Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years’ Review – Stunt In Style

‘Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years’ Review – Stunt In Style
Physics based puzzle games live and breath on mobile platforms, especially if you create a game with a control scheme that works as simple as it looks.

Physics based puzzle games live and breath on mobile platforms, especially if you create a game with a control scheme that works as simple as it looks. The trick, however, is to create something that people want to come back to instead of buying and playing for all of five minutes. Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years by Australian studio Three Phase Interactive manages to do just that and then some, while throwing in an added splash of humour in the process.

You play as an up and coming stuntman, whose job early on is to jump across dangerous gaps or over obstacles in order to impress a small movie production crew. As you move through each level, revealing more obstacles and bigger jumps, you’ll soon create a cult following that in turn will open up the world to your little stunt man who can.

The cunning addition to the gameplay is the ability to create not only the right conditions to which to jump, choosing the right vehicle along with a number of upgrades to improve your chances of a high score, but creating a ramp within the play field itself. Each level designates a small green rectangle within which you can draw the ramp leading up to the jump. Combine that with the right upgrades, such as boosts to your bike or car or parachutes to land comfortably within the target zone on the other side, and you’ll achieve the high score without too much trouble.

That’s the trick (no pun there, I swear!) to Stunt Star. It isn’t just about jumping over things, that part is actually the easiest. The real meat of the challenge is going just that little bit further. Upgrade your vehicle with a jump or flip boosts and you’ll be pulling off elite stunts for bigger high scores. You’ll also get bonus points by collecting in level stars on the track or using a certain element or vehicle to your agents’ liking.

Speaking of the agent, the humour stems from your chubby little offsider early on. Though I do have to give him credit for providing a few helpful hints, he’s the kind of guy you know only has his own intentions in mind. I couldn’t help but chuckle every time he reminded me that it was just a scratch, having previously landed very heavily on my rear end before tumbling forward two or three times, then dragging his feet on the way back to the start.

There’s a ton of levels already built into the game across three stages of your Stuntman’s career which will keep you going for some time. Completionists will get a kick out of this one for sure and it’s also fun to watch that progression of your hero, from just any old bit part stunt guy to a full on idol of the stunt world.

Stunt Star presents itself cleanly and effectively, it’s a 2D side-scroller not unlike another famous stunt racer in Trials. Here, however, the presentation feels more like a Saturday morning cartoon, and it suits the play style when have a character who’s face you’ll never see crashing his way through obstacles like a mad fool.

There’s little touches everywhere too, flashbulbs from adoring fans and placards held up by those near the exit goals proclaiming their love of your work. It’s all so neat and clean, though it never throws things at you or goes over the top with it. Couple that with some neat little sound effects and a well designed control system, and Stunt Star has everything it needs to be a success.

If I could really find a complaint, and there’s barely any here to be honest, it’s the menu system. It can be a bit confusing at first, and there’s no real main menu to go back to. Also when you load the game up it throws you straight into the action, which can be refreshing for experienced gamers like myself but a little daunting for the younger or uncertain gamers out there playing for the first time.

Having said that, Stunt Star: The Hollywood Years is a true gem of a title. It combines cunning puzzle solving with simple game mechanics and an enjoyable presentation that, while seemingly too simple at first, shows extra layers of complexity and neat little touches as you progress. It’s very much worthy of your time, so get straight on into the App Storeand pick this one up today!

[review pros=”Entertaining gameplay, simple but effective controls and presentation, great use of humour” cons=”Inexperienced gamers may find it difficult at first, menu system could be a little neater” score=93]