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The Movies (PC DVD)
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| Description:
Most people will have dreamed of being a movie star at some point in their lives but the number that have actually dreamed of being an actual movie mogul--in charge of a whole studio--are probably rather smaller, if only because it's difficult to imagine just how much money and power that would bring. The Movies though asks you to play just that role as you try to build up your business empire from scratch as well as lending a hand in the actual creation of your films. The Movies is the latest massively ambitious simulation from Peter Molyneux (maker of classics such as Populous and Black & White) and can be seen as logical progression from his Theme Park/Hospital series of games. Unlike these games though the actual micro management of your studio--building lots, picking stars and handling unions--isn't necessarily the most interesting part of the game, engrossing though it can be. Instead actually making your movies becomes the most fun part, for although you can just specify a genre, cast and budget you can also paste together films yourself, scene by scene. For each scene you can choose the actors, sets, costumes and script and then alter the mood and flow of the scene through a number of slider bars. This allows you to create a completely unique movie of your own, which you can even export from the game and show to other people. You probably won't be worrying Steven Spielberg, but other lesser directors--they better watch out! -- David Jenkins
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2/5 |
Very disappointing
(August 24, 2008) |
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This is a game of two halves, but unfortuantely I'm not sure which is worse. I really, really wanted to like this game, but the more I played, the more disappointed I was.
I think many people, like me, buy this game primarily for the movie making part of the game. However, it is not possible to just jump in and start making movies. There is a "tycoon" type game that one must play first, building the lot, hiring the actors, etc. Now, I usually like such games, so I didn't have a problem with that. However, unfortunately the tycoon part of the game is not very good, and gets boring quite quickly.
However, the movie making is where I was especially disappointed. You have to play for a few hours before you can "write your own script" (although you can jump in quicker using sandbox mode). The first problem you will find is that, restricted to playing in the 1950s at the very latest, you are very limited on the sets, costumes, effects, etc. you have available. To unlock later sets, costumes, etc., would require hours and hours of playing the boring tycoon part.
However, even when you accept that, the movie making part is really, really restrictive. Rather than writing your own scenes, you can only pick from a limited number of pre-set scenes, and then these can only be customised to a very limited extent (normally the length of the scene or the intensity of an argument or fight). If you have your own idea for a movie, forget it, as it's highly unlikely that you will find anything approaching what you wanted to do. It doesn't remotely approach writing your own script - all you're doing is to put together a number of pre-created scenes into a story, and it's difficult even to link these scenes into a proper story.
I'd hoped that this would be a new 3D Movie Maker, which I used to love playing years ago. However, it's not a patch on that game. In 3D Movie Maker, you could choose from a long list of actions for any character, then move them around as you wished. You could have as many actors in a scene as you wished, and have each actor doing a different action. You could pick from many different camera angles. In The Movies, you cannot choose how many actors there are in a scene, you can't move the actors around, and you can't even pick what each actor is doing. You can't even change the camera angle most of the time.
It's like playing some kind of ultra restrictive demo rather than a real game. It could so, so, easily have been made a lot better. Unfortunately, while there are loads of great ideas, they've been put together in a game that will get boring after a few hours, and if you play right through the long tutorial to get to the movie making part, you're likely to find yourself very disappointed. |
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4/5 |
Be a movie maker the hard way
(June 02, 2008) |
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The Movies is a fun game for everyone not just film fans.. In the movies you are the CEO of a brand new movie makeing stuido in 1920 and have to gide it through the evevelosen of cinama. You have to do EVERYTHING it is mot just about the movies you make is is also about the stars you hire and the coices you make. THe game is A LOT of fun and you will come out of playing it haveing learnt that it is not so easy being a film maker. |
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5/5 |
Movie management game? No thanks. An excellent and cheap movie maker program? YES PLEASE!
(July 20, 2007) |
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First thing to make clear here - this is basically two games in one:
Firstly: A management sim in the same vein as Theme Park or Theme Hospital. You build up your studio lot, make films, hire and fire cast and crew members, make money. This is fun (if you like that sort of thing) but nothing really new.
Secondly: Within the game you can unlock within the first few years of game time a custom script office and a post-production office (even if you can't actually be bothered playing, you can just start a game in Sandbox mode with these features present). Now this is the REAL reason for buying The Movies. It allows you to make exportable films using your own music, sound effects, script and scenes! Ever had a desire to make the film of your dreams? Go for it! Ever fancied making a film of your favourite book or short story? Make one!
Obviously, being a pretty cheap off-the-shelf game there's some limits to what you can do. But for a budding film director who just has a load of ideas without necessarily the technical knowledge (or wallet) to turn them into a big-budget film, this is fantastic.
Once you get into it, you really need to get the Stunts and Effects expansion... it opens a whole new range of customization in your movies - explosions, filters, custom shot angles, more sets, costumes, blah blah blah. |
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3/5 |
It's all about The Movies
(August 12, 2006) |
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I stopped playing this after a few days. I found the limitations on hiring people to do things on the lot extremely tedious and unrealisitic. The Sim portion of the game is otherwise fun but even without this frustrating point (does no one want to be in showbusiness?) I think I would have moved on after a few weeks. So this wasn't my cup of tea - that doesn't mean it is a bad game or that the right person wouldn't have fun with it. You see, this isn't really about playing a movie exec running a studio. It's all about making movies and that's where the fun is.
You see, in the game there is the ability for you to write your own scripts and 'film' your own movies using the same engine that the Sim game uses to make the default movies that the scriptwriters come up with. Now for the right kind of player, this is the Best Thing Ever, and I've read such from other players online, but that isn't me. But maybe that's you - so don't let my low ratings scare you off from what is a prefectly good piece of software for trying to make your visions a reality. |
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2/5 |
Wasted Opportunity
(June 23, 2006) |
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Once again, Peter Molyneux oversees another magnificently original gaming idea. Unfortunately, much like the original Black and White, the finished article fails to live up to the enormous potential.
The Movies is a simulation game set in Hollywood which (for the majority of the time) plays like a mix between The Sims and a classical tycoon game (such as theme park). Your duty is to control all the factors involved in movie making; hiring and caring for actors and directors (as well as other peripheral staff such as scriptwriters and janitors), building and maintaining sets, and generally making sure everything runs smoothly. Although this part of the game is reasonably entertaining (if you're into tycoon-like games), it quickly become repetitive and eventually painfully tedious. This is an enormous shame because it overshadows the most exciting and innovative feature of the game: the ability to write and direct your own script.
Using the Custom Script Office, gamers can choose from a large variety of scenes to build up a unique film of their choice. This is undoubtedly the most exciting part of The Movies game and it is definitely fun making the first few films. Unfortunately it is not quite the finished article is could (or should?) have been. For example, it can be quite a difficult task finding any two scenes that even fit coherently together, let alone the ones you wanted for your story. The add on pack Stunts and Effects improves on the situation by allowing freeform control of the camera, but there are still placement issues for the actors (in one scene you might want your actor to walk up to a ringing phone and pick it up, but then you find that all other available telephone scenes show the actor sitting down). Overall, The Movies is a truly brilliant idea, and can be real fun, but is also tedious and frustrating in equal portions. |
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