Reviewed: October 19, 2002
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
BAM! Entertainment

Developer
I-Imagine

Released: September 24
Genre: Racing
Players: 4
ESRB: Teen

8
6
7
7
7.7

Supported Features

CHASE: Hollywood Stunt Driver is the first Xbox title to release from publisher, BAM! Entertainment and also the first title from Microsoft's Incubator program. This is the program that allows small companies or even individuals with a good game idea to get their game developed for the Xbox system. In this case, the developer, I-Imagine, is the first and only (to date) developer based out of Africa.

Chase places players in the exciting world of Hollywood movie stunt car action. With four unique movie sets and a variety of vehicles unlike any other game, Chase promises heart-pounding action and spectacular movie-style special effects. Players will have to hit their marks as they attempt jumps, smash through props and race through the set in order to please the director before moving onto the next action packed stunt.

In the game, players will take the role of Chase Corrada, a young sexy stuntwoman, who is starting her promising career as a movie stunt driver. Chase will take players through four unique movie sets including a gangster movie setting, a post-apocalyptic movie set and more. Players will not only drive traditional four wheeled vehicles, but will also have motorcycles and a three wheeled Ramen delivery Tuk-Tuk at their disposal.

Additional Features:

• 16 unique movie scenes on 4 diverse movie sets
• Career, Challenge and Multiplayer (mini-game) modes
• Dynamic Camera Replay System with added effects for the best view of the action
• Up to 4 players can compete (via split screen) in the multi-player mini-games
• A variety of vehicles including 1920’s automobiles, high-tech sport cars, motorcycles, a three wheeled Tuk-Tuk and post-apocalyptic dune buggies
• Build your reputation to unlock new scenes, challenges and multiplayer modes

Those of you familiar with games like Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Aggressive Inline, or Midway’s Gravity Games Bike will recognize the formula used in Chase. You are given several short levels, a laundry list of objectives, and a strict time limit to do as many of them as possible. Each stunt objective is rewarded with career points and as you accumulate these points additional levels and vehicles are unlocked.

There are four movies with four scenes in each movie. A typical scene will last 2-3 minutes and you will be given up to a dozen various objectives. These objectives are designed so that it is nearly impossible to do them all in a single pass. You will need to figure out which ones you can combine in a single run and which ones need to be saved for a future pass. The nice thing is you can continue on to the next scene as soon as you have completed the primary goal for the current scene, and you can move on to the next movie when you have enough career points to unlock it. This means you will never get stuck in any one section for too long.

Objectives are quite diverse but never too difficult. You will be required to do various stunts like jumping a car or motorcycle certain distances, do barrel rolls, flips, spins, power slides, and collect a set number of movie markers (you know, the clappers they use to mark scenes). These pick-ups represent one of the more challenging goals as there will always be one or two that are very well hidden and you will have to search around to find them. What makes these markers even more fun is that when you pick each one up they trigger a special movie event like an explosion, or falling crate, etc.

The objectives, for the most part, are rather easy to accomplish. Things like maintaining 87mph for 10sec or never falling below 43mph for more than 4sec will happen without you even trying. The hardest thing about the entire game design is that you must complete the primary objective (finish the scene) for any of the other sub-objectives to “count”. Once you have finished the scene all completed goals are locked and recorded so you don’t have to worry about them on subsequent passes.

If you are thinking this sounds dull or repetitive you may or may not be correct. I was able to get all objectives for all scenes for all movies usually in five or less passes each. There was always something new and exciting that happened each time I raced the same level, and my only frustration would come when I would take too long working on the goals and fail the overall time limit for the scene and lose all my work.

I must make mention of the BAM! Trophies. These are gold cups, one hidden on each level, usually out of the way and nearly impossible to find during the normal course of the race. You might spot one out of the corner of your eye but you almost always have to make a dedicated run with the sole purpose of getting the cup. The designers wisely decided that you do not have to finish the level to record the collection of these cups. Just run over it and it’s yours. As your trophy collection increases you will start to unlock secrets and bonus gameplay modes, so you are rewarded for your diligence.

Physics in a driving game are always important and Chase has a physics model that can be described as “unique”. While definitely arcade in nature, you still have excellent control over your vehicle at all times whether it be a controlled power slide, or some fancy aerial work like flips, barrel rolls, or mid-air 360-flat spins. You can pop-up on two wheels or ride wheelies on your motorcycle at the expense of being able to steer. You’ll also need to master the use of the Nitro to make tricky jumps of various distances, often to claim markers and the occasional trophy.

