Stuntman Evolution by Digital Concepts, Price: $18.99
Reviewed March 2004 by Tony Peak

Stuntman Evolution is a rather difficult game to put into words. While the typical Pocket PC game can be summed up and categorized rather easily, Stuntman is that odd exception. Describing itself as an “Action-oriented isometric style experience”, the official blurb doesn't quite fit in my eyes. There's not much action short of jumping, and ‘experience' doesn't explain much. To me, Stuntman Evolution is perhaps more of an ‘isometric vehicle based adventure'. I'll try to explain why.

Gameplay basically consists of grabbing one of a handful of vehicles and completing an objective often given to you by people in the area. Mixing things up a bit is hidden packages scattered around and gaps to jump. It's somewhat like a clean Grand Theft Auto (sans the violence, weapons, and law breaking) with a pinch of Tony Hawk. (sans the tricks)

The objectives given to you can range from completing a number of jumps to finding a certain person on the map. Some are a little more skill demanding, such as hitting a number of switches before a timer runs out. Further adding to the variety is the Bulldozer, which can actually modify parts of the terrain on the fly. I only wish it was put to greater use in the base level set.

Controls are one of my qualms with this adventure. Since each vehicle is mainly a sci-fi hover craft of sorts, there's no friction to your movement. You constantly glide around as if on ice, and the effect only gets worse as the vehicles get faster and jump higher. While the controls can certainly be tamed and understood, I feel they could have been better. The effect really didn't enhance my enjoyment in any way, it only aggravated. As such, I can't see the use of it.

The lack of any real wheeled vehicles or motored vehicles that can't instantly jump off the high off ground on command made the game feel it was missing something in my eyes. I really wanted to see a vehicle with an engine jump a ramp, or chug up a steep hill rather than effortlessly float over it. These hovercrafts seemed to be the vehicles that should have came as a reward and a gameplay twist late into the game. In a terrain based adventure, I would have figured gravity and psychics to play a very important role. While it does to some extent, it's not as far as I would have hoped.

The game's graphic engine is quite impressive overall, especially the on the fly modifications with the bulldozer. It moves smoothly and looks very clean, but it's also very easy to misjudge height and depth. The textures sort of run together, and it's very hard to tell sometimes when one surface is higher than another, and where or if the two meet. Thankfully your craft is visible even behind solid objects, as I spent a good deal of time working my way back up onto ledges. The sound had a nice mix of sci-fi sounds: woosh for the jumps, static for the radio, enough to keep things lively. Music was pretty much a techno-esque mix reminding me of perhaps a Nintendo adventure.

Overall, it all comes down to opinion on this one. Some will see its open ended adventure as its greatest strength, while others may see it as a lack of direction or goal. Personally, I wished for a little more direction and length in the base level set, especially considering the price. There's plenty of unexplored possibility here. Each level is somewhat short and to the point, if you figure things out quickly. The built in level editor may provide you with the means to make any level you wish, unlimited replay as the product info says, but one typically doesn't need to build their own game to play it. Nonetheless, I did enjoy what I played and I appreciate its expandability.

Playing Hints and Tips

•  Use the craft's shadow to judge landings.

•  If you overshoot a jump, try turning back in mid air to slow your speed.

•  Mix hardware and stylus control if needed depending on the vehicle.

•  Use ‘gap keys' in the gap list to view locations of gaps on the map.