Line #25 Videogame/SecretAgent


1	[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/secretagent_2282.png]]
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3	''Secret Agent'' is a 1992 side-scrolling PlatformGame released by Apogee Software (now 3D Realms) and based on the engine of the earlier ''VideoGame/CrystalCaves''. Much like its predecessor, it was released as three games and licensed as {{shareware}}: the first game is free as a teaser, while the other two were made available for purchase (and can be still bought from 3D Realms or from [[http://www.gog.com/gamecard/secret_agent GOG.com]]).
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5	The games feature top [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Secret Agent]] 006½, assigned to infiltrate the island strongholds occupied by the evil Diabolical Villain Society, or [[FunWithAcronyms DVS]]. The [=DVS=] has stolen the plans for the Red Rock Rover, a powerful satellite laser weapon, and has hidden the plans in heavily guarded bases on each island. To find the blueprints, you must defeat the security network by destroying the satellite dish in each stage. Doing so will require fending off [[{{Mooks}} armed guards]] and dangerous [[MechaMooks robots]], navigating [[NoOSHACompliance trap-filled]] corridors and deadly mazes, and gathering [[LockAndKeyPUzzle keys,]] [[MagicFloppyDisk security disks]] to turn off laser barriers, and dynamite to blow open the exit door and make your escape. Once all the satellite dishes are destroyed, the way to the final stage is unlocked, where you must find and retrieve the blueprints and escape. Doing so ends the episode with a debriefing and picture of your escape, while explaining your next move. The three episodes are "The Hunt for Red Rock Rover," "Kill Again Island," and "Dr. No Body."
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7	June 30, 2021 saw the surprise release of ''Secret Agent HD'', a [[VideoGameRemake full remake]] of the original ''Secret Agent'' by Emberheart Games. This version includes all-new music, achievements, improved frame rate, multiple difficulty levels, a level editor, animated ending screens, and a brand new fourth episode, "The Spy who Dumped Me," with new graphics, enemies, and items. In the fourth episode, despite retrieving the blueprints and destroying Dr. No Body, the evil doctor was able to download himself into a new, more powerful body, and build a copy of the Red Rock Rover. Now, 006½ must fly to the final, most heavily guarded [=DVS=] base, destroy all the satellite dishes to prevent Dr. No Body from transferring his consciousness again, and finally destroy Dr. No Body and his Red Rock Rover laser weapon to restore peace to the world.
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10	!!This game provides examples of:
11	* BodyBackupDrive: How Dr. No Body survived the end of episode 3. He was able to broadcast his consciousness into another robot body. Episode 4 has you destroying his communication network to prevent this from happening again.
12	* BrainInAJar: Dr. No Body is shown to be a full conversion cyborg, with his head consisting of a small glass tank with a brain in it.
13	* BrutalBonusLevel: The HD edition contains a secret level which is significantly more difficult than anything that came before, featuring unique hazards such as moving blocks that can kill you instantly.
14	* CardCarryingVillain: DVS stands for Diabolical Villain Society.
15	* CollisionDamage: The ceiling fans look like meaningless decorations, but will deal collision damage when jumped into.
16	* DeathThrows: When killed, your character leaps off the screen while waving his hands and eyes madly as if he had an epileptic fit.
17	* FloatingPlatforms: The game has a lot of these, though it always takes care to make them at least a little realistic; even in outdoor settings, all platforms are visibly attached to something solid, like a pole. Though, curiously, the ''clouds'' sometimes serve as floating platforms.
18	* FunWithAcronyms: The evil organization goes by the acronym of "DVS" (when each letter is read aloud, it sounds like "devious").
19	* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: They cause a bunch of previously "invisible" (read: nonexistent) platforms to appear.
20	* GraphicsInducedSuperDeformed: The title screen and the [[https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/secret-agent/screenshots/gameShotId,594601/ cutscene pictures]] show the secret agent with normal human proportions, but his [[https://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/secret-agent/screenshots/gameShotId,43399/ in-game sprite]] has his head take up half of his body.
21	* InstantGravestone: Happens to the human enemies once you kill them completely. The higher-ranking enemies turn into lower-ranking enemies until you kill the lowest, weakest form, at which point they become a gravestone (which can be picked up or just destroyed for points.)
22	* InterchangeableAntimatterKeys: The game features a classic version of this trope: colored doors (red, blue and green), colored keys, doors disappear when you walk into them with a key. On some levels it's possible to pick up a key when you've already got one of the same colour, which causes you to waste a key and inevitably makes the level unwinnable.
23	* InterfaceScrew: The question mark, which reverses your left/right controls.
24	* InvincibleMinorMinion: The robot that floats one square above ground.
25	* InvisibleBlock: See GogglesDoSomethingUnusual, above.
26	* {{Jetpack}}: The HD release adds a jetpack pickup. It can be used to fly for a limited time.
27	* MadScientist: The main villain and head of [=DVS=], Dr. No Body. A full conversion BrainInAJar cyborg, who has backup brains he can download his consciousness into if his current body is destroyed.
28	* NoDamageRun: You get a score reward after finishing a level if you pull it off.
29	* OneBulletAtATime: A standard mechanic of the game. A rare power-up allows you to fire an additional bullet.
30	* PainfullySlowProjectile: Enemy bullets travel at the same speed at which you run. Your own bullets are a bit faster.
31	* RobotDog: One of the enemies is a large, robotic boxer-like dog. There's often a doghouse nearby where they roam.
32	* ShoutOut: Each one of the episode names: [[Film/TheHuntForRedOctober "The Hunt For Red Rock Rover"]], [[Series/GilligansIsland "Kill Again Island"]], [[Film/DrNo "Dr. No Body"]], and in the HD remake, [[Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe "The Spy Who Dumped Me"]].
33	* SuperDrowningSkills: Touching water means instant death. (Except at the end of the second episode, where you leave the island in scuba gear.) However, the HD release adds a scuba gear pickup which allows you to survive in water for a limited time.
34	* SpellingBonus: Collecting the letters S-P-Y in order gives a score bonus.
35	* SprintShoes: Literal shoes that make you run fast (and, more importantly, jump further).
36	* ThiefBag: One of the things you can collect to [[ScoringPoints earn points]].
37	* ThreateningShark: Some of the pools of water have sharks in them. They do one hit point of damage, which makes no difference because you'll land in the water a split second later and die.
38	* TheUnfought: There's no boss battles in the game, so completing the third episode shows the player having already subdued Dr. No Body and left him chained to a chair in a room rigged with explosives. This is remedied in the [=HD=] remake, where the final level of the new fourth episode now features a final showdown with the rebuilt Dr. No Body and the Red Rock Rover laser weapon.
39	* YouCantThwartStageOne: The fourth episode ends up doing this to the previous three episodes. Despite reclaiming the blueprints for the Red Rock Rover across three episodes, and seemingly killing Dr. No Body at the end of the third, he rebuilt himself and built the Red Rock Rover from memory, forcing 006½ to travel to the final island to stop him once and for all.

Context Videogame / SecretAgent