The Movies Preview

“And the winner is …”

This was easy, a real no-brainer, a runaway hit in the making and bound to become a fan favorite. The Movies is a PC game from Lionhead Studios and Activision that is far and away the best ‘sim’ to be released in 2005, if not one of the best sims ever released. Though the game is not slated to ship to retailers until the second week of November, let the plaudits begin.

The Movies is a game that has two main modes of play – a story mode and a sandbox mode. In the story mode, players begin in the 1920s with the purchase of a movie lot and from that point on must begin the path to create a motion picture studio that will garner them, when the timeline expires in 2005, a lifetime achievement award.

On the way, players will hire studio staff, nurture stars and directors, write and sell scripts and try to solve the mystery of catering to the movie-going public’s tastes. They will also research new technologies that will unlock sets, help improve the looks of stars and the technology used to create a movie.

"Whatever you do, stay away from the cosmetic surgery building!"

Want to do it quick and easy? Hire a group of writers to put together scripts. But if you are looking for a more hands-on approach, you can create your own script – using a user friendly interface that uses a lot of drag-and-drop elements – and then take it into post-production where you can score it with any music you wish (downloaded or ripped from your CDs), even add your own voice and dialogue.

Lionhead is giving this game great online support and players will be able to upload the movies they create to the Web site, and maybe even earn a few real-world awards for their work.  

This is a wonderfully entertaining time sink that is certain to be thoroughly addicting.

And speaking of addictions, you can put a rehab center on your lot to help the stars get over their addictions. But that will lessen the studio’s image, and that is very important in the greater scheme of the game. Write a science fiction movie, fill all the roles of director, stars, crew and extras and you may still find them standing about – until you build the science fiction sets for them to film the movie in.

No, this is not some strange RV vacation spot, but trailers for the stars

And don’t forget to pay them well, or you may find them jumping to another studio.

The other main mode of play is the sandbox mode, which begins in 1950 and allows you to fix your starting capital, as well as set and lock in several of the gameplay elements, such as making sure your stars are never discontented.

The customization is very deep, and the game promises to be a very engrossing gaming experience. Graphically the game is very much in line with the best ‘sims’ on the market, and the sound, with the rich personalization options can be very, very good.

The game does have micro-managing duties, but with everything pointing to a common goal, they do not seem as time-consuming or tediously meticulous as in some other games. This is a title that is about imagination, dreams and creative energy.

Today, it’s a directorial debut in The Movies; tomorrow … well, with the online support, it may just be making films and shorts the world can watch.