The year is 2002; I've just loaded up Stuntman on PS2 for the first time, and immediately hour after hour is lost to its brand of organized chaos.
Fast forward 24 years, and Stuntman is once again the star of the show, in this case, the PlayStation State of Play taking place in Summer Game Fest week.
In 2007 a sequel came around and came to Xbox for the first time, but since then things have been dormant. But almost 20 years later we've been shown Stuntman: Hollywood, and even a short teaser trailer is enough to make it one of my most anticipated new games.
The biggest deal this time around is genuine movie licenses. In Stuntman: Ignition, there were some very obvious parodies of well-known movies, but Stuntman: Hollywood gets it done properly.
While taking inspiration from the Stuntman games of the past, as well as franchises such as Burnout, it's those famous movie franchises that really sells the idea of being a stunt driver in Hollywood.
So far we've seen some huge titles, too:
- Fast and Furious
- Back to the Future
- Knight Rider
- Miami Vice
- Death Race
Every single one feels tailor-made for a game where your whole purpose is driving erratically, causing mayhem, and maybe throwing in some crashes and explosions for good measure.
For me, the icing on the cake is Back to the Future, though I was already sold before seeing the DeLorean sweep into view. It's my all-time favorite movie series, and I'll happily admit, something of an obsession. If it's Back to the Future, I want it.
I also love that every license we've seen so far is a classic for car fans. None need any introduction, and if you're a younger gamer who maybe hasn't seen any or all of them, go change that immediately.
Stuntman: Hollywood, as a result, has some of the most legendary cars from the screen. The iconic DeLorean, of course, the white Ferrari Testarossa from Miami Vice, and Knight Rider's KITT.
Gameplay-wise it looks like we'll have the 'story' wherein we have to complete set stunts on a timer and to a required standard, but also freedom to be more flamboyant and do our own thing.
"Free stunts are where your own style comes through. These are the moments when a stunt performer can skim past a flamethrower, dodge an explosion at the last second and take a risk for the sake of a truly spectacular scene."
Dare I say it, I'm possibly more hyped for this now than GTA 6? I mean, we've known about GTA 6 for years, this came completely out of the blue. And it doesn't take long looking about on social media to see that a lot of fans of car games are pumped, too.
We don't have a release window yet, but we do know that besides PS5, it'll also be coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S. It'll be worth the wait.
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