The Stuntman video games aren’t immensely popular, but they were moderate successes. In 2002, Reflections Interactive, who also created the Driver video game series, released the first Stuntman game on the Playstation 2. The game put a new twist on the car racing genre. As you would assume, instead of racing other cars, you would be a Hollywood stuntman and you would be using your driving skills to race through an obstacle course as exciting sequences happen around you. The course would be timed and your goal is to hit marks, jump ramps, activate explosions, knock over sets, etc. etc.
The game, in essence, was repetitive, but damn it was still entertaining. You would be doing stunts on a handful of movies in action subgenres. There was a Guy Ritchie gangster movie where you’re racing through London, a Dukes of Hazzard-type movie where you’re in the countryside, an John Woo-type action movie in Bangkok, a Tom Clancy-esque spy thriller and an Indiana Jones-type of adventure film. Each movie would have multiple tracks that are action sequences and you could kind of follow along in where the story was going according to these sequences. When you finish all the sequences in a movie, you’re treated to a trailer of the film that features the very clips of the stunts you did. You’d even be able to see some of the nuances in your performance on the tracks.
Here’s the thing about the first Stuntman: it was one of the most fun games I’ve played and it was also one of the most anger-inducing games I’ve ever played in my life. Stuntman engages you so much with its gameplay and is so unforgiving when it comes to its timing and checkpoints that if you miss certain beats, you will fail. There are tons of gamers who get enraged by video games (whether it be sports or first-person-shooters or platformers or whatever) and they would rage quit or send them into fits. I don’t generally get angry with video games, even when something incredibly dramatic happens with a heartbreaking loss. At most, I would get angry and quit, then calm down within seconds. Stuntman was the only game to make me so angry that I would start to hit or kick furniture around me. And I’m talking about hitting it hard and screaming in rage (Hey, I was a dumb teen).
2007 saw the follow-up, Stuntman: Ignition. It came out on the Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 and featured pretty much the same kind of gameplay. Thankfully, this sequel was not as relentless as the first game, so it retained its fun without angering you as much. With the next gen consoles came better graphics and better integration of your stunts in the trailers. In this game, you got to play in a James Bond-type movie, a Dante’s Peak-type disaster movie, another Dukes of Hazzard movie, a military action movie, a 70s Bullitt-type movie and a Batman-like superhero film.
The next entry was finally announced at the Playstation State of Play broadcast this past June and not only will it be taking full advantage of the advanced technology in this current wave of consoles, but Saber Interactive, who is making the game, has the benefit of partnering up with Universal and has a bunch of their properties in the game, which makes it so exciting and one of my highly anticipated games of the year (of course, under GTA VI). The launch trailer shows off tracks from The Fast and the Furious (though they should really have the whole series to work with), Back to the Future, Miami Vice, Jurassic World, Knight Rider and more!
The first game was pretty notorious for its difficulty, which is why Ignition eased up on the gas a bit. It stands to reason that this upcoming game will not be as difficult as that first game, but if it retains the fun, racing in tracks from your favorite Universal films is an amazing prospect and I can’t wait! They have yet to announce its release date, but it cannot get here fast enough!