005

005 is a 1981 arcade game by Sega, in which the player's mission is to take a briefcase of secret documents to a waiting helicopter. It is one of the first examples of a stealth game. The player controls a spy who must avoid the enemies as he makes his way through buildings and warehouses, where he will have to dodge the enemies' flashlights and use boxes as hiding spots.

Released: 1981
Platforms: Arcade
Genres: Arcade Maze Puzzle Shooter Stealth
Developers: —
Publishers: —
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric Side view
Themes: Action Stealth
Country: Japan
Languages: English

About

005 (pronounced "double-o five") is a 1981 arcade video game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings."

It is one of the first examples of a stealth game, and the first to use a "vision cone" mechanic, which allows players to see the precise field of view of their enemies. 005 is also credited for being the first game to introduce the concept of a "hub world" in games.

Keywords

helicopter
exploration
maze
flight
action-adventure
espionage
hiding
hide and seek
8-bit
explosion
single-screen level
instant kill

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Largely inspired by James Bond (the title itself is a tribute or parody to the secret agent's codename 007), the player's mission is to take a briefcase of secret documents to a waiting helicopter. The player controls a spy who must avoid the enemies as he makes his way through buildings and warehouses, where he will have to dodge the enemies' flashlights and use boxes as hiding spots.

Reception

Upon release, 005 received a positive review from Cash Box magazine. They called it an "exciting new multi-scene computer video spy chase game" with challenging gameplay requiring skill and praised the game's multiple alternate escape routes with challenging obstacles such as enemy patrols and slippery ice. They said it "combines the challenge and thrills of four games in one" along with appealing cartoon-style graphics as well as suspenseful music and sound.