Stunt
Driver
7th
July 2000
This
game has a track editor, Physics-defying stunts and very fast game play.
It will probably set the path for other car racing games for the Game Cube
and will be quite original.
This
game is supposed to be "a whole new type of racing game" and
this just may prove to be that because it is not going to be the next
Formula One or Gran Turismo, and it doesn't try to be. Instead it
totally ignores realism to be more like an arcade racing game. In Stunt
Driver you can speed up steep slopes; navigate jumps, ramps and humps -
all while catching massive air.
To
add to the excitement, players will have to be able to use animated
features like pop-up hydraulic ramps and mechanical swinging gates to
their advantage.
The
only realistic thing in the game is car damage. You will need to
time your jumps so that they don't miss their landing or land to heavily -
which will damage the car. Small things like a worn out tyre will
effect the handling of the whole car. Driver options and tuning aids
will ensure that players of all skill levels will experience maximum
involvement and enjoyment.
Climax
(the publishers) promises a minimum of six play modes including
Championship, Single Race, and Scenario as well as many bonus and hidden
modes. Team racing and co-operative play will be available and online
support is already in planning (as in using your dolphin to surf the
internet and look at the help site). The developers are paying much
attention to detail as the game is expected to include time of day
effects, changing weather, rain on windshields, windshield wiper
animations, and even heat haze.
What
is clearly going to be one of the best features in Stunt Driver. Normally,
track creation has been almost completely separate from the actual aspect
of racing in the game. Climax wants to merge the two together the
way they should be. Imagine that you’re coming up on a hill or
curve that you don’t like; or maybe you feel that there should be
consecutive turns in place of a particular straightaway; you may possibly
even desire a corkscrew ramp to be placed in a specific spot. With Stunt
Driver, all these wishes can become a reality. The developers will allow
the player to jump straight into the track editor, even from the middle of
a race, and make modifications to the route. The player will then be able
to return to the game, in real-time, and continue the race with the new
track additions.
This
game sounds pretty good on paper, but it may be a miserable failure when
it actually comes out, so we can only hope.
