Jackie Chan: Stuntmaster

"Midway/Radical pull no 'stunts' with Stuntmaster"

Visuals: 8/10

This is the best looking action fighter on the PSX in my humble opinion. The texture work is superb, and unusually (for the psx) not grainy. The character models are a little blocky, and the GUI leaves a little to be desired in the looks department, though. Let me say this again, the textures are VERY nice. Very nice lighting as well, the game thoroughly impressed me.

Jackie mo-capped all the moves, too, and they look remarkably well done. Everything moves fluidly and runs at a healthy 30 frames. Also many different moves add to the visual flair of the game.

Sound: 8/10

Jackie once again lent his voice acting to the game, so you can be assured, your ears will be pleasently pleased if you like Jackie's voice. Punches sound a little awkward at times (they sound something like holding a pillow to someones chest, then punching it), but overall the sound quality is very good. The enemies spout phrases here and there, as does Jackie. Also, if you let Jackie idle, he starts to hum and sing. Pretty nice :)

Gameplay: 8/10

Stuntmaster is easily the king of beat-em-ups on the psx. Fighting Force and Gekido can't lay a finger on the depth of this game. There are a ton of moves, such as running on walls and kicking from it, tumbling, flipping, weapon use, throws, kicks, punches, and tons of combos. You can also charge your punches and kicks to render enemies stunned for a few seconds.
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Level design keeps things interesting and varied. As with any beat-em-up this is necessary to keep tedium down, and stuntmaster doesn't fail in this department.
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Also, there are red masks hidden through every level, if you find all of them on the level, you recieve a golden mask. If you get all the golden masks, you open up a secret. I wont reveal it here, but if you're curious, just check out one of the faqs on here.

Story: NR

I decided not to rate the story in this game, since beat-em-ups don't really require a very good one, atleast in my opinion. It's the typical Jackie role, save a family member/love interest by beating up countless baddies, bla bla bla.. Wash-rinse-repeat.

Overall: 8/10

This game screams fun (and sometimes tedium, as do all beat-em-ups). From visuals, to sound to gameplay, the game is above average in just about every category. A good game, a fun game.. Give it a try.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/30/03, Updated 06/30/03