The Movies

Got this on Christmas day 2005 and the expansion pack, Stunts & Effects, six months later. This came out after years of delays and was well worth the wait. I like many others still play this game today and don't feel it has aged one bit.

Gameplay-wise it allows you to not just create movies (upon unlocking the custom script-writing office) but you can also take control of actors mood-swings, wages, drinking and food problems in the campaign mode. However you can tweak these options in sandbox mode if you want to just go straight into making movies. A great touch is that every once in a while the game hosts it's own Oscars ceremony (campaign mode only). The only downside is that the developer's website, The Movies Online, is now kaput because of not enough users. Netherless the game is still excellent in single player mode. Escpecially good as it's at a cheap price with it's Stunts & Effects pack. I highly recommend it.

the major problem with this game is that it's not the great movie making game that it claims to be. the main goal is to become the richest studio in the world.

if you are an artistic film maker with a vision, this game is not for you're movie creating abilities. rather, you financial abillities. sure you can edit movie that already have scripts, but you can never create your own story.

you can however make a short with some movement, and sounds and dialoge, but if your thinking that you can make really cool, profound pictures, this game can't do it.

and another very real fact of the main stream is carried over to the game. the writers. in the game your writers mean nothing. all they do is sit in a little room and give you gold, and yet like the stars, you can not look at a writers mood, change there salary, or really have any other concers than writing.

It is one of the very few attempts where a game is about the movies industry. The game is very detailed, and it represents the whole movie making process very well. It is very accurate concerning the movies history and the technology used in your movies fits in the era you are. I really enjoyed the idea of a radio station broadcasting the news and giving you information about the movies industry.

However, it is not so simple, and it might take you some time to play the game without difficulties. You will have to take care of many things at the same time, such as movie making, lot maintenance, taking care of your stars etc. The competition also, during the award ceremonies is tough, and you'll have to be tolerant in order to achieve your goals.

There is also the choice of making your very own movie. In fact, you must chose carefully scenes that are relevant. You can not chose a standard plot and work on it, however, you can work on ready movies and improve them. You can also add soundtrack and other sounds, as well as subtitles. It is a good attempts that gives the player the chance to make his own movie, but if you think you can create something like "Lord of the Rings" or "Godfather", you'll be a bit disappointed.

To conclude, it is a great game that everyone should play, especially Sim game and movies lovers.

This game is brilliant. In addition to having incredibly deep movie and star-making engines, this game features a historically accurate (and quite funny) satire on American history in the form of radio announcers. I might only like this game because I'm a total film buff, but I've wanted this game since it was first released, and it has barely disappointed me (I wish you could put the camera ANYWHERE you wanted. That would be awesome). Now, it is common knowledge among gamers (especially subscribers of "Electronic Gaming Monthly") that film critic Roger Ebert doesn't see video games as a form of art. I like and respect Ebert, and I'm not so sure whether games are a form of art or not myself, but I'd like to see what he thinks about this game. It's probably as close to art as a game can get.

Peter Molyneux, the very same gaming God that brought us Populous, Powermonger, Theme Park & Hospital. Just a shame his more recent games have been poor - average at best. Since starting his own game company (Lionhead), he had released nothing but tat. Just look at games like Fable and Black & White for proof.

Now don't get me wrong, The Movies is FAR from a terrible game...it just that is's FAR too simplistic. Often I feel like I'm playing a game designed for 10 year olds.

The basic plot is that you have to run a film studio starting from 1920 right up to 2000. You start off making VERY low budget films using the technology that was around in 1920...which was not much. But as you play, you get to research all sorts of new technology from colour films to CGI and everything in between.

The game is really 2 games in 1. You get a basic management style game, not too dissimilar from past Pete game like Theme Park. In which you get to place various buildings and hire various staff. The main problem with this part of the game is that it's too much like Theme Park and has a very similar style and set up too...Theme Park was great in 1994, The Movies was released in 2005, and nothing much has changed. So you are really just playing an 11 year old game with new graphics. The 2nd part of the game is the most fun (which is not saying that much). You get to actually "write" film scripts. You do so by first selecting your film genre from 5 types (including Sci-Fi, Horror and Action). But where as this is the best part of the game, it's also the most flawed. again, it's just TOO simplistic. All you do is select certain scenes, then select which "actors" play which parts...and that's about it. It hardly stretches the old grey matter. There are too few scenes to choose from and not much difference between film genres other then different scenery. So you end up making films with the same old scenes over and over and over. As you research new tech, you films do get better and eventually you can even edit them yourself. You can even add your own soundtracks and dialogue too, then upload them to the official The Movies site for all to see and comment on...but as I said before, there are too few scenes to choose from so you do end up with a LOT of repetition, no matter who made the film. There is now a Stunts & Effects add on around...it does not add anything really worth shouting about, and why were stunts and effects not in the game in the first place...other than to try and ween a bit more cash from the paying public?

The Movies is a average game that has been made FAR to simplistic just to cater for a wider and more casual audience.

The Movies is a game with great ideas...just not implemented well. Instead of working on poor "add-ons" for the game, get working on an all new The Movies sequel, and this time add some decent gameplay and cater for more than 10 year olds with the intellect of a gnat.

Maybe one day Mr.Molyneux will once again become the gaming God he once was. Just that NOTHING released by Lionhead recently has even come close to the game he once used to produce.