Stuntman

"Reflections spent too much time trying not to screw up, and too little time trying to make a good game."

Stuntman should be re-named to ''Unrealized Potential Extravaganza.'' The game could have been so cool; instead, some brutal flaws end up dragging the game down to a status of strictly average.

In Stuntman, you play the role of a stuntman (duh) who is hired to work for increasingly larger budget movies. Each movie is composed of at least three scenes, with each scene requiring you to do a set of stunts to advance. Aside from the basic Career mode, the game also features a Stunt Constructor, the coolest thing this game has to offer (but not without flaws), and a set of driving games, the most pointless thing this game has to offer. Conceptually, this game is perfect! Who wouldn't want to be a daredevil stuntman, flying through the air, crashing into cars, slamming through a wall with the assistance of a timed explosion - let's face it, Reflections picked the ultimate topic to make a game about. However, they realized how much they could screw this up, and it appears that Reflections did only enough to ensure that they wouldn't mess up - nothing more. What you are left with is a game that is fun to play, but, with a little more time and effort, it could have been so much more.

The graphics are no big achievement, but certain parts (i.e. the landscapes and backgrounds) are enough to warrant a second look. The vehicles that you'll drive are, for the most part, unique and nicely modeled. The environments in which you'll be driving those vehicles...now THERE's a graphical achievement! From the deep south of the U.S. to the snow-capped peaks of the Alps, each location is packed with variety and uniqueness. You'll have a great time driving through these landscapes...which leads me to wonder, WHY is there no ''Free Roam'' option?! Being able to drive through those detailed and well-crafted environments would have been a real pleasure - how that fact escaped Reflections is beyond me. Just one example of the potential this game didn't live up to.

Another gripe I had with the graphics was the replay system. The replays look fine in Career mode, because the camera is placed in a predetermined location for maximum excitement. However, in the Stunt Constructor, the place where you'll be pulling your coolest stunts, you're stuck with an Auto-Camera that oftentimes leaves you with a great view of your vehicle's rear end during your insane 140 foot jump. The auto-camera is full of useless views like these - who wants a reverse view when you're plowing through crates and jumping ramps?

Control-wise, the game is above average. If you've ever played a driving game before, you'll pick up and learn Stuntman's controls with ease. The vehicles respond well, even though they are a little too slide-prone. Also, it seems that the analog acceleration is a little insensitive - you have to press the X button quite hard to get your vehicle to go full throttle. Stuntman's controls do nothing to detract from the overall gameplay - and when you're flying down the road/path/alley at high speeds, it's good to know your steering wheel works.

While it may be extremely fun to drive your stunt car through the exotic locales (and pull off stunts while doing so), it is definitely NOT fun to do so while listening to the horrid in-game music. Don't get me wrong, the music is decent the first few times you listen to it, but when you fail the scene repeatedly (and fail repeatedly you will), the music becomes repetitive to the point of muting the TV in an effort to reclaim your sanity. Each of the six locations has its own music track; add the one particularly awful song for the Stunt Constructor, and you're stuck with seven bland, repetitive songs you'll be hearing your entire gameplay experience.

As if the awful soundtrack wasn't enough to make you want to pull out your hair while grinding your controller into the wall, Reflections implemented a Career mode. ''What's wrong with a Career mode,'' you ask? Each movie is split into scenes, and each scene requires a near-perfect completion to advance to the next scene. To complete a scene, you've got to pay attention to the director (which can only be done by listening - looks like you can't mute the music after all) and following his orders that he belts out at the last second before the actual stunt. While that may not seem too bad, let me tell you one thing - you are virtually guaranteed to fail every scene at least once. The frustration and sheer madness that results from having this game make you its ***** repeatedly is beyond comprehension. Those who have played can relate - and you'll be able to tell those who haven't played apart from those who have. Stuntman players are the ones walking around, bald, with bunches of hair in each fist.

The Stunt Constructor offers the player a chance to relieve his unfathomable frustration by performing stunts of his creation. Initially, hardly anything is unlocked - a whopping one car and a bare few objects. However, upon completion of scenes, cars and objects will be awarded depending upon performance. When you fully complete Career mode, you'll have a large number of vehicles to choose from, and many, many objects. Almost too many. You see, the Stunt Arena has a limit to the number of objects it can hold...so, basically, when you unlock everything, you can use about a tenth of it in the arena. This doesn't limit your abilities as much as you think it would - you just can't do as much stuff at once. It's still an unnecessary annoyance - and yet another example of where the game could have been better.

If you can weather the minor annoyances and the major frustration, you'll find a solid title in Stuntman. Just remember three things - don't expect too much, don't let the frustration drive you to injuring a loved one, and, if all else fails, remember than you can find the ''Unlock Everything'' code here at GameFAQs.com :)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/07/02, Updated 07/07/02