Are there any TRUE spy games?

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

I'm tempted to say Alpha Protocal (think Deus Ex crossed with Splinter Cell).
The guns are so crappy in that game, you have no joice but to shoot as few people as you can. Too bad there are some instances where you have to kill people but there's normally a way around it--like paying some guy to hide a huge sniper rifle on roof over looking an ambush that doesn't show up until the very end of the mission.
I remember there was one mission where I got through most of it tranquing FBI agents (to see if I could mostly), and was heading for the door when some reinforcements showed up. I knocked out all but the last guy, who I decided to shoot in the face. No consequence? Not until I got to the end of the game where I was completely locked out of the best possible 'good' ending because that one kill put me on the FBI most-wanted or something like that.

Most guns are terrible in Alpha Protocol, but the pistol special skill is amazing if you dump points into it. For the handful of situations you can't get out of without fighting (even if you don't have to kill people in the end, just wound them), it's super-effective, and it's pretty handy having it as your primary weapon anyway to tranq the occasional pesky guard. Drop a bunch of points into the stealth skills too, and you're one sneaky bastard. And it's great how an entire mission can consist of just talking to some guy in a cafe and nothing else, and your dialog choices still have a significant impact on how the following scenarios play out. As broken as a few things in that game were, I still am a huge fan of it and will take it over something like DE:HR any day.

 

[Llil]

Why has there only been one guy recommending Death to Spies? That's exactly what the OP is looking for. The sequel (Death to Spies: Moment of Truth) is a lot better, but the first one is really good too and has more missions.

The game is basically like Hitman, except set in WWII and more realistic. For example, if you shoot an enemy, you can't take their uniform because it's covered in blood. You'll have to stun or strangle them. You play as a Russian spy, and there's many different kinds of missions. There's assassinations, stealing intel, rescuing prisoners, etc.

If you liked Hitman, you'll like Death to Spies. It's not as polished as the later Hitman games, but it's still great. Especially Moment of Truth.

 

[DazZ.]

While this really isn't what OP is looking for in the slightest, if you love 60s spy films and/or class Austin Powers as a spy then No One Lives Forever is an excellent series.

 

[kyogen]

I'm tired of games that slap a stealth mechanic on a shooter and claim that it's a Spy game. Are there ANY true spy games?

oplinger and Llil are right, OP. You're looking for Death to Spies 1 & 2. They're a pair of Russian PC games with mission designs based on what real Russian counterintelligence operatives did during World War II and the Cold War. The mechanics are reminiscent of the Hitman series, and gameplay is quite challenging.

 

[plugav]

I'd say Deus Ex (or Human Revolution, if you can't stomach the original's "aesthetics") and, to an extent, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines are those games, but neither of them is actually about spies. Nevertheless, they both offer gameplay and plots befitting a spy game.

 

[Toilet]

Ctrl+F "Death To Spies" and there is 1 result.

Get Death To Spies, it is hardcore and exactly what you are looking for.

 

[Attercap]

It's an older PC game, but back in '96, there was Spycraft: The Great Game that incorporated a lot of different spy elements most games don't. I remember fingerprinting, making fake IDs, etc. Basically, a whole bunch of spy-related mini-games. There are still copies floating around for sale, but I don't know how well the game holds up in today's market or with modern systems.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spycraft:_The_Great_Game

 

[Rhaff]

There needs to be made a game where you are required to do stuff like they do in Burn Notice...

 

[EquestrianGeneral]

Has everyone forgotten about No One Lives Forever?

It's an older series, but if you want a great spy game, look into No One Lives Forever 2.

 

[l3o2828]

No One Lives Forever.
Granted it's a PARODY of spy flicks and games...but...It's still just as good and amusing.
WOW, Person with the pony avatar, you are a good ninja.
*gives you a ninja badge*

 

[Eremiel]

What you're describing doesn't sound any closer to a true spy experience than Quake does to be honest. If you want something with a bit more of the movie spy feel there's Spycraft: The Great Game. (Yes it is actually called that.)

Just to mirror this comment.

Spycraft is the closest you'll get to a 'real' spy game.

