The excited voice of the Director in your ear, you turn the throttle up full bore, pull a wheelie before sideswiping a car, stray close to an explosion and then hit a jump, revelling in the slow motion wide shot as you make the soft landing and the Director whooping in your ear - you've just completed the shot he needs.
Welcome to Stuntman Ignition, the sequel to the overlooked and frustrating Stuntman of 5 years before. With a new developer and publisher, and new hardware to work on, Stuntman Ignition is a reimagining of Stuntman which, while still frustrating and an excercise in patience, is far more forgiving and has far more exciting stunts for you to complete.
Over the course of 6 movies with nods to everything from Bullit, Shaft and James Bond, you'll be racing and flying through the air, ducking machine gun fire, smashing through houses, outrunning trains and avoiding explosions everywhere. It's rip-roaring fun, and some of the stunts are purely spectacular, with some lasting several minutes where every one of your senses will be at breaking point.
Of course, following the Director's needs requires a little bit of trial and error, so the forgiving new Star system will allow you to make a few mistakes before a reshoot is ordered. Stringing up combos of stunts will maximise your score, and getting higher scores unlocks new content, such as arena pieces so you can craft your own legendary stunt arena.
While the single player game won't last long, there is some good challenge and some great stunts to try out, and getting 5 stars on each stunt will definitely keep you playing for a while. But also included are other modes, such as a fantastic quick play mode which can mix different stunts together, and even change the conditions, such as the vehicle you're using.
In addition, online play has been added. Up to 8 players can race online, and you are stillr equired to make the most of stunts, whethere it is to make a hard turn or jump a certain area. Not doing so results in a time penalty, which can add up by the end of a race. Online play was fast and smooth, and was great fun, although there are only a few tracks to play on.
Overall, Stuntman Ignition doesn't completely solve the annoyances with the original title, but that does come with the game's ideals. It's a love or hate game that may tear your hair but will excite you. Ignition helps solve many of the problems of the original title, and also happens to be a great game in it's own right. More than worth your time.
