Stuntman Hollywood is on the Verge of Letting You Live Out the Ultimate Hollywood Fantasy

The reveal of Stuntman Hollywood initially brought a wave of emotions for someone like me, who's deeply into car culture and Hollywood blockbusters. Well, that and the fact that I've dabbled heavily in the previous two Stuntman entries on the PS2.

Almost all my friends started shooting out their own theorized takes on what this game could be, but as soon as I saw that rendition of Brian O Conner's Supra in the opening, the white Ferrari Testarossa from Miami Vice, and then K.I.T.T. Knight Rider all in the same back-to-back cuts, I knew exactly what this was going to be. A brand-new Stuntman game meant that every diehard fan of this arcadey treasure trove of a series would finally get what they believed wouldn't be possible anymore.

With that said, when the dust had settled after that reveal, most of my expectations were kept under wraps because, let's be real, I wasn't really sure how a modernized entry would work. That and the fact that I have a hard time trusting modern remakes or iterations of any media or product. Could you blame me?

But hey, this is a Stuntman game after all—how could someone honestly mess up the fun factor that made this series an absolute gem? DualShockers was able to get a small taste of what's in store at Summer Game Fest, and Saber Interactive might just have something special here.

Creating Blockbusters One Stunt at a Time

The core gameplay loop of the Stuntman games has always been simple, yet in the grand scheme of things, if you're aiming for the full ratings, then you'll need to properly master the course, the vehicle you're using, as well as memorize all the keynotes/instructions that the scene's director or choreographer is cramming in your earpiece.

That's the beauty of this series: almost anyone can pick it up and play it for fun without needing to push themselves beyond their comfort zone. It's also because it is tailor-made to put you in a comfort zone, even though perfectionists like me will probably hit that restart button a few times to get that "one" run.

While the first game had this whole living out the idealist stuntman career, and the next one upped the ante with just a whole new selection of different set pieces to pursue, Stuntman Hollywood, much like the subtitle given to it, is a celebration of some of the best jam-packed vehicular moments that cinema has to offer specifically under Universal's property belt.

From the few demo missions offered here, you get the essential tutorial ones that ease you into the driving model and fundamentals of successfully completing missions. But most importantly, the tasting platter also had an entire Back to the Future level that fully pays homage to the real-life iconic movie counterpart. Again, a property under Universal's umbrella, but then again, with how much they own, you can expect a fair amount of set pieces to experience here.

For a cohesive campaign experience? Well, that remains to be seen, because so far it looks like a bunch of different high-octane levels from these Hollywood classics strung together without any sort of junction between them. It can be jarring, especially for players who enjoyed the grounded career mode of the OG Stuntman, but you'll still feel sold with the spectacle shown here.

One Perfect Take

To give a brief overview, the original Stuntman on the PS2 practically served as a technical and physics demo for the later Driv3r in 2004, since both games used the same engine. But my point is that this allowed the OG entry to have a grounded yet almost readily responsive driving model, one that couldn't be replicated at all in Stuntman Ignition.

Not to say that Ignition was bad, but I slightly prefer the original game here, mainly because of the composed Career mode as well as the driving model itself. And now, with Stuntman Hollywood, the tradition of the safely translated arcade driving model continues, as vehicles respond immediately to steering inputs, allowing you to quickly make last-second corrections during courses.

And not to sound like a total expert, but this is all coming from someone who's played a handful of arcade racer titles and just loves the driving aspects in any video game. It's undoubtedly an important feature in a game like Stuntman Hollywood, and it looks like Saber Interactive knows that to a tee, at least with what they had in store as a test drive of sorts.

Cars still possess noticeable mass and momentum, so for anyone like me who enjoyed something like Driver San Francisco's driving model, then rest assured, you're getting ALMOST that same experience here if they manage to stick the landing and fine-tune some of the loose ends under the hood. It's a tad bit forgiving enough that after one or two practice runs, you can naturally begin replaying levels because you're improving your own driving skills rather than relying on luck to guarantee a near-perfect run.

The Show Is Just Getting Started

While the original games asked you to imagine you were filming the next big blockbuster, I'm glad that Stuntman Hollywood removes the guesswork altogether with its collective theme. Instead of chasing generic action movie archetypes, you're now sliding behind the wheel of vehicles inspired by some of cinema's most recognizable moments.

The OG games back then had you participating in fictional films' set pieces inspired by action movies, whereas Hollywood removes that layer and lets you become part of the scenes that people all around the globe have watched for decades on the big screen and at home. Like, I genuinely can't wait to see what original self-made content this game might have in store besides the Universal IPs.

It goes without saying that the Director System and the game's spontaneous level progression are another highlight here. In Stuntman Hollywood, the director remains just as much a part of the experience as the vehicles themselves. One second you're told to hug the inside of a corner, the next you're launching over a police blockade before threading through an exploding intersection.

They really took their design notes here, because the dynamism of each stage, which grew wilder with Stuntman Ignition, is in full force; every level constantly tips the scales in unpredictable ways. I wouldn't even blame anyone if they had to retry a few times before achieving a successful run on one of the main missions here. If they do give you a hard time, nothing wrong with taking a break and checking out the Odd Job missions instead, which offer a denser and more compact experience.

With responsive arcade driving, unpredictable stunt sequences, and movie-inspired set pieces pulled from iconic Universal films, Stuntman Hollywood is shaping up to capture that thrill of being behind the wheel in a blockbuster action scene that I felt when playing the older games a while back. I wasn't there to experience them as a kid, but playing them properly a while back made me endearingly appreciate this upcoming revival of the series.