Alpha Protocol ain't that bad either.

 

[ShaqLevick]

That sort of game sounds bloody awful, like 10 hours of surveillance on some random apartment, and gathering intel by talking to 100 different characters! Seriously given that what an actual spy does is probably too boring for most people to comprehend if you were to adapt a more glamorized interpretation from any of the movies I've seen then the most realistic would play out over a long period where the only notable set pieces would be guns and bullets once you dispose of the remaining 99% of the game which would be data analysis.

I think perhaps the most interesting type of spy game would be some sort of undercover agent open world sandbox game. Kind of like GTA but instead of shooting yourself out of situations and beating hookers it would be encouraged to not commit crimes while still not getting discovered as a police officer.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I thought you were going to ask if there were any games about the real work spies do to gather intelligence instead of games about assassination and sneaking.

 

[Legion]

Isn't Beyond Good and Evil a spy game to an extent? The purpose it to uncover a conspiracy by infiltrating areas and obtaining evidence to prove it, as well as sabotaging it.

Everytime somebody says Splinter cell conviction is stealth i just want to kill them

The funny thing is, apparently the developers became frustrated with test-plays from people for 'doing it wrong' when they treated it like a normal third person shooter. Despite the fact that they completely designed the game to work better that way than being stealthy.

The level design as well as the abilities are not created with stealth as a viable option most of the time, they work far better as a shooter, yet they seemed to expect us to play it like the old games. Even though it's entirely their fault for taking it in that direction.

Hell, it's actually easier to go around shooting everybody.

 

[WaterDancer]

Spy fiction: Like metal gear solid except it involves disguises and sneaking around in plain sight

Covert Action: Cracking codes, wiretapping, driving, and infiltration. All that have to be done within a time limit. Depending on how you do, you can fail, make next mission harder, or make the next mission easier. Missions are randomly generated

http://lparchive.org/Covert-Action/

The Clue!: More of a heist games but it involves spy elements of gathering info, planning, getting helpers, etc.

KGB: You play as a spy for the KGB as you undercover an evil plot. Game has real time so you can missing things, reach dead ends, an only realize it latter.

The Colonel's Bequest: While not a spy game, you do need to snoop around, spy on conversations. Time moves on when you trigger events. You can play through the game stubling through the plot though you don't get a good score.

The Dagger of Amon Ra: Similar to The Colonel's Bequest once you get to the museum. The interesting part of the game is that you need to be actively solving the plot because if you can figure out the murder at the end, you learn nothing. Endings do change base on what you say.

Maupiti Island: You play as a person acting like a detective. Things happen in real time and you can miss events, get attacked, etc.

http://www.dotemu.com/en/download-game/129/maupiti-island

 

[burningdragoon]

Well of course, you'll find one right under

<spoiler=here>http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_v66nKI99vdE/TDVthyilq8I/AAAAAAAAAPs/NYPtGFGUi7o/s1600/Spy_Vs_Spy_Dvd_custom-%5Bcdcovers_cc%5D-front.jpg

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

I'm sorry, but if you RUN UP TO YOUR TARGET AND KNIFE HIM IN THE FACE IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN SQUARE you are not an assassin

The Medieval Hashashin would disagree with you.
i.e. The guys depicted in Assassin's Creed 1, who actually did kill their targets in a grandiose public display.

The idea was to cripple the morale of their enemies and show off their power.

 

[TheNamlessGuy]

DELETED

 

[Twilight_guy]

True spy game, would that be really boring seeing as mostly it involves just acting like someone else or doing paperwork and... oh wait, you mean movie spies. Ugh, go try some stealth based game. They usually do that sort of thing. People seem to like Thief I guess.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

And how is one guy hiding in the shadows "showing off their power". I know where you're coming from, but still. Send in the Hulk.

I suppose it's a display that says 'We can kill whoever we like, wherever we like, whenever we like, don't fuck with us.'

It would be a lot more interesting if some of the shock tactics employed by the Assassins were used in the game, such as sneaking into a target's bedroom and pinning a note to their pillow with a knife.