow it down. I haven’t played a Spy Hunter game in a long time, but this aspect of the game really reminded me of that franchise.

I will say that the driving probably won’t be for everyone though. A lot of this is just from the fact that your control over the vehicle is a little limited. Your car is always moving forward. All you can adjust is your forward speed as well as turning left and right. Changing between the different vehicles types is done automatically as well. If you wanted total control over your vehicle, you may be a little disappointed with the game. With the car moving automatically it can sometimes feel like the game is driving for you, only giving you the opportunity to alter the path of the car.

Outside of the driving the game has a combat element. While driving you will have to deal with enemy vehicles. Scattered throughout the tracks are pickups that you need to drive over to get a limited amount of ammo for one of your weapons. Some of these weapons are lock-ons, while others require you to steer your car to aim your shots. Depending on the weapon you use you can destroy enemy vehicles with one shot or a few. Your vehicle has limited health which will result in a game over if you run out. Because of this you need to dodge enemy attacks while dispatching of them.

I found the combat to be generally pretty satisfying. Some of the weapons are more satisfying to use than others. While powerful, I wasn’t a huge fan of the lock-on weapons. There is no skill in using these weapons and the game can be a little finicky in when it lets you actually use them. The weapons that you actually have to aim are much more satisfying. They add skill to the combat, and it is much more satisfying when you use them to destroy an enemy in your way.

Agent Intercept’s gameplay is broken down into missions. The ultimate objective of each mission to complete a certain objective. In many cases this just involves surviving until the end. Each mission has four other objectives. These are completed by finishing certain tasks or approaching the level in a particular way. In many missions there is an objective to drift for a certain amount of time or to score a certain amount of points. Some missions have time based objectives where you have to complete a certain task within a certain amount of time.

I would say that the missions can be a little hit or miss. The game is fun, but quite a few of the missions basically have you doing the same things with a few tweaks. There are a few mission objectives that do change up the gameplay quite a bit though. In an odd twist I actually found some of the most fun missions to be the side missions instead of those in the main game.

For the most part I would say that Agent Intercept is on the easier side. I don’t actually play a lot of games from this genre, and yet outside of a couple of missions I never really struggled. As long I wasn’t careless I was able to complete the main objective of most of the missions on my first attempt. I usually completed a few of the additional objectives as well. I only had to rarely replay missions. In many cases this was because to play the last mission in each chapter you need to complete enough of these additional objectives to unlock it.

As long as you focus on the things emphasized by the additional objectives, you should be able to complete a couple of them on the attempt that you complete the main objective. Most of these additional objectives are fairly easy to complete as long as you focus on them. There are a few that can be kind of challenging though where they will require some trial and error.

Ultimately I found Agent Intercept to be challenging enough where the game was still fun. You don’t need to be near perfect to complete a mission, but you can’t be careless either. While I think the game could be a little more difficult in areas, there was still enough challenge that I didn’t become bored by the game. If you want a real challenge though, beating the main game may not give it to you. Most of the challenge you will get from the game will likely come from the time trials and other challenge modes that the game includes.

As for the story and visuals I thought the game was solid. Agent Intercept originally started as a mobile game so there was some limitation on the game’s visuals. The visuals aren’t as great as games specifically designed for consoles/PCs, but I think they hold up rather well for a game that was originally designed for phones. I think a lot of this can be attributed to the game’s style which works well for the game. The game is quite colorful and it plays off of the cheesy spy theme that the game decided to go with.

Speaking of the theme I thought the story was pretty good. The story is far from serious as you can tell that it was inspired by the Bond franchise and other spy stories that are even less serious. The story is kind of cheesy and about what you would expect from a spy movie featuring wacky inventions and an evil organization referred to by the acronym CLAW. If you generally enjoy cheesy/silly spy stories, I think you will enjoy this aspect of the game.

Probably the biggest complaint I had about Agent Intercept was simply the fact that I just wish there was more to it. The main story has three chapters with five missions in each chapter. The missions themselves only take a couple of minutes. Therefore you can breeze through the main story rather quickly. In fact I beat the main missions in probably 2-3 hours.

In addition to the main missions the game has a number of side missions. I think there was around ten side missions and these are around the same length as the main missions.

Finally the game has three challenge modes for a number of the tracks. There is your typical time trial, and high score challenges. There is also a target practice mode where you try to shoot targets accurately while speeding around the track. While I had some fun with these, I found them to be more of a distraction than a main element of the game. I have never really been the type of player to chase after high scores though.

I genuinely enjoyed playing Agent Intercept which is why I was disappointed that the game was on the shorter side. I think you could beat all of the main and side missions within around 3.5-5 hours which is on the short side. If you are the type to compete in challenge modes though you may get a decent amount more time out of the game. It is just kind of a shame that the game is so short as I was really enjoying it and wanted to play more. Some more tracks/missions would have been appreciated as the gameplay wouldn’t have become stale even if the missions were similar to ones already in the game.

In many ways I think Agent Intercept is what you would get if you modernized the old Spy Hunter formula with elements of more modern video games. I don’t know if the game will be for everyone, but I enjoyed my time with it. As the car moves forward automatically it sometimes feels like the game is driving for you which is a little disappointing as I wish you had a little more control over it. The driving and combat is quite fun though as you race around corners destroying enemy vehicles while avoiding their weapons. Many of the missions have similar elements, but there is enough variety in your objectives to keep the game interesting. The game is on the easier side though as outside of a couple of the additional objectives, I didn’t have too much trouble completing most of the missions. This leads to a game that is on the shorter side as unless you are really into chasing high scores I think you can complete the game within 4-6 hours.

My recommendation for Agent Intercept ultimately comes down to your thoughts on the vertical scrolling driving game genre created by games like Spy Hunter. If you aren’t a big fan of this genre, I don’t know if the game will be for you. Fans of the original Spy Hunter that want a fun update though, will likely enjoy Agent Intercept and should consider picking it up.

We at Geeky Hobbies would like to thank PikPok for the review copy of Agent Intercept used for this review. Other than receiving a free copy of the game to review, we at Geeky Hobbies received no other compensation for this review. Receiving the review copy for free had no impact on the content of this review or the final score.