Sid Meier's Covert Action

Truly one of Sid Meier's under-appreciated classics, this is a must play for fans of his other works, and espionage fans in general. Don't be afraid to fail multiple times as you learn the best wheres and ways to play. Utilize the cheat sheets for an easier time across the four minigames. A pen and paper is also recommended. Consult your assistant at any CIA headquarters through the Intelligence Branch for tips about your current objectives, and which lead(s) might be best to follow.

Look, most of my time with this game was spent doing 'practice' with the cipher minigame. For that alone, it's quite a lot of fun. The phone tapping minigame is also a bit of fun to figure out, though less engaging. As for the 'full' actual game.. I've only played it once or twice on the easy setting. Some of the activities are tricky, particularly movement while infiltrating a location. If you're on a laptop without a numpad, you might be out of luck since that's where the movement keys are. The closest game I can think of is Carmen Sandiego, but that might just be skin deep, since both of them are investigation games that have an elevator sequence bridging their core loop. Fundamentally, you're finding and following clues, snooping on people involved in a scheme, building up a dossier until you have enough info to apprehend the ringleader. It's the kind of game I'd love to see redone with more refined and modern controls, but it fundamentally works as a 2D game and probably wouldn't as a 3D game, so.. any indies paying attention? Should you buy it? If you like ciphers and you don't mind playing something that, to modern tastes, feels more like an alpha or tech demo, then give it a shot if it's on sale.

I love this game even if I can't figure out how to not suck at driving or placing wiretaps. Even if they remade this game and took out all of the fun that comes from writing down clues because too much is going on or doing cryptograph puzzles, I'd be happy with it drawing attention to the original. It's a lot like Carmen Sandiego in that you first have to learn where the action is and who's involved, then going through the rigmarole of jumping through legal hoops because you need to fill out that dossier before you're allowed to make an arrest and finally having like no time at all to hunt down all of these nefarious ne'er-do-wells, hopefully also snatching up their toys like blueprints or explosives. It's as rough as you'd expect from a game old enough to have its own kids but it's complex and neverending, randomized fun that you can just get a good game going pretty quickly.

This was a classic, but need a modern remake introduce to todays audiences.

This game is one of a kind with Sid Meier's style of game design on it. The replay value is infinite. I play this game like nuts when I was a kid. Basically it's a collection of mini games, one time you're playing stealth-ish top down shooter, another is puzzle (hacking and decoding), some lame driving sequence (even back then I remember it was horrible), then another identifying suspects. The top down shooter part will be the core of the overall game, where you break into suspect's office, gather intelligence and further leads/evidences, avoid detection or went into combat if you're spotted. I suppose it's fun back then but this part isn't what make me hooked. It's about getting good evidence to confront the suspect. Later on if I remember correctly you confront the suspect based on the intelligence and evidence you gather. If you manage to put the suspect into custody, you win the game. The closest thing you can currently get to this game is LA Noire, which is now my favorite game of all time. It's not exactly the same, and there's no randomizer within the game (Covert Action uses randomizer to construct the suspects, the puzzles, etc) but it's similar. The open world and the action part that got me hooked, it's the gathering of the evidences and have keen eye on the interview subject reactions. But nah I won't buy this game for the sake of nostalgia alone. I reckon it will aged badly. I'd rather replay LA Noire. I just wish a decent remake like they did with Pirates!