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Retro|Spective 191: Stuntman

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    Retro|Spective 191: Stuntman




    History in Games:
    2002 - Stuntman
    2003 - Stuntman GBA
    2007 - Stuntman: Ignition

    Overview:
    As we continue our final march we take a look at this short lived series that sits close to QC's heart, the most well known stunt sequence simulator series - Stuntman. Building on the graphical work by Driver series studio Reflections. Each mission sees you attempting to carefully complete a series of driving maneuvers in line with the commands of a film director, your performance scored and successful runs footage spliced into CG sequences to make faux movie trailers. A year later some crazy madman decided the GBA was best suited to a version too which saw the little handheld that could deliver a faithful adaptation based on the impressive work done to bring the Driver series to handheld. Following the success of the original the rights to the series were bought by THQ who set to task on a sequel. The game that followed used the same set up but added a strike system to give more room for error on a run but the impressive visual standard of the original was lost and the game failed to stand out meaning the series ended as abruptly as it had begun.












    Did you love this series action or did the experience make you yell Cut?

    #2
    YES! NEON STUNTMAN IGNITION, YES!

    Comment


      #3
      I can't even remember, have you tried out the original?

      Comment


        #4
        I want to try both the console games out again, I definitely recall the original being the better title though. A lot of that goes hand in hand with Reflections physics model though the game was quite unforgiving.

        What the hell are Ubisoft doing with Reflections these days?

        Comment


          #5
          I've not really been able to get involved in your other threads (didn't have an Xbox etc.), so I'll explain my love for Stuntman on here.

          Maybe it's being raised watching practical stunts and effects in films like James Bond, The Dukes of Hazzard and Knight Rider that have always made me love anything with a good stunt, so the opportunity to be a stuntman was a great lure for me when the game came out.

          I didn't get it straight away as I was still at school, but my mate got it and we played it together.
          It's weird because it's not a very easy game. In the same way some people never progressed past the car park opening challenge in Driver, I think some people didn't persevere with this. Dark Souls isn't for everyone either.

          You have to remember to hit the stunt markers and do a powerslide or squeeze through a gap at the right time, it's not a freeroam because you're making a film and cameras are set up to capture the action. You can't really just carry on as the level has to reset all the cues. Whilst frustrating, this does make a clean run feel great. There is an element of flexibility so you don't need a perfect run to move to the next scene or film.

          "Toothless in Wapping" is a Lock, Stock homage and is relatively easy compared to the latter films. The highlight for me being the Cortina/Escort clone racing around and ending up in a skip like in John Wayne's "Brannigan".


          "A Whoopin' and a Hollerin'" is combination of influences. You're driving a car like Tanner from Driver or Vanishing Point, with a rogue sheriff like J.W. Pepper or Boss Hogg chasing those good ol' boys down with stunts like driving under a falling chimney stack, jumping a broken bridge, driving through a billboard with the sheriff's face on or jumping through a passing train.


          My favourite stunt in this sequence is an homage to the Astro Spiral Loop jump in The Man With The Golden Gun, where you jump a river, but also spin 360 degrees.


          "Blood Oath" is supposed to be like a John Woo film and there's a nice selection of cars and locations in this.
          One of the most fun cars to throw around in the game has to dive down narrow alleys, ducking between cars and doing 180 spins to escape the law.


          The Tuk-tuk sections are really tough as it's so skittery to control, but it's a cross between Moonraker and Tomorrow Never Dies where Bond and Wai Lin jump over a helicopter.


          My favourite scene in this one is where you swerve off the motorway into an office full of startled workers, diving out of the way (note the Driver posters on the wall!).

          Comment


            #6
            I remember playing the demos of both of the main entries (I had no idea about the GBA one!) and enjoying them so much I played them over and over. Why didn't I get either of the full games? I have absolutely no idea.

            I'm enjoying your rundown of the levels QC, and it definitely makes me want to get one going.

            Comment


              #7
              I don't know if it's because of the lateness in the game so they were the sections I played least or they were genuinely harsh in difficulty but I remember the snowmobile being a real difficulty sticking point onward in the original.

              It's one of the reasons I struggled more with Ignition. Whilst the penality system is more forgiving the game itself didn't feel as fair as the original.

              Just checked Wikipedia for the company history - man, Ubisoft has wasted this team

              Comment


                #8
                "Conspiracy" is like a Tom Clancy thriller, with a few early scenes on skidoos, racing through a ski resort, over rooves and through buildings. There's a great bit where you're being chased by Microlites dropping bombs and you jump over one and clip its wing to disable it.


