Previous Next

As an amazingly competent stunt man, you have to steer car over a vertically scrolling course covered in rocky outcrops and cacti, and jump river ravines by using ramps as you progress across the landscape.

The route is also hampered by the appearance of other vehicles which attempt to run the car off the road - these are swiftly removed by using the vehicle's forward-firing blasters.

Collision with ground features and vehicles incurs dents which are indicated on the damage monitor at the top of the screen. Too much damage effectively writes on the car, and there are only three with which to complete the stunt.

On reaching the river, the car is replaced by a speedboat which is used to negotiate the islands and waterways. Opposing traffic is again encountered and dealt with in a similar fashion.

Joysticks: Cursor, Kempston, Sinclair
Graphics: both stages have clearly defined character blocks
Sound: grinding title tune with Geiger counter spot effects
Options: define keys

You'd better have a photographic memory if you want to get through this one as knowing what's about to appear is vital if you want to stay in one piece. The car's slow response can be annoying, but still adds to the excitement of this high speed driving game. The graphics are pretty decent, with some tasteful colours, and while the damage monitor is a good idea, it remains fairly superfluous. Give it a try if you're into violent racing.

Spy Hunter returns - well, almost. The cars, sound, playability and backdrops are all below standard, but what shocks me most about Super Stuntman is how basic and old-fashioned the game is. Nothing in it is particularly well done - the graphics are very simply animated, the effects sound more like something out of a Geiger counter than a computer game and the collision detection just has to be seen (or not seen should I say) to be believed. Something else that caught my attention was the fact that you retain the car's damage indicator when steering the boat! Where's all that Codemasters flair gone?