The Career Mode is comprised of four movies that are pretty standard stuff, all designed around big budget stunts. You have an old-style gangster movie with car chases through quiet neighborhoods, then you move on to a shipyard where you race freight trains and drive through exploding warehouses. Moving on to Japan, you race a Tuk-Tuk through back alleys and an ATV through a crowded shopping mall. The next movie puts you in a variety of dune buggies and a giant 4x4 monster truck for some desert missions, and then you move on to the final Bond-like spy movie finale.

There is also a Challenge Mode that lets you perform various stunt challenges, a Multiplayer option allows you to play one of three mini-games like tag in specialty arenas, and the Replay Theater lets you watch any replays you have saved. Unlike Stuntman, your efforts aren’t rewarded with a CG movie trailer, so unless you save your own replays there will be no record of your driving skills.

The menu system is simple and accessible. You pick your movie from the vertical scrolling list and your scene from the horizontal list. Each scene provides a glimpse of the car to be driven complete with Chase in a sexy pose. Locked movies are indicated with a padlock and you are shown the required career points to unlock new movies. The objective list is presented before and after each race with completed items grayed out. My only frustration with the interface was the additional prompt about “losing the replay” each time I wanted to restart a scene.

The various levels are well populated with traffic, pedestrians, and other objects and details that bring the movie set to life. You’ll even see scaffolding, lights, cameramen, and other movie set personnel scattered about the level. One of my favorite levels takes place in a crowded shopping mall with various glass storefronts that shatter when you ride through and shoppers screaming as they scramble to get out of your way.

The vehicles are all well modeled with nice little touches of detail. The nitro boost is handled differently on each of the vehicles, and there are various stages of damage that the cars undergo as you bash into objects and other cars. It’s nothing as subtle as scratches or dents, but body parts will fly off and the vehicles will take on a new appearance over time. By the time I finished my ride through Tokyo my Tuk-Tuk had lost its roof, umbrella, and giant bowl of soup.

There are some nice special effects including some excellent rain effects, both falling and wet pavement. Explosions are nice and objects break apart into smaller pieces and glass shatters, etc. Night driving offers the “light trail” effect and your car will reflect its surroundings and any light or explosions in real-time.

Frame rate was always smooth and consistent, even in the densest areas with lots of action taking place. Even in the split-screen modes, the Xbox managed to deliver a solid and smooth frame rate.

There is a pretty cool opening movie with some nice CG graphics of the sexy Chase and an equally sexy Viper clone, or maybe it’s the new Shelby Cobra. It quickly moves from CG to a lengthy (almost too lengthy) chain of game-engine clips from almost all of the movie sets showing various stunts set to the killer tune of “Nothing On My Back” from Sum 41.

Replays aren’t that nice. I’ve only watched a few of mine and never bothered to save any of them. You have your standard set of camera angles to choose from but nothing ever seems as cool as the movie trailers from Stuntman that showed my stunts in the context of the movie. The levels don’t seem to be designed to be viewed from any other angle other than the one you play the game from, so viewing replays will often show some “oversights” in the level design. Plus, Chase never seems to look as good as she does in the opening movie. Even with her ample polygons and cleavage, she seems to look like a low-res product of Character Studio.

What surround sound there is does a good job of letting you know when traffic is approaching from behind. You will also hear the shrieks of pedestrians and mall shoppers as you streak through the crowds, and their cries fade into the rear speakers. You will also hear the director shouting out confirmations of completed goals and warnings when the clock is running down.

The in-game music is nothing too noteworthy, at least when compared to the opening movie track. It blends into the background yet still manages a decent job of maintaining that tense arcade-style atmosphere that has you gripping the controller with white knuckles as you smash your way through the various movie sets.

Once the career is completed, there is nothing to bring you back for more, which probably makes this title more suited as a weekend rental than a permanent addition to your Xbox library. I could easily recommend this as a purchase when it eventually hits budget pricing. There’s a lot of fun to be had with this game but not $50 worth.

Chase takes a unique approach to the stunt racing genre and puts the old Tony Hawk spin on gameplay. This makes the game very approachable for a much wider audience of various skill levels and limited attention spans. It also conceals the repetitive nature of the gameplay by keeping the levels short and the objectives diverse and challenging. Most of all, Chase is fun, so whether you rent it or buy it, just make sure you play it.