The pen is mightier than the sword, and although that cliche has lost some meaning in an age of keyboards and text messages, the pen remains as ubiquitous in our society still, and as long as people carry pens, spies will have use for spy pens!

Another toy in the Spy Gear Line, the Agent Tool Kit 6-in-1 Spy Pen offers a variety of useful secrets for your budding Bond.

First off, yes, it is a real, working pen. While that may seem like an odd feature to mention, many a spy has been caught when called on to prove his pen really wrote, so this basic functionality will help keep your pen's hidden features a secret ("Spy Gear" logo notwithstanding). This also makes it useful for jotting down those secrets obtained from Dr. No. (Oddly enough, that it actually writes is my 6-year-old's favorite feature.)

When removed from the included case (which I personally have trouble doing, but the kids have no such problems--gotta love adult-proof toys), the pen acts as a key to unlock the rest of the case, revealing the real power of the pen: its attachments.

Spies have to work in the shadows, so it's handy to have a flashlight. Pop on the small attachment to get a "pen light" for nighttime skulking (my other kids' favorite feature), and since pens are difficult to use in the dark, a J-shaped light tube turns the light around to shine on your writing surface.

Of use more for the imagination than practical value--which is what this toy is about, after all--is a scope that mounts on the pen and adjusts for focus, slightly magnifying the target image. My kids had no problem focusing it and enjoy looking through its red lens the same way an empty paper towel roll captures a child's imagination.

But before you can spy out your quarry, you need to know he's near. Attach the Motion Alarm to be alerted of any movement in front of it. The round shape allows the pen to be aimed straight ahead or at an upward angle.

The pen takes 2 "AAA" batteries, which power all of the attachments when connected, so you don't need separate batteries for each.

This little collection of gadgets appealed to all of our little agents and offers a large collection of creative play ideas.