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Game
Ratings:
Description:Enter the world of international intrigue. It's you against faceless enemies in a rush to unravel a high-level assassination plot. Arm yourself with authentic spy tools, high-tech weapons and professional skills true to CIA operations. Then confront realistic global scenarios... where decisions you make determine the balance of world power. In Spycraft, you're challenged to go deep undercover in Russia to investigate the assasination of a presidential candidate there and to thwart a perceived threat to the life of the United States president. You won't go unprepared, though: to prepare for the assignment, you get the espionage boot camp at the CIA training facility, The Farm in Langley, Virginia. Lead a team of special forces, carefully study satellite photos, intercept radio communications, conduct ballistics analysis and operate a computer-based suspect identification tool -- all exercises are based on actual CIA covert ops training procedures.
Requirements:100% IBM PC-compatible computer, 486/DX2 - 66MHz processor, 8 MB RAM, Double speed CD-ROM drive (300K/sec. sustained transfer rate), 30 MB of uncompressed hard disk space, VESA local bus or PCI video, 16-hit High-Color SVGA (640x480) - thousands of colors, 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse and driver, 100% Sound Blaster 16 - compatible sound card (for digital and general MIDI audio). Does not work on Windows XP!
Additional System Requirements for Windows 95: Microsoft Windows 95 operating system. Note: The Windows 95 version uses new Microsoft DirectX technology, which may require your system to have the latest Windows 95 drivers. Optional Online Component for Windows 95: 100% Windows 95-compatible 14,400 bps or faster connection to the Internet through an Internet service providor, 100% Windows 95-compatible 32-bit Web browser (e.g. Netscape Navigator and Mircorsoft Internet Explorer.
Reviews:CD-ROM Today, May 1996 "The player assumes the identity of a CIA agent working in an unprecedented capacity with the KGB. The agent must help track down an assassin and ensure a smooth transition of power in the former Soviet Union." "Probably the most exciting aspect of the game is the World Wide Web elements. The interface is based on a futuristic personal digital assistant (like an Apple Newton). You can also go to a real Spycraft Web page from the PDA and download virtual news that you can use during your current mission. That's super cool, and keeps the game realistic and fresh." PC Entertainment, May 1996 "Spycraft is a realistic portrayal of how government intelligence really operates." "As you play, you'll have to use various computer tools to monitor the activities and phone calls of fellow government workers. In addition, you'll have to master voice-analysis equipment to determine just whose voice you're listening to, and how to detect background noises for much-needed clues. You'll have to study files, develop composite sketches, and decipher secret codes, all in an attempt to find the assassin." "Unlike many games, Spycraft uses its high-quality full-motion video to enhance the gaming experience rather than hinder it. The game's seamless combination of compelling game play and top-notch production values helped immerse me in the world of kill-or-be-killed intelligence." New Media, June 24, 1996 "Spycraft superbly melds game play and story line. Players use a variety of interfaces and problem-solving techniques, and they face several true-to-life, spy profession moral dilemmas. (Would you risk your partner's life to gain information?) Throw in a real-time, online update element with a believable, twisting plot, and you have a suspenseful thriller. Spook wannabes will love the nitty-gritty espionage and will find Spycraft immersive and challenging." PC Gamer, December 1996 "The coolest thing about this big-budget graphic adventure is that its technical advisers included spy novelist James Adams, former CIA director Wiliam Colby, and KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin. It's a real post-Cold-War collaboration, and the result is a modern-day spy game that with an unprecedented air of realism and authenticity. Don't be fooled by the Mad Dog McCree-style video shoot-'em-up that opens the game; Spycraft has one of the deepest, most satisfying stories you'll find in an adventure game, backed up by some diabolically clever puzzles that advance the plot rather than delaying it. Spycraft is an excellent graphic adventure that provides a refreshing break from the usual science fiction and fantasy settings; if you like spy novels, you'll love this game." Quandary Reviews by Gordon Alpin (August 1996) "As you might expect in a game about spying the plot is full of twists and turns and involves political corruption in Russia, the theft and attempted sale of a nuclear device, a shadowy group of mercenary ex-intelligence operatives, sundry double agents, a mole in the C.I.A. and much, much more."' "It is at your desk where the real work of the game is carried out, where puzzles are solved by a process of elimination or by manipulating a device. Good old-fashioned 'leg work' is now done sitting in front of a computer. The puzzles themselves vary in complexity but remain in context throughout the game. In fact, many aspects of play are similar to using the World Wide Web to ferret out that elusive piece of information by clicking on a highlighted word or phrase and tracking from link to link, and discovering interesting snippets along the way." "...the game has a couple of small but unavoidable combat sequences, one at the beginning and one near the end, but these are fairly easy to negotiate and adventurers shouldn't be put off by them. (Another combat sequence crops up in the middle of the game but here you get a choice of taking this path or choosing the intelligence path. Both are easily negotiated.) Once again, since I am in a forgiving mood, these arcade-like combat sequences can possibly be justified in the context of this game -- I just wish they wouldn't do it. And if you don't like the idea of shooting other people, be aware that sometimes spies have to do such things in the line of duty. "Time limits! Combat! Why am I in such a forgiving mood? Simply because I found the game to be entertaining and challenging and I enjoyed it overall for its puzzles, intrigue and mystery."
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- Mild language and realistic violence
89% from 
4 1/2 stars from 
Unprecedented collaboration: William Colby
(former CIA Director) and Oleg Kalugin (former KGB Major General) reveal
secrets from the "great game" of espionage.
Additional System Requirements
for MS-DOS: Microsoft MS-DOS 6.0 operating system.