Stuntman: Ignition isn't an average racer. When you're performing spectacular action sequences for a major film studio, hitting your marks is more important than crossing the finish line and style is more important than speed. This unique emphasis doesn't just affect the single player campaign (see here and here for impressions). It transforms the multiplayer, too.
The game offers four modes of competition for up to eight players. The first, Movie Challenge, is the most straightforward.
Video games are a cornucopia of entertainment options, but you know what's been missing? Another aggravating yet addictive title that makes you want to throw your controller at a puppy's cute face, take a whiz on your console, then keep on playing. Not since the first Stuntman in 2002 have we felt that combo of rage and determination, but with its sequel on the way, now would be a good time to start poppin' Prozacs.
Stuntman: Ignition puts you in the shoes of a virtual Burt Reynolds, circa
No matter what the DVD, as long as it contains some sort of manly action sequence, the first thing everybody hurriedly goes for in the Extra Features section is the bit that shows how amazing stunts were pulled off. No one cares whether the director felt a red lens filter added to a particular scene; what really matters is just how close the stuntman who flung himself and his car over a 200-foot cliff came to grim death.
When Stuntman was released over five years ago on PS2, there was a
Stuntman: Ignition is many different games in one. As a daredevil driver hired to perform outrageous, but spot-on maneuvers for the movies, you'll be tasked with racing through six diverse film sets. One can put you in a pickup truck and have you slaloming around plummeting chunks of volcanic lava for a disaster flick, while the next might stick you in a muscle car and have you crashing through downtown storefront windows for an action blockbuster.
You're gunning through the steep and winding streets of San Francisco. With a white-knuckle death grip on the steering wheel of your 1970s-style muscle car, you see the focus of your pursuit - a couple of criminal lowlifes in a beat up sedan - swerve unexpectedly and escape down a side alley. But you'll get to them later. First, you've got to smash through a glass window pane and launch yourself into the air off a conveniently placed wooden ramp.
See, you're not the hero in Stuntman:
