The first "Spy Hunter" video game was released in 1983 and was played by many a Gen-x arcade brat. Notably, "Spy Hunter" had licensed Henry Mancini's theme for "Peter Gunn," and the digital rendition burned its way into the brains of the people who played it. In "Spy Hunter," you controlled a high-tech white spy car. It was equipped with guns and weapons, allowing it to sail down an endless highway, shooting and destroying enemy vehicles. One played the game by wielding a trigger-encrusted steering wheel. If you shot an innocent bystander, you were penalized for a few seconds.

The 1983 cabinet launched a miniature gaming franchise that included a "Spy Hunter" pinball machine, which was ported over to ColecoVision and the Nintendo Entertainment System. "Spy Hunter II" hit arcades in 1987, while an updated reboot version of the game was made for PlayStation 2 and the GameCube (and other systems) in 2001. Eventually,...