''Secret Agent'' (also known as ''Secret Agent Man'')Apogee Software 1991 Catalog is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Apogee Software. The first episode is

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

, while the remaining two are sold directly by the publisher. ''Secret Agent'' uses the same

game engine A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software i ...

as the earlier ''

Crystal Caves ''Crystal Caves'' is a side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Apogee Software for IBM PC compatibles. The game is divided into three episodes with the first distributed as shareware and the other two available for purchase. Des ...

''.

Plot

Agent 006½ is one of the top agents for the Bureau. The Diabolical Villain Society—or D.V.S. -- has stolen the blueprints to an orbital ruby laser weapon, code-named "Red Rock Rover." The blueprints have been secured at three island strongholds of D.V.S. Agent 006½'s current mission: recover the blueprints. Each island stronghold contains 15 radar installations. All fifteen must be taken down before Agent 006½ can make his way into the D.V.S. fortress on the island, where the blueprints are held. Mission 1: The Hunt for Red Rock Rover. The first island stronghold. Agent 006½ parachutes in, and after a successful mission, takes a hidden boat to the second island. Mission 2: Kill Again Island. The second island stronghold. After a successful mission, Agent 006½ slips away in scuba gear. Mission 3: Dr. No Body. The third island stronghold, where Agent 006½ will have to do battle with Dr. No Body, the head of the D.V.S.

Gameplay

The player controls the titular secret agent, known only under his codename "Agent 006½". Each game is divided into 16 levels; there is no fixed order in which to play them, but the "main fortress" cannot be accessed until the other 15 levels have all been completed. Each level is a labyrinthine structure. The objective in each level is to locate and destroy a radar dish, then exit the level. A bundle of

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

is needed to blow open the exit doors. Agent 006½ is hindered by locked doors and laser beams that require key-card access to be opened and deactivated by bringing a

floppy disk A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...

to a computer terminal. There are additional robotic and human enemies with environmental hazards such as spikes and acid pools that the player must traverse. Agent 006½ begins a level with three health points. If he loses all three, he dies, and the level restarts, with the player's score reset to what it was when beginning the level. Enemies and specific hazards detract one health point when they hit Agent 006½, while others (such as

landmines A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...

) kill him instantly. The player may need to make use of pushable barrels to reach higher areas. Some of the levels also contain special goggles, which, when collected, cause several platforms to become visible, allowing access to previously unreachable areas.

Power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...

s include

ammunition Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

that increase Agent 006½'s speed for a short duration, and a gun that allows faster shooting. There are also items that merely give points. When a human enemy is killed, he is replaced by a gravestone; the player can either destroy it (earning 100 points) or pay their respects (earning 1,000 points). Each level also includes the letters "S", "P" and "Y". The player is awarded 10,000 points if they pick them up in the correct order and 25,000 points if they complete the level without taking any damage. There are also items that cause ailments, like a ½ item that slows Agent 006½'s speed for a short duration and a question mark that reverses the function of the left and right keys for a short duration. The names of the episodes are references to popular movies and television shows: "The Hunt for Red Rock Rover" is a pun on the film '' The Hunt for Red October'', "Kill Again Island" is a play on ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

'' and "Dr. No Body" is a reference to the film '' Dr. No''. The default high score list consists of popular fictional spies such as Jim Phelps and Maxwell Smart.

Release and legacy

It was intended for release on October 1, 1991, but was delayed and ended up by being released exactly four months later. GOG.com released an

emulated In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peri ...

version for Windows and Mac OS X in 2013. A high-definition remaster was released on June 30, 2021, for Windows and Linux by Emberheart Games with Apogee Entertainment, the new name for Apogee, publishing. The game adds a fourth mission to the existing three. It also adds Steam Workshop support, online leaderboards and a new soundtrack.

References

External links

*
Emberheart Games
- developer of ''Secret Agent HD'' * {{Apogee Games 1992 video games Apogee games DOS games Games commercially released with DOSBox James Bond parodies MacOS games Platformers Shareware games Spy video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Single-player video games