Stuntman Evolution Review by JongJungBu

Introduction

In the game of SE, you strap on your jetpack and fly around an isometric 3D terrain hoping for a faster or better vehicle to use. From mission to mission, objectives will cross your path, people may ask you to help them, and hidden goals may be sought. This is not an arcade shootem-up mind you. Do not expect to battle against mobs of aliens or mindless drones. Instead, you may have to battle the clock, test your logic, focus your hand-eye-coordination, or open your mind. The ultimate goal, aside from winning the current level, is to complete it. I mean literally complete it. I myself only accomplished 97% of the prologue level. I still wonder what that last 3% was that I could not find. The world may never know.

Graphics

The visuals in SE are very good. More than you would expect from a PDA title, so I think you will be quite content with the quality of graphics. Although some of the vehicles and objects are quite small, the ability to see more of the terrain at once might just make up for this tiny fault. That was a pun there if you did not notice. If you have poor vision though, you may have a little problem. Perhaps a zoom would have been nice.

The only other fault I have noticed with the visuals is the transparency. When your player’s avatar or vehicle passes behind an object, it becomes transparent. Normally this is good as otherwise you would not be able to see your player. You would be lost! The problem here is that the avatar or vehicle is small, and thus it may be hard at times to distinguish between a transparent player and a fully visible one. You may find yourself trying to move unsuccessfully for quite a while only to realize that you were actually below or behind what you are seeing. I believe that this is partly due to the small screen of a Pocket PC and not entirely the game’s fault. One possible solution would be to outline the avatar or vehicle in a glowing blue when it passes behind an object. I’ve seen this method utilized in a number of isometric RPGs.

Audio

Honestly there is nothing outstanding about the music and sound in the game. Not that it is awful. It is actually quite good. Some of the techno beats really coalesce with the game visuals. The sounds sometimes seem to have a little annoying static to them due to the nature of "radio chatter", but otherwise I like them.

However, since I spend quite a long time on a single level trying to achieve the ultimate 100% completion rating, the music does begin to drive me crazy. I do not blame SE here. That happens with most games I play where the same song is repeating itself endlessly. It is only a problem if you “stick around” for another hour trying to find all the hidden objectives, as different levels have different music. Fortunately, the game options are accessible anywhere. So turning the music volume to zero is quick and easy.

Controls

Alright, here is where we see Evil Kinevil accidently catching Darwin’s hair on fire as he passes overhead. Sure, he put the fire out but the loss of hair is something you do not easily forget–not to mention the smell. It takes a while for it to grow on you. This is a good description of the controls in SE. I did find that analogy after all.

The controls in SE are not awful. But they are very tricky. After some time, you get used to them and you are able to reach that ultimate victory. You may still encounter some problems even after mastering them though. With the transparency issue, it can be difficult to maneuver your vehicle properly when covered by terrain or an object. Sometimes you can get really stuck. But I will not beat that dead horse anymore. I will just mention the bulldozer and move on–yes, the bulldozer. Just be careful when you are raising and lowering terrain. Try to move terrain that you are not directly over. Otherwise, you may accidently trap yourself, wasting much time finding the right terrain wall that will free you. A possible solution to this issue is perhaps an escape button. This could set your vehicle to the maximum height of the terrain, dropping you vertically without any control until you hit ground. That is just one idea.

Gameplay

The gameplay of SE is rather unique what with the combination of actions and events that occur. This is actually where the game shines. Each level you fly around the terrain completing various goals to beat the level. If you have not already figured it out from the introduction, you do not have to complete 100% of a level to win. You can, however, go back and replay the entire level to find those missing goals. This adds quite a bit of replayability and is particularly true if your completion percentage manages to be quite low. You may have missed out on some cool missions you know.

Another cool factor is that a level may not necessarily be linear. You do not always have to complete one objective before another. It can be fun to explore the terrain looking for hidden packages (another level goal), discovering a point of interest (yes that is another type of goal), unlocking a new vehicle, or finding one of the level’s "gaps". You may run into some interesting people or have to win some mini-games. In the prologue level, there are two objectives that require you to race against the clock on a track or find a particular number of items.

The variety of vehicles in the game provides some new challenges. Not all vehicles handle identically and some have their own capabilities. You can board or disembark any vehicle visible any time you desire in case you need to achieve some special objective. Some vehicles that you may run into include the Bulldozer, the Hauler, and the Hovercraft. In total, I believe I have seen 8 different vehicles in SE. Nicely, if you somehow lose your vehicle, you can easily recover any unlocked ones at a telepad--if available.

One last mission goal that needs mentioning is the Gap List. This is a list of named gaps that you must find and cross in the level to receive credit. The names do help you determine where they are somewhat. Regardless, the point is you must jump over some pre-determined obstacle to succeed. Some of them may be tricky to get to or difficult to leap over. These factors should be indicators of potential gaps if you are still looking for some missing ones.

Replayability

I give replayability its own category due to the fact that SE comes with a built-in level editor. Aside from the fact that you can replay previous levels to complete additional objectives, the level editor allows you to create totally new custom levels just like in the main game. This certainly opens up the replayability factor dramatically. Hopefully the flow of user-made levels will rise and provide us with many more hours of gameplay. It can be tough at first to create your own levels though. You may not be able to do it overnight; but with patience and an open forum, success is sure to happen.

The level editor is a bit cumbersome being that it is accessed totally within the Pocket PC itself. It should be much easier to work with the terrain on a desktop PC, so perhaps a future version may be released. Also, if you wish to provide some of the same features as the built-in levels, you will need to learn to use the LUA scripting language supported by the SE’s engine. There are a number of websites and documents floating about the internet on this established language. SE also includes one free custom level with it’s LUA script that you may peruse or study at your desire.

Conclusion

Overall, I would give Stuntman Evolution two thumbs up. The unique gameplay provides for an open-end environment that does not constrain a casual gamer. The replayability is top notch with the built-in level editor and the hardcore gamer’s need to go back and achieve a 100% level completion. It may not fulfill the white-knuckle-scorer’s need for action, but it will definitely test your mind and your patience. The price may be a little steep for some, and whether it is worth it may be debatable. In the long run, more than likely it is. Particularly with the updates that have already occurred and the potential for unlimited extra levels to play.

Demo Level + Script

Download Here

Just for PocketMatrix, I have created a demo level of a pseudo-RPG. I am not sure you could even call it that much. It is nowhere near being a complete level, so you will have to accept it as is. It allows you to talk to NPCs, pick up some items, use a key to pass a barrier, travel through some stairs that look like teleporters, and check your player stats and items from a custom menu. Yeah, yeah, I know you want more, but I only had time to create a small demonstration before posting of the review. Either way, you are free to view the LUA script and steal anything that looks useful to make your own new levels. The script is not really commented very well, so if you have any questions just ask or preferrably post a question in the forums.