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Released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, the original Stuntman was a great concept that, for me anyway, proved far too challenging to be fun. Perfection was demanded, and extreme specificity was required for progress. It took all the fun out of controlling a car in a video game, which I imagine is how movie stunt drivers probably really feel after the fifth take of the same sequence, so in that way maybe it was a perfect simulation of the stunt driving experience.
But I have always remained enamored with the fun concept. Who wouldn’t want to drive a stunt car in a Hollywood movie without the need to sign personal injury waivers and the danger of bodily harm?
I played through four levels of Stuntman: Hollywood at Gamescom, including, perhaps most notably, the recently announced Jurassic World level. The team building the game at Saber Interactive, I believe, took away the same opinion I had back in 2002: if this game were more forgiving, it would be a lot more fun. That isn’t to say Stuntman: Hollywood is a total breeze. With the exception of the opening tutorial level, I had to retry each level at least once, but the challenge doesn’t feel as insurmountable as it did 24 years ago. Perfection is encouraged but not demanded, and specificity is only required in certain places.
In practice, the game almost feels like a slowed-down rhythm game crossed with Simon Says. As you’re driving through the sets – perhaps the biggest sets ever constructed for any movie ever – a director shouts instructions in your ear: drift here, get close to that obstacle there, hit that ramp, drive through that other obstacle there. Along with the director’s voice, there are also plenty of on-screen indicators directing you where to go and telling you what to do. The first run through a level is frantic as you try to quickly respond to every directive, and it can be overwhelming, but there is a joy to being successful, and I maybe had the most fun replaying a level after completing it at least once.
I played two levels that drove me through cities, one where I was trying to escape a collapsing factory during an earthquake, and finally the Jurassic World level. In that level, I drove a motorcycle away from an angry volcano while dinosaurs ran beside me, ramp-jumping over an angry Tyrannosaurus rex and sliding under the occasional obstacle. I haven’t been on many movie sets, but I can confirm from visiting the film set of Detective Pikachu that the animated monsters are not usually there when filming. My understanding is that they’re usually added later in something called “post”. But what do I know, and who cares? I would rather have the dinosaurs there to race with me and jump over, accuracy be damned.
Despite all the bombastic action happening on screen, one of the most notable elements of the Jurassic World level was the fast-paced, percussive remix of the classic Jurassic Park theme. It was bizarre, and you would never catch me listening to it outside of the game, but in context the absurd arrangement worked pretty well.
My big takeaway from Stuntman: Hollywood is that the two-decade-old video game concept might have finally found its footing. For those who want to pull off an undeniable take and nail every moment perfectly, I believe that still exists here. But for those like me who just want to participate in an admittedly hyperbolic simulation of being a stunt driver on a movie set, Stuntman: Hollywood is the most welcoming version of the experience the franchise has offered to date.
