Video Game Vintage Title: Stuntman: Ignition

Stuntman: Ignition

Stuntman: Ignition is the sequel to the video game Stuntman for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 2. On April 3, 2005, it was announced that THQ had acquired the rights to the Stuntman franchise from original publishers Atari. Also announced was that Paradigm Entertainment has developed the game for next-generation platforms. On March 19, 2006, THQ spoke about the game for the first time to Xbox 360 Gamer, who also ran an exclusive preview of the game in issue 16 of the magazine. The Xbox 360 demo was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on July 12, 2007. The PlayStation 3 demo was released on PlayStation Network on September 20, 2007.

Stuntman: Ignition Gameplay

Single-player

The game features six fictional films:

Aftershock (2008 film) is a disaster film in the vein of Dante's Peak and Volcano. This film is set in present-day British Columbia. Directed by Richard Langston. The plot: A volcanic eruption has hit the town. Nobody can stay. The penalty for staying? A flaming car and a flood of lava.

A Whoopin' and a Hollerin' II (2008 film) is a comedy/adventure film in the parody of The Dukes of Hazzard. It is the sequel to the eponymous film from the previous game. This film is set in present-day Tennessee, USA. Directed by Andy Baxter. The plot: The boys must defend their land from the evil sheriff. Hanus from Stuntman also makes an appearance.

Strike Force Omega is an military action thriller film in the vein of The A-Team and Megaforce. It is directed and starred by a former stuntman, Karl Steel, detailing the exploits of the titular force versus mercenaries in a desert military base. This film is set in Kyrgyzstan in the mid-1980s.

Overdrive is a 70s-esque thriller and street crime in the vein of Bullitt and Starsky & Hutch about a bad cop who takes on a ruthless drug lord. It is set in present day San Francisco. The film was rated R. Directed by Robert Rodina.

Never Kill Me Again is a parody of Die Another Day, as well as many James Bond films and is set in the present-day Beijing, China. It is the sequel of Live Twice For Tomorrow which was featured in the first game.

Night Avenger is a parody of Batman and is filmed in the present-day Chicago, IL but takes place in the fictional city of "Darkdom", much like Gotham City from Batman. Directed by Howard Rightman. During the scenes, the Darkdom Police Cars, shown often in the film, are lettered: Police-GPD, Gotham Police Department, instead of Police-DPD, Darkdom Police Department. This is an obvious take from the police cars in Batman Begins. The plot: Night Avenger has to protect Darkdom from Big Top.

Each film has six scenes, the goal being to complete objectives set out by the director in each scene. The way in which you complete tasks are set out a little differently than the first installment. The basic player will be able to drive through all the levels completing all of the director's stunts to progress onto further levels. However more advanced players will try to link or "string" stunts together to increase his/her stunt multiplier. To achieve a high score the player must string the director stunts with other manoeuvres as well such as getting close to objects, drifting around corners or being airborne for example. You are scored for your performance on each stunt sequence, and then assigned a star rating based on that score. Players can earn up to 5 stars if they manage to 'string' an entire scene. Achieving stars also adds this to your 'rank', players use this to see how far they are through the game. The top rank the player can achieve is 'The Greatest'.

New to the Stuntman series is the "strike" system which is more lenient than the scoring system in the original stuntman. A certain number of strikes means the director automatically calls the entire scene to be shot again. 'Easy Mode' can be activated to allow for more strikes (resulting in the player's final score being halved) and regardless of getting all strikes, players can carry on the scene. Also, by completing certain sequences, the player will be nominated for a certain scene in the Taurus World Stunt Awards.

Multiplayer

There is also a multiplayer mode, which features two different race types. Backlot battle focuses on performing as many stunts as possible within a set number of laps, while the backlot race mode is a more straightforward race where you can earn bursts of nitro by doing stunts. There is also a split-screen mode that goes up to four players.

Reception
Stuntman: Ignition received mostly positive reviews, receiving a 76/100 ranking on both GameRankings and Metacritic. The game was mainly criticized on its "trial and error" type gameplay.