Stuntman Ignition gives you the chance to get behind the wheel as a movie stuntman, working your way through explosive scenes, following stunt directions and accumulating points. It’s highly addictive, and very easy to pick up and play, with gameplay to suit both the casual and hardcore gamer.

Those who remember the original Stuntman game from Atari may well conjure up images of overly tough levels that were almost impossible to beat. This was the game’s downfall and even the odd hardened gamer found that there was no fun to be had and gave up.

THQ took this on board when it began working with Paradigm towards ‘Ignition, and instead made the game very simple to just ‘have a go at’. But they didn’t forget about the hardcore gamers either though, as this title also offers the chance for top gamers to rack up amazingly high scores and challenge their friends and fellow worldwide gamers to beat them!

Considering the toughness of the original game, it really didn’t give much room for error. One mistake and you’d have to do the whole level again. But THQ has learnt from Atari’s mistakes, and this time round ‘Ignition has a much more lenient ‘strike’ system. With each level or ‘scene’ you attempt, you are allowed to miss up to five of the directors stunt instructions before they call for a re-shoot, with a red cross equalling a strike out every time you mess something up.

You also don’t have to 100% each scene in order for the next to open up. This way when a level gets too tough, you can just move on to something else and come back to that one when you’re feeling brave.

Featuring six different genres of movies to work through, each with six levels to complete, you play a rookie stunt driver who works his way up the career ladder with each film and side job you take; as there is also the odd commercial you can also take on. The basics of the game are to go through each level following the director’s instructions and getting stunts like jumps, close calls and handbrake turns to progress to further scenes or new films.  

This is enough for the casual gamer, but for the more advanced out there, you can link or as the game says ‘string’  - similarly to the Tony Hawks series of linking moves - stunts together at three or four second intervals to get a stunt multiplier and a real high score to beat. The easiest way to do this is to string the director’s stunts together with other manoeuvres like doing jumps, drifting round corners and getting close to objects or squeezing through tight gaps.

This kind of gameplay makes it great fun just to have a quick whiz through a level, but also creates a top reply appeal, as you can always come back to try and beat a top score; get a few extra stunts in and find new ways to rack up points etc.  It can therefore be hugely addictive but also aggravating in a throwing the pad across the room kind of way, but we bet you’ll still find yourself picking it back up and having another go!

But that’s not all. The variety ‘Ignition offers also adds to its appeal. The movies vary from Aftershock’s volcanic disaster movie theme  and Overdrive’s San Fran set cop thriller to Never Kill Me Again’s Bond theme and Night Avenger’s comic book hero genre, meaning you’ve got a great selection of films to pick from as you progress. Add to that the selection of vehicles you will get to drive; from sports cars and motorbikes to hovercrafts and even futuristic sci-fi cars, and you can begin to see why this game is a corker.

Plus, everything we’ve told you about so far comes from the single player side of the game. There’s even more variety and fun to be had in the multiplayer mode, where you’ve got a nice selection of Eight-player online races to choose from. Either simply race to the end, or play for stunt points in battle. They take place on the same tracks and both feature nitro boosts, but entail totally different strategies. Racing is more straightforward, while battles require you to be wary of director objectives and take advantage of string-stealing tactics to rob your opponent of points. It’s harsh, but we love it.

All in all, ‘Ignition is a corker of a game, and a breath of fresh air to the driving genre. Its fun but yet still challenging, and appeals to all types of gamer. And for that, we applaud it!

Verdict

A cracking driving game that you can play for fifteen minutes or settle in for the day. Addictive to the extreme, you’ll want to beat your score, your friends, and that git that somehow got into the global top ten with an insane score – how the hell did he do it?!

Fresh, fun and perfectly balanced with its difficulty and variety, this is the kind of game that will appeal to every type of gamer. Bring on the scoreboard baby!

8/10