Quench
The Movies
Lights Camera etc.
By Luke Pavey
Calling all Spielbergs – this is the game for you. Lionhead Studios’ The Movies joins an impressive list of titles including Black and White and Fable. This game aims for a similar form of immersion that its predecessors wielded over gamers. Much like Black and White, The Movies places you as an omnipotent being – except instead of playing a god, you are a movie studio owner. This slightly less mystical theme draws on Lionhead’s historical links to Bullfrog Productions, which you may remember created classics such as Theme Park and Theme Hospital.
The Movies is the closest some may get to making films and it does this extremely well. In sandbox mode you are given a huge amount of freedom, you can place yourself in whichever time period you choose and give yourself as much moolah as you desire. Once that is done you can go about making your way in the business they call show.
As the studio owner you can, and have, to do everything from hire handymen, actors, writers and directors, to building admin buildings and sets to developing new technology. As time marches on you pass through the different decades and the game changes accordingly. Fashions change, technology advances and stars grow older. The realism in the game doesn’t stop there, as well as ageing, your employees can become unhappy, alcoholic and develop eating disorders. All of which can be solved through rehab, outfitters and plastic surgery.
In story mode things are not quite so simple, you have to work with the money you earn and do not have quite such an all powerful control over what unfolds. The game quickly becomes addictive as you work to build your studio in to a success, and make those blockbuster movies.
The basic game controls are simple and it doesn’t take long to get your studio up and running, then it’s just a matter of keeping it all in order. Making the movies is a little more complicated. If you decided to take the director’s chair then it takes a while to get used to the creating, filming and editing of your films. This is a very good game and will certainly appeal to any budding filmmakers out there who share an interest in the type of strategy game Lionhead, and previously Bullfrog, are famous for.
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