Stuntman (PS2 Review)

Throughout my gaming life, I have only broken one controller due to frustration. It was during my umpteenth attempt at completing the final mission in the original Driver. Just as I could see the opening of the garage, I was hit from behind by one of the bad guys and slammed into the far edge of the door. Eventually, I was pummeled to death as I tried to get inside by the swarm of evil cars that came out of nowhere. After screaming a string of “colorful metaphors,” the controller hit the floor with every once of strength I could muster. Pieces of plastic went flying all over the house. Sometimes I still come across a bit of controller when doing some cleaning. After a trip to Wal-Mart for a new DualShock, I finally completed that mission after 72 hours of gameplay and I still have that replay saved on a memory card. Now Reflections, the company that brought Driver to life, has come up with a next generation game that will stir your soul with that same love-hate relationship. Strap on your crash helmet and step into your firesuit. You no longer are the Wheelman, you are a Stuntman.

Let me start off by saying that you should not play this game if you have had a bad day and are looking to release a bit of stress. Well, at least you shouldn’t attempt to progress through the Career Mode. However, the Stunt Arena is the perfect place to let off a little steam. Stuntman truly combines the Yin and the Yang of gameplay to encompass something for every gamer. 

In the Career Mode, you begin as a fledgling stuntman looking to break into the Silver Screen. Your new job takes you London to work on a British gangster film. Your pay is meager and the film takes are relatively easy to get you warmed up for the tougher challenges that are yet to come. You only have to pull off eight perfect gags in the first take compared to the twenty plus stunts in later films. There are six different films that you get to work on, each having three to five different levels. Some of these include a Dukes of Hazzard knockoff, a Raiders of the Lost Ark wannabe and a James Bondish flick. The better your performance is, the better the rewards. As you complete takes in the movies, you receive unlockables to be used in the Stunt Arena portion of the game.

The stunts that you are asked to pull off in the career mode are brilliant and were designed with the help of a true legend, Vic Armstrong. For those of you who are not up on reading the credits at the end of action movies, he has done work in classics like Blade Runner, Return of the Jedi, Terminator 2, Dune and An American Werewolf in London. The game also re-creates some of history’s greatest gags including the famous falling smokestack scene from the stuntman movie Hooper. When you get everything just right you are treated to a replay of your work that is just as good as watching the car chase in Bullitt.

Probably the biggest obstacle to quickly completing your assignments is the fact that the game really gives you no advance warning of what the director wants you to do until you are in the middle of doing it. Combine this with a very short timer that is constantly running, and you will most definitely become very familiar with the “Try Again” option. Nevertheless, if you have that “If at first you don’t succeed” attitude you eventually will go far in the business.

The other half of the game concerns the arena. It is here that you can use the obstacles, cars, ramps and burning hoops that you have acquired. This is basically a create-a-park that allows you to just have fun. You are free to run as many times through the courses you design until you demolish your car of choice. Reflections has done a great job with the realistic car damage. As you put your ride through the paces, you actually get to see pieces and parts fly off your vehicle. It gets very challenging to complete stunts after you lose a wheel or two, however there is nothing stopping you from resetting the park and doing it all over again. 

Reflections gives us another quality presentation with Stuntman. Cut scenes and in-game graphics are exceptionally sharp with no popup or clipping to distract you from your tasks. Unlike Driver 2, the motion of the game remains constant without the slowdown that was the downfall of the previous game. On the downside, the loading times of the many cut scenes, and even for the movie retries, are very lengthy and happen often. Some of the FMV are very short. In some instances, you spend more time looking at the loading screen than watching the results. What would have been nice for Reflections to offer would be a way to skip these in-game movies to keep the pace of the game flowing. Alas, this is not the case.

The audio for the game is crystal clear. Sound effects match up with the on screen action and there is no delay between hitting a box or hearing it crush underneath your wheels. The director’s voice can be clearly heard over the in-game action. All of the voice-over work in the game is top notch. Reflections should really give their audio people a raise because they have earned it with this game.

A nice addition to the game is all of the DVD extras. There is a making of video for Stuntman, an interview with Vic Armstrong, the TV spots for the game and a coming attractions selection that includes a trailer for Driver 3. While this may not seem to be too impressive, it’s a nice touch that is appreciated by the more serious gamer.

Stuntman is a game like no other available for the PlayStation 2. While it is very possible that the difficulty of the game may result in a broken controller or two, the glowing feeling of victory that is felt when you complete a take is worth the test of your patience. Honestly, how many games have you played that when you finish a level you go and wake up your significant other so that they can watch the replay at three in the morning? This game is one of the few that can create such a vigorous love-hate relationship with the player. The dedicated gamer will curse up a storm as they retry take after take until getting the assignment correct. After the replay is complete, you get to relish in the glow of victory for a short while, then are driven to do it all over again as you take on the next job. Give this one a try, even if it’s simply to test the limits of your patience.

Difficulty: 4

Control: 7

Audio: 9

Visuals: 8

Replayability: 9

Overall: 7.6