If you’ve given our massive games list a gander, you may have caught the listing for Spy Hunter. The entry refers to a next-gen Spy Hunter, a game that was rumored to be in the making years ago by Midway, then there was word it might be in development for “Dolphin.” Soon after, word leaked that it was coming to Playstation 2 and shortly thereafter, the game was confirmed, with Paradigm (of Pilotwings & Beetle Adventure Racing fame) heading up the development duties and Midway publishing.

But last summer, an odd turn of events happened that seemed to put the fate of this Spy Hunter game in question; namely Infogrames buying Paradigm. Where did this leave Spy Hunter?

Well, at E3 the game finally made its appearance on Playstation 2. How is it? Awesome. It looks like a 3D racing game but due to the action is more akin to Driver. At its heart however, it is ALL Spy Hunter. Machine guns, oil slicks, smoke screens, hooking up with your truck and several of the old enemies coming at you are only part of the fun. There are multiple mission objectives in each board, making you feel more like a true “spy hunter” than the classic (but repetitive) game ever did. To top it all off, some levels have your car transforming into a boat or motorbike! WHOOOO!

The only thing missing was the Peter Gunn theme! This is truly a new, improved Spy Hunter and our hats are off to Paradigm for a job well done.

Now that we know it exists and it’s good, is there any chance of this dream come true coming to GameCube?

Midway Rep Jay Boor said that even though Paradigm is no longer free and available, if Spy Hunter does well, Midway would theoretically have no problem getting one of its teams to port it over to other systems, such as GameCube. Whether or not this comes to pass depends on how well the game does upon release.

For now though, PS2 owners can take comfort in knowing they’re in store for one hell of a ride! (And we’re jealous!)