Spy Battle 2165 from Snakehead Games is a free to play browser game. It’s a text based adventure that plays quietly, it has unpretentious graphics and it’s addictive. You start out in your Parent’s Basement, and you can work your way up from a less desirable Spot Under Bridge, a Disused Public Restroom, or end up living in luxury in your Underground Bunker, Penthouse,  Secret Underground Lab,  Impressive Spy Tower or your own Private Island . The sense of humor about the game in the writing is in every aspect. In the game you’ll react to the random events and make choices that build the strength of your character. With game play similar to Dragon Quest and other browser games this one is designed for grown- ups. It has a sophisticated feel to it. You click on various option menus and then things happen. “Arriving at the quiet park, you search the bushes behind the marked bench for the bag. You find it easily.”

What you get and what happens to your character is based on two things. An algorithm for luck, and interaction with the other people playing the game that also effects your outcome.

As you complete missions like ‘Covert Ops’ it gives you cash that you can use to shop for better weapons and armor. To make more money you can ‘gamble’ in the casino, play the stock market or work a job. There are limits in place for how many times a day that you can do those. An ambitious agent can do all of it, and what’s more the game is PvP. Your character can be attacked, or pickpocketed. You can even be attacked when you are not online. That seems a little dirty and back-stabby. There is an active and vocal community that chats via a shoutbox and forums.

Items are sold in game by a player driven economy. Those items and action Points needed for conducting missions, go for steep amounts of game currency. It’s more ‘expensive’ than even Lineage II. That expense is in time and patience to accumulate the game money. Over time your stats will increase giving you the opportunities to play more missions in the game or you can use real money to buff up.

The financial options with Spybattle are equally covert, and ads are not all in your face like most free to play games are. You can become a Special Agent for 30 Days with an Upgrade to a paid player account for $4.50 using Paypal. The game is reasonable considering downloadable games of the same type are charging anywhere from 10-20 US

You plot your strategy to become the baddest ass agent. The setting is espionage, and playing can be absorbing. It would make a good lunch hour game. The game would work on the desktop fine if you have the kind of job where you are waiting for phone calls to come in, you can park it and leave it at any point. But beware that it’s in real time. So things can happen while your back is turned. Those naughty spies, what would you expect?

This looks like a guy game. The colors and the jargon around the chat seems like they aren’t expecting any women around. Not just yet anyways. There isn’t a female avatar – it’s text based so actually no one has an avatar. I’d like to see the option for gender choice and have that added into the clever story line. Also perhaps in the future they will put in more graphics such as character icons, pictures of the weapons and other items.

The good news is that it functions perfectly. I used Firefox 3. There is no download and no initial expense to play. Browser games are good on older computers, if you haven’t gotten around to getting a new one as many people haven’t lately then here’s an engrossing, low key game to waste some time on. I give Spy Battle 2165 PC a shaken,  not stirred martini 7 olives out of 10.