For the past three years, I have been studying at uni with the ambition of one day making it into the cutthroat film industry. As I complete my studies and go out looking for my place in showbiz, I can only dream to be thrust into the position of focus puller or boom operator and hope my efforts are appreciated. When I'm sitting through the latest action flick, popcorn in hand, there's only one thing I'm paying attention to. It's not the plot and it sure as hell isn't the acting; it's the mind-blowing stunt sequences that get the audience cheering and rake in the dollars. CGI may be dominating screens in modern cinema, but nothing beats a driver willing to risk their life in the name of entertainment. From the amazing 'corkscrew' jump in Bond flick the "Man with the Golden Gun" to the classic chase sequence in 'The Italian Job', few people could tell you the names of the men behind the wheel but their stunts remain timeless.

Stuntman has always been one occupation that actually seems like a genuinely exciting concept for a game. As opposed to taxi driver or chef, there's no sprucing up necessary to make the concept seem exciting. Released in 2002, the original Stuntman was regarded as a unique concept but with poor execution, punishing players for the slightest mistake and sending them back through long load times to repeat their performance to perfection. Five years later, Stuntman Ignition hits the scene with an all-new developer and producer to tackle the concept again. This time around, the game is broken into six scenes across six films, ranging from blatant copies of films such as The Dukes of Hazzard and Batman to the obligatory James Bond rip off. It features a map editor, online play and a bunch of other game modes to put your skills to the test.

Looking to correct the mistakes of its predecessor, developer Paradigm Studios has been quick to correct the difficulty of the game to make it far more accessible and, most importantly, playable. To tone down the difficulty, Ignition now sports a strike system. You are able to miss 4 stunts within a sequence to still pass and admittedly, it isn't all that hard to just pass the sequences. That's not to say the game has been completely toned down for fans of the previous incarnation, to get the most out of the game you will still need to go back and perfect your performance. Instead, each scene you complete is awarded a ranking out of five stars. You need to maintain a constant chain throughout the entire duration of the movie scene known as 'stringing' it if you want to obtain the illustrious five star ratings.

If you love nailing those million point combos in Tony Hawk, drive yourself mad to achieve all gold medals in Burnout or wince at the sight of 99% note streak on expert mode in Guitar Hero, Stuntman Ignition is another game to provide you with self-induced hell.

It is an effort in hair pulling frustration as you aim to not only achieve each stunt the director calls out, but also ensure that the combo is not broken or allowed to die off due to inactivity (avoided by linking the called stunts together with other stunts like drifting, wheelies and airtime). While you are still granted your five strikes until you are required to re-shoot the scene, you must not allow the chain to die. You are given a few seconds to jump from one action to the next. It is in that sense akin to maintaining a combo chain in the Project Gotham Racing series.

Structure and linearity are the aims of the game and if you detest the qualities of mission structure in the name of sandbox gameplay, Stuntman Ignition's probably not your kind of game. After all, it is an occupation you're paying to play here.

Perfectionists will love to hate this game. No matter how frustrating it gets, you can see where you screwed up and how to improve. Once you've played a sequence once, that's how it will remain. The only thing that changes from one take to the other is your actions. Backed with responsive controls, you only have yourself to blame and that's where the addictive nature of the gameplay shines through.

It is highly unlikely you will perfect scenes on the first run through. The director shouts out commands so rapidly you only have seconds to react, making it impossible for some stunts unless you are familiar with the sequence. You really need to prepare yourself for trial and error gameplay here. Admittedly, after the second hour of repeating a two-minute scene, just cause you continually screw up one stunt near the end, it really starts to become 'somewhat' annoying. Perhaps it may have been interesting if some movie inspired rewind action was allowed, instead of having to return to the start each time, such is the joy of editing after all.

So what's the point of perfecting each film apart from those shiny achievements? Well... Nothing really.

As you increase your star rating you unlock a range of bonuses, but 5 stars is strangely absent of any real benefit in terms of in-game rewards. I completed the majority of the game with 5 star rankings for the sake of this review and could not for the life of me see any real reason to continue.

My advice to you, unless you have already experienced the effects of premature baldness or the girls your way truly dig a guy with a large gamerscore, just let go of the five star ratings. It is necessary to build your star rating to a certain level to unlock each new movie, but you'll enjoy the game a whole lot more if you just concentrate on making it through the films adequately rather than perfecting each and every scene.

In addition to the movie sequences, there are also six Odd Jobs, which are commercials and endorsements for a variety of products and services. Coming in at around 1 minute each, these are a lot less frustrating when the inevitable re-shoot is required. There are also eight Quick Fix sequences to keep you occupied. Half of these are directed while the other half let you play out the situation without worrying about strikes or the director blaring through your speakers. It's sad these are the only four sequences like this in the game as they truly tone down the trial and error nature of the gameplay and although less impressive than the movie sequences, makes them a lot more fun to play through. Revolving around quick thinking and fast reflexes, it would have been great if this area received greater focus, particularly with some randomisation.

Constructor mode allows you to design your own stunt sequences. Although the restrictive nature of any console based level editor means that they are far less impressive than the movie sequences, once you fill out your inventory of items from your progress in Career mode, it's a fun diversion and great fun to take and share online. Constructor mode also features a number of sequences itself, which require you to devise a sequence to the director's request and complete it within the time limit. Although it's not the best editor I've seen it's great to see that real purpose has been given to editor mode in the forum of these tasks.

There is a diverse range of vehicles on offer but they are all land based; the life of a stuntman isn't all about driving cars, trucks and motorbikes. There is a lone hovercraft scene featured, but it feels wasted without the addition of water. To break up the tedious nature of the trial and error gameplay it would have been interesting if it featured some greater variation. Whether it were just the inclusion of water or air based stunts, or even some non-vehicular stunts such as jumping off a building and hitting the air mattress below, it would have really helped to break the game up overall and ease the frustration caused by the repetitive nature of the gameplay.

On completing each movie you are awarded with the respective trailer, complete with all the Hollywood glam, but you still never entirely see how your stunts are put to use. This is the same as in the original game, although it would have been great to see how each scene worked in a filmic sense, especially with the next gen grunt to power it. None the less, the replays always look impressive and will have you rushing back to perfect them purely for your viewing pleasure.

Graphics are by no means hyper realistic, sporting an almost cartoony sheen. We are in Hollywood after all, were you expecting realism? They suit the game though and the respective films appear perfectly represented. It is really impressive how well they have captured the feel of a Batman or Bond movie, far greater than any official release in recent years.

Stuntman also sees release on PS2 for those of you yet to jump into the next generation of gaming. Sporting the typical inferior graphics, as is to be expected, it also appears that the gameplay has been made easier. Additional strikes have been added to scenes, removing a great deal of the challenge and making it almost ridiculously easy. In one sequence I tested in particular, you were granted seven strike opportunities, half the directed stunts for the entire sequence.

Through all the frustration of the trial and error gameplay, Stuntman Ignition is still a fun game and worth a go. If you play the Project Gotham series for the Kudos system and not the racing, you'll sure find something here to like. Movie buffs will get a kick out of the blunt copies of classic actions films and genres represented in game, and the mood has been captured perfectly. Repetition to achieve perfection is sure to send a few controllers flying, but then again it is an occupation you are performing and someone does get paid to perform insane stunts, in exotic locations in priceless sports cars again and again until the sequence is just right, day in day out.

Screw it.

I'm dropping out. I wanna be a stuntman.