                "The Scarab of Lost Souls" lets you fulfill your Indy or The Mummy stunt dreams.
                The older desert jeeps are a big sluggish to drive, but the motorbike and sidecar sequences are fun as you dodge explosions and ride onto a temple roof.


                The final sequence of the film sees you driving a tank, with a great bit where you shoot at an obelisk and it falls over to become a makeshift ramp to escape your pursuers.


                "Live Twice For Tomorrow" is a romantic comedy. Not really, with a title like that, it has to be a Bond homage!
                The first scene sees your Aston Martinesque car chasing a Ferraree along narrow clifftop roads like Bond chasing Xenia Onatopp in Goldeneye.


                The next sequence sees you driving a Lotus Esprit Turbo lookalike, dodging incoming missiles from a helicopter, just like in The Spy Who Loved me, with a dramatic finale where you take out the choppah with the car.


                There are a couple of scenes where you drive a Fiat 500 and a Merc/BMW that is radio controlled like Tomorrow Never Dies, that are really fun, but by now the game is really throwing it all at you!

                The final sequence in the film and the game sees your bright yellow supercar drifting through the streets of Monaco trying to take out a Stealth jet before it can take off. Let me tell you, gang, this level nearly broke me.
                This bit sees you drive under a lorry (like The Bandit), then jump to the harbour, but you have to jump through two diving boards. Holy smokes.


                After jumping the harbour, driving under yachts being repaired and under more trucks, you climb the harbour wall, dodging helicopter fire and slamming into the stealth jet just as it's about to take off. CUT! That's a wrap!
                Last edited by QualityChimp; 08-06-2021, 11:09.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I'll try and do some more gifs later, but I felt the first game was incredibly punishing, especially in the last level and the odd difficulty spike.

                  I tend to like playing games that urge perfection, so stuff like Guitar Hero, that gives you a sense of achievement when you nail it.
                  It takes a shift to understand, you're not freeroaming the map, you're following a set course and there is wiggle room to pass, you're striving to hit every stunt perfectly.

                  With the sequel, I would say the stunts aren't as memorable as the first game, but the new method of reviewing your scene is a lot more forgiving.

                  Three strikes and you're out, rather than instafail is a lot more user-friendly.
                  So it's easy to complete a scene and move onto the next one.
                  That's not good enough though, you end up wanting to hit every marker, so you play it again.
                  When that's mastered, you can really up your game and start chaining the stunts, where you have a small window to perform another stunt, so aside from the mandatory stunts, you find yourself drifting or doing a near miss to keep the chain going, making the final replay look even more thrilling.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I do miss mid budget stuff like this. I feel like this kind of AA stuff is less plentiful than it used to be. It's brilliant that we have this huge number of games available digitally these days - I remember in the PS2 days, back when Stuntman was contemporary, the bemoaning of the loss of the bedroom coder, and look at things like Stardew Valley today - but I think we do have less of that stuff that isn't quite indie and isn't AAAA.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I keep thinking I've played this (or Ignition) - it seems really familiar, but all I can find in my library even vaguely on this theme is Joe Danger.

                      Was it ever on Games with Gold? I don't get why it's not in my list or a disc kicking about.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Just realised, I can't have played the first one because it was on PS2 only. Must have been Ignition, perhaps at someone else's house.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Stuntman: Ignition is a PS2, PS3 and Xbox 360 game, that's also backwards compatible on the One. A Wii port was cancelled.
                          It was included on Games With Gold on Oct 2018, so you may have it available to try!

                          THQ acquired the rights to the Stuntman franchise from original publishers Atari and original developers Reflections Interactive. Paradigm Entertainment developed the game for next-generation platforms of the time.

                          Wiki:
                          "The player's goal is to complete objectives set out by the director in each scene. The way in which players complete tasks are set out differently from the first installment. The basic player will be able to drive through all the levels completing all of the director's stunts to progress to further levels. However more advanced players will try to link or "string" stunts together to increase their stunt multiplier. To achieve a high score the player must string the director stunts with other manoeuvres as well such as getting close to objects, drifting around corners or being airborne. Players are scored for their performance on each stunt sequence, and then assigned a star rating based on that score. Players can earn up to five stars if they manage to 'string' an entire scene. Achieving stars also adds this to the player's 'rank', which is used to see how far the player has progressed through the game. The top rank the player can achieve is 'The Greatest'.

                          New to the Stuntman series is the "strike" system which is more lenient than the scoring system in the original stuntman. A certain number of strikes means the director automatically calls the entire scene to be shot again. 'Easy Mode' can be activated to allow for more strikes (resulting in the player's final score being halved) and regardless of getting all strikes, players can carry on the scene. Also, by completing certain sequences, the player will be nominated for a certain scene in the Taurus World Stunt Awards."

