Stuntman

Super Street Game Reviews

Console: PlayStation2
Publisher: Infrogames
Genre: Racing
Hot: You get to actually be a stunt driver!, replays
Not: Low framerate
Score:

Stuntman puts you in the driving shoes of a world-famous stunt driver that's been hired to wreck shop behind the wheel of several different types of vehicles for a big-time film production company. This game puts you in exotic locations all around the world, from Italy and Bangkok to the Deep South (Now that's exotic.-JN). You drive cars ranging from Skylines to three-wheeled TukTuks.

The object of the game is to follow the director's commands, complete the film sequences as completely as possible within the allotted time, and make loads of mulah while you're at it. Basically, you have to make sure you "hit your marks" so that the cameras can capture the scenes properly so that the other stunts that are going on at the same time will be synchronized. You have to do 180-degree handbrake slides, break through boxes and walls and jump over other vehicles all with the right timing or the director will yell at you and make you do it again.

The game looks great and is very challenging, maybe too challenging for those who get frustrated easily. The game doesn't give you a "run through" so you can see exactly what you have to do beforehand, so it may take you seven or eight tries just to get halfway through a scene. In addition, the vehicles are a little floaty and not as crisp handling as, say, the cars in GT3, so it does take some getting used to before you get the hang of it. The framerate is a little lower than what you would expect from the PS2 but due to the amount of information being processed on the screen at once I wouldn't blame my Sony box for a little slowdown. All in all, if you have a couple of weeks to dedicate every waking moment to a game then this would be the one to do it with.