My two favorite forms of media are movies and video games so when the two merge I am always very excited. Sometimes they are disappointing, movies based on video games, and other times even more disappointing, video games based on movies, but every now and then I get to experience a true merging of the two and it comes out good. This is what my initial thoughts were when I heard about the sequel to the original game Stuntman coming to the Xbox 360. Going by the name Stuntman: Ignition developers Paradigm Entertainment made something that will cause joy to fans of the series and severe frustration to newcomers. Basically when playing a Stuntman game the purpose is to complete a scene in an action movie, to the director’s specifications, all the while building up your reputation and scoring better movies. This follow-up sequel is done by a different studio than the original but the basic concept remains intact.
The story of Stuntman: Ignition is very simple, you play an up and coming stuntman looking to break into the movie business. To do that you must complete a series of scenes for which you will be rewarded with better movie parts. In Ignition the stuntman starts off shooting what looks like an exact copy of the classic “Dante’s Peak” and moves forward into a take-off of “The Dukes of Hazzard” minus Jessica Simpson, any James Bond film, and others. Each of the movies has a bit of introduction including meeting the director and getting to know your vehicles, etc. After the stunts are completed you will be treated to a nice Hollywood style trailer which is supposed to show your parts but in reality seems to be just a standard CG movie pre-rendered before you ever popped in the disc. Overall the story of Ignition is pretty basic but still managed to keep me interested throughout the game and had me wondering what blockbuster would come next. In total there are six different movies with six different scenes, not bad for a game of this genre.
This game at it’s core is a racing game, although no actual racing takes place, the entire game is spent inside some sort of vehicle; whether it be a dirt bike, police cruiser, monster truck, or imported race car. Because of this the controls are quite simple and don’t vary at all throughout. As with other racers one button increases your speed, one button brakes, another emergency brakes, and lastly there is an “action” button which is special to the Stuntman series. Pressing this action button will do a number of things depending on the movie the gamer is filming, for example on the “Bond” movie it will shoot missiles, or in the volcano level it causes your vehicle to do a spinning explosion. Levels are completed by passing through the entire scene and only getting a certain number of strikes, depending on the difficulty setting. As the stuntman nothing can be missed so if one car too many is bumped or one window is not crashed through a strike will be given.
The odd thing about Stuntman: Ignition, which makes it different from any other title, is that the entire game is scripted from the moment the disc is booted up. The only variable that changes throughout the entire game is you, the stuntman. Cars will move in the exact same direction, houses will blow up at the exact same time, and players will be required to hit slides at the exact same time over and over again. Gamers can restart a specific level up to five million times and each time the level will play out exactly the same as previously. During the course of a specific scene the stuntman will be asked to perform a variety of different tasks such as shooting police cars, crashing through windows, driving on two wheels, jumping cars, and many others. This is where some bit of variability actually comes into Stuntman: Ignition and causes it to stay out of the boring column. Although boring it is not, repetitive it is. Some levels are so hard that most gamers will spend ten to twenty takes just to make it through with one star to spare. Personally I only got really aggravated a couple of times (out of 36 total scenes) so it wasn’t that big of a gripe, for some others it may be much worse. To get a perfect score on a scene takes an insane amount of precision because you must string together the entire level in one long unbroken stunt. The director will take you through what you need to do before each level but still, some parts of this game are freaking hard.
Ignition is about seven hours total in terms of the single player career but luckily the developers included plenty more action for movie fans. Included in the campaign mode are a series of “odd jobs” that are used to fatten your wallet when on downtime from shooting movies. These include jobs such as performing at a half time show or shooting commercials. Some of the best times I had playing this game were during these little odd job levels (especially the car wax commercial). There is also a level editor included that can make for some pretty exciting and fun stunts, not something that anyone will spend days on but some fun none-the-less. Lastly Stuntman: Ignition includes a multiplayer portion that appears to have been thrown on at the last minute. It features three modes of play but only one is any fun and there are better reasons to spend time on Xbox Live. While the extra features may have been lack luster, the single player campaign was one hell of a fun time and did a great job of making me feel like I was in the movie.
