About Stunts
Distinctive Software developed Stunts, and Broderbund published it for MS-DOS in October 1990, with Mindscape releasing it in Europe. Some players know it by its other name, 4D Sports Driving. It was an early 3D racing game, and it took some of its inspiration from Hard Drivin’, the 1989 arcade game.
The emphasis is on stunt tracks rather than ordinary circuits. You choose from 11 cars and race courses full of jumps, loops and slalom roads, where the aim is to reach the finish line in one piece rather than end up as burning metal. A track editor lets you design your own courses, and race replays let you watch your best runs and your worst crashes again.
The design credits go to Brad Gour, Kevin Pickell, Don Mattrick and Rob Martyn, and Martyn also produced the game. Ports followed for the Amiga, and in 1993 for the NEC PC-9801 and FM Towns. In 1994 PC Gamer US placed it 22nd in its list of the best computer games ever. Distinctive Software later became EA Canada.
How it runs in your browser
Stunts plays from its original MS-DOS release. When you press Play, a dos.zone tab opens and the game loads into js-dos, an open-source version of the DOSBox emulator that DOS.Zone built to run in the browser. It recreates the kind of PC the game was written for, and the files come from the site, so nothing gets installed and you don’t supply any game files. You won’t be asked to sign up, and DOS.Zone shows no ads.
Stunts is a single-player game, and there’s no online mode here. The listing doesn’t say whether tracks you build or replays you record survive after you close the tab, so treat them as temporary.
Controls and devices
Play on a computer with a keyboard and mouse. DOS.Zone doesn’t list the keys for this game, so read the game’s own screens or the DOS.Zone page before your first lap. DOS.Zone can show virtual on-screen controls on a phone, but the game was made for a keyboard, and a computer is the better fit.
Who it’s for
Stunts suits players who like building things as much as racing on them, since the track editor lets you design a course and then try to survive it. It also appeals to anyone curious about how 3D driving games looked in 1990, and to anyone who played it on a DOS PC at the time. For a later racer from the same studio after it became EA Canada, try The Need for Speed, the 1994 game that started that series.
Is Stunts Free, Safe and Official?
Can I play Stunts online for free?
Yes. DOS.Zone runs the original MS-DOS version in your browser for free. There’s nothing to install and no account to make.
Is Stunts the same game as 4D Sports Driving?
Yes. 4D Sports Driving is another name for Stunts. Broderbund published the game in the US and Mindscape in Europe.
Can I build my own tracks in the browser?
The game includes a track editor, so you can design courses in the browser. DOS.Zone doesn’t say whether tracks you build are kept after you close the tab, so don’t count on keeping them.
