It is an interesting game. I rented it and have managed to make it within 6 or 7 stunt runs from the end (I think there are maybe 35ish total “missions”). You get to do some neat stunts like jumping through a boxcar on a moving train, a corkscrew jump, and driving through the interiors of several buildings. The game is broken down into several movies you do stunt runs for and many of the films are based loosely on things like Raiders of the Lost Ark, James Bond movies, and the Dukes of Hazzard. And when you finish the set of stunt runs (4-5 per movie) you get to see a trailer of the film with your stunts spliced in. That is very cool.
The bad side is the control of the cars is a bit loose so handling is not as precise as I would like it. The graphics are grainy as well. The environments are detailed but overall you get a lot of aliasing and the framerates can dip quite a bit in spots. One final problem is you have to repeat runs until you get them right (you have room for some error) to procede. It seemed like sometimes I would hit the final ramp or whatever just right yet wouldn’t be able to land where I wanted to and therefore have to redo the run.
Still overall I like it and would recommend it if the subject matter interests you.
I rented it awhile back and found it to be one of those games that is really tough to say whether I liked it or not.
The premise is great. The basic gameplay is fun, mainly because the physics are well-executed. I too thought the controls could be tough, but I got better as I went along.
So at first I really enjoyed it. Then I realized how freaking hard it was. Not just because the controls were loose, but because of how long each mission is. Getting everything right in a scene took forever, even once you could reliably get any one stunt down.
What ultimately makes me wishy-washy on the game is the trial-and-error gameplay. It seems the obvious way to structure a game with that premise, and I don’t think it would be so frustrating if it weren’t so damn hard. I got to the last scene of the Dukes of Hazardy movie and really really wanted to see the other films, but I just couldn’t cut it. I had fun on a scene about the first ten or fifteen times I tried it. And honestly, that’s way more than I expected to be able to tolerate, which is a complement for the game. But spending almost two days of play trying to get past a scene just ain’t right.
I’m not a big driving game guy, but Stuntman had an appealing subject and a new slant that I really could have enjoyed. I’m going to give Smuggler’s Run 2 a try, considering Tom’s praise of it…
Yeah, there was one scene I must have driven 30+ times to get it right. I had to take breaks and play other things to get away from particularly tough scenes. This is an issue with a lot of console games and even some PC games but it can definitely get frustrating. Especially when you nail the scene and hit that last ramp but somehow you flip despite the fact you know you lined it up right.
I’m not a big driving game guy, but Stuntman had an appealing subject and a new slant that I really could have enjoyed. I’m going to give Smuggler’s Run 2 a try, considering Tom’s praise of it…
I have Smuggler’s Run 2 and it is definitely fun. It gets to the point of repetition too but further along than Stunman. I like how you drive at breakneck speeds over very nice looking landscapes. Multiplayer can be fun as well.
I’ve shied away from Stuntman because of the difficulty level and repitition you guys have talked about. I guess I like my drivers more wild and loose. Hence Smuggler’s Run. BTW, here’s another recommendation for multiplayer. As Xaroc mentioned, the single player missions can get repetitive after a while, but I don’t think play against bots (who work in teams even!) ever gets old.
However, I am tempted to try Stuntman just because I’m a fan of car physics and I’m curious how the Driver guys did it this time. I’ve been going back and fooling around with Project Gotham Racing lately (multiplayer races for kudos are a nice alternatively to ‘drive as fast as you can or lose’). I like the handling in that game. I’m guessing Stuntman is a similarly interesting alternative to ‘drive as fast as you can or lose’.
It is definitely a different set of driving skills. You still have to drive fairly fast but you also have to perform precision driving manuevers. Part of the repitition comes from learning the scene the other part comes from figuring out timing and just some randomness and the controls.
I liked Driver, I wish the cars in Stunman handled like that. I could throw those cars around with abandon. I can handle the Stunman cars (you drive a wide variety) but they aren’t easily tossable like Driver or MSR (the spiritual predecessor to Project Gotham).
Anyway Stuntman is probably worth a rental. I will probably finish the main career mode before I return it next weekend. It keeps pulling me along somehow despite the issues.
The game could have been great, but it just pisses you off. Stunts are supposed to be precise exercises. Yet in the game you have no idea what the layout of the stunt is going in. It’s all trial and error, something a real stuntman wouldn’t have to deal with. Even if you knew what you had to do in detail beforehand, most of the stunts are so hard it’d take awhile to complete a stunt. There’s no reason we couldn’t get a layout of the course to see what to do rather than revealing it every excruciating step of the way.
A guy I work with, no lie, couldn’t even complete ONE stunt. He had the game for five days before giving it to me to try it out. He rented it, thankfully. I got through the first two films and while I can’t say I didn’t like it, the game has some rough edges. The stunt setup and the high difficulty being the most egregious. It’s most certainly a rental title.
Is this a British game? My general impression is that British developers always make their games extra-double-hard. Or maybe it’s a conversion, and they simply dropped the difficulty selection. Happened with the Euro version of Rogue Leader for the GameCube, and it’s damn near unplayable as a result. :(
Yeah, it’s British. Reflections is the developer (Driver, Destruction Derby). It’s like UK developers want to make the toughest games the world has ever seen and gain a rep for it or something. Throughout console gaming history, UK games have typically been tough as nails and this one certainly continues the trend.
As a followup I made it to the last movie then was close to snapping my controller in half after repeating the first scene at least 50 times. For 6 bucks it is interesting enough for a rental but it will suck the life out of you over time.