                          There are 6 films, each broken down into 6 scenes (not including DLC).

                          Aftershock is a disaster film in the vein of Dante's Peak and Volcano. This film is set in present-day British Columbia. Directed by Richard Langston. The plot: A volcanic eruption has hit the town. Nobody can stay. The penalty for staying? A flaming car and a flood of lava.
                          Here's the whole of the final scene, with the whole thing strung together (look how he gets close to things or drifts to maintain the string), then the final trailer. The cars in this handle brilliantly and it's great fun blasting through a multi-storey carpark as it's collapsing.


                          A Whoopin' and a Hollerin' II is a comedy/adventure film parodying The Dukes of Hazzard. It is the sequel to the eponymous film from the previous game. This film is set in present-day Tennessee, USA. Directed by Andy Baxter. The plot: The boys must defend their land from the evil sheriff. Hanus from Stuntman also makes an appearance.
                          More back-heavy muscle car action with some great two wheel sections and jumps. There's also a scrambler bike, bank truck and monster truck to drive in these scenes.


                          Strike Force Omega is a military action thriller film in the vein of The A-Team and Megaforce. It is directed and starred by a former stuntman, Karl Steele, detailing the exploits of the titular force versus mercenaries in a desert military base. This film is set in Kyrgyzstan in the mid-1980s.


                          Overdrive is a 70s-esque thriller and street crime in the vein of Bullitt and Starsky & Hutch about a bad cop who takes on a ruthless drug lord. It is set in present-day San Francisco. The film was rated R. Directed by Robert Rodina.
                          This one's a corker and taps a lot of 70s vibes like Starky and Hutch and Bullit from the San Fran setting. You get to drive a fire engine, Harley and a sweet Tourino clone.


                          Never Kill Me Again is a parody of Die Another Day, as well as many James Bond films and is set in the present-day Beijing, China. It is the sequel of Live Twice For Tomorrow which was featured in the first game.
                          Back to the Bond theme and this has got a great mix of sequences. I particularly like the section on ice, where you're doing these massive drifts and driving through the enemy base. The Die Another Day hovercraft sequence is a fun vehicle to throw into the mix, but the car's the star.


                          Night Avenger is a parody of Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie and is filmed in the present-day Chicago, which is in turn used as the base for the fictional city of "Darkdom", much like Gotham City from Batman. Directed by Howard Rightman.
                          Obviously very gloomy and the scenes with the clown cars aren't as bad as you'd think, but the highlight it the motorbike a Avengermobile sequences.


                          Although I love the first game and some of the set pieces, I'm more likely to replay Ignition, which I did when it came to GwG and I even bought the DLC for more stunt goodness. It's probably because the handling is so good. Obviously there are a few clunky cars, but most of the cars are a joy to drive with great handling, easily thrown around, but without losing control unless it's your fault. The leniency means it's easy to dip into and there's less frustration.
                          Making these gifs have shown the difference between the two games where in Ignition you're spoiled for choice for action scenes to capture as there's always something exploding or a great moment happening.

                          As others have said, it feels like a mid-tier title and as such, it's doing something no other game has tried.
                          Closest are the stunt races in GTA Online and the Hot Wheels DLC tracks in Forza Horizon.
                          I really wish they'd make another Stuntman game.

                          Driver: San Francisco was a very different game, but shared a lot of the handling and the love of automobile stunts, and I'd much rather be flying over a jump than tweaking my suspension or spoiler height and doing 750 laps of the same circuit.

                          Stuntman, you're a scene-stealer!

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I remember this game well!

                            I adored Driver, glossed over Driver 2 but this felt a next generation version of Driver but combined with all the best stunts in Hollywood history. However, when the game came out, it felt rushed and clearly struggled on PS2.

                            This was also the first game that I reviewed on GameStyle! It was a bit embrassing as I handed in a review of a few hundred words and they wanted far more, so back to the drawing board!

                            Overal the game has been forgot about and it's not hard to see why; The concept is to perform complex and inch perfect moves within a time frame but you have no idea nor chance to setup, so it's failure after failure. That wouldn't be so bad but the loading is so bad, it makes the failure far worse. I liked the concept, graphics were good and the control was great, but the negatives were far too great to ignore.

                            Despite the real issues, Driver 3 was a far better game to play and have fun in its sandbox. Well, if you ignored the missions!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I'd love to see someone give it a go again as a concept, maybe someone like Bugbear where I imagine the physics and engine for Wreckfest could be fairly easily repurposed

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