Customer Reviews

The Movies

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

So Activision decided to jump in on the Sim gaming community and create their own version of the Sims -- Hollywood style. Not bad, but heavily flawed.

The premise of the game is to run a movie studio. It acts quite a bit like the Sims but concentrating more on the community rather than the stars that you create; your goal is to make movies as best and with as much star power as possible.

The Pros:

This game can be fun. You place specific buildings such as scriptwriting, sets, entertainment areas, trailers for your stars and map out a studio lot. You have control over all the decor and can put down grass and flowers to make it look nicer. Apparently if you plant a lot of flowers next to your stars' trailers, it keeps them from throwing tantrums.

The game goes over a timeline. You can start right from the beginning if you want -- I created a "Clara Bow" in the 20s and had fun watching her progress. You pick from a line of hopefuls in order to create actors, extras and directors. All of them learn through being in specific movie genres and practicing on sets. Example: A director who has worked on a lot of Action movie sets is not necessarily good in the beginning but results in a great director in the end.

Stars are picked out of obscurity. (However, when you get popular you can find stars from "other" studios anxiously waiting at your casting door) and you try to mold them from the beginning. Concentrate on making them over during the correct time period (you don't want a star in 50s outfits by the 60s) and you can eventually give them plastic surgery. Nip and tuck is popular in the 50s, but implants and lipo isn't really available till later in your timeline -- but be careful! Give a starlette a big rack too early in the timeline and they might get negative reviews (remember -- buxom wasn't always popular.)

Recruit scriptwriters, janitors, crew and researchers in order to help your studio progress and keep up with the times. Also, they will make "suggestions" by leading a trail of stars. What I mean is, you pick up a screenwriter to drop them into the studio to write, a trail of stars will lead to the genre that is most popular at that time. At my last game, it was the late 50s and according to my news report "the communists" sent a ship into space -- which fuels the want of Action and Sci-Fi from audiences. Get it? If you're filming during the depression, no one wants to see a drama -- they'll want comedy.

But you have to make sure that your stars are trained for those genres. When you're placing people into their correct casting areas, the one thing you need to remember is that an actor good in comedy, might not be good in drama. It will tell you as well. Same with the director.

Sets become available over time. There's whole sections dedicated to say, Sci-Fi, Romance, Action, Westerns -- you name it, they've covered it.

Now the more detailed fun is that you can literally have a hand in the movies. You can custom-write a script (which takes longer to do, of course) and add scenes, backdrops, props and sets. Not only can you do this, but you can also finish them and email them to your friends, complete with your "studio's name" on them, which, quite frankly, I found to be fun.



Now the bad:

The tutorial is an absolute joke. I've literally had to figure out how to do a number of things including deleting old sets (can you believe there's no instructions whatsoever to tell you how to do this?) and I still don't know how to turn the buildings. Their tutortials are so basic that if you know how to run the Sims -- you don't need to run their tutorials.

Interaction between the characters is limited. You want chemistry between stars? Probably a good idea to simply put them in more movies together. Other than that, there isn't any real detail of emotions.

These Sims are just plain UGLY. They're not pretty and for some bizarre reason, they're kinda a-sexual. The women from the 20-s kinda look like guys in drag. Not only that, but if you custom make over any of them and change hairstyles, you're going to get ALL the hairstyles regardless of sex. Why would I pick a balding comb-over for my female lead? Kinda stupid that they didn't distinguish. You can spruce them up with a makeover but it seems that they don't actually look like men or women until you get to the lipo/implant option in the 60s. I mean, were all women built like hulking men in the 40s? Not really.

Movement is also awkward with these sims and there seems to be some crude humor. It'll say when a star is busy and what they're doing and for some reason, most of the time they're always "pinching one off" in the bathroom. Yeah, it's funny the first time, after reading it 40 times you wonder if the programmers are prepubescent kids with a bad sense of humor or if your sims just have serious bowel problems.

You really have to play with this to get the gist -- fortunately, there's a Sandbox option which allows you to really use some liberties -- I'd recommend trying that one first before challenging yourself.

The DVD version is only different from the CD version because it includes a "Load of Extras." What that means is, your female star gets a few more hairdo's... that's pretty much it.

This is an EXPENSIVE game, I will say that. I don't think it's really worth over $40 -- I'd say it should be marked at $29.99. It's just not that high tech nor is it that "fantastic" of a game. I'd recommend a price reduction before buying it.

Otherwise, okay. Interesting but complicated, Ugly yet entertaining. Three out of five stars.

This game is actually pretty good. A lot of people seem to have been let down by Black and White 2, which I can understand. Black and White 2 becomes tedious.

The Movies is more about producing movies and making money. You can make movies, but you do not have complete freedom. Instead, you have a ton of sets, and like 100 different scenes for every set that you can put actors into. This actually works out pretty well as you can create a ton of different interesting scenes in interesting ways by using tiny pre-built scenes. If you don't want to create movies, you can have script writers do it. There are seemingly billions of movies they can write. I get eager to see what kind of movie they are making when I see interesting titles and such.

You create stars, cast the movie, then shoot it. During the shoot you can alter the screenwriter's movies slightly. Or, you can let the director shoot it himself and manage your huge studio lot. You unlock more stuff as you progress, and every 5 years there are awards. The awards are hard to get, and I get excited whenever I see my name nominated.

As you progress, your stars start to want things, and eventually they become big. It's really awesome to see one of my stars become such a huge success after doing so many crappy movies. You can give your star plastic surgery and treat him like royalty by giving him an entourage. It works out pretty well, but the only downside to this is that sometimes other stars might get jealous.

There is even an online feature where you can post movies and earn more game stuff.

I would reccomend this movie to anyone who likes The Sims.

I am a big Sims 2 fan and fan of simulation games in general (I hate to destroy anything). I had been waiting a while for this game and was a bit dissapointed when I read the reviews. Playing the first 30 min, I am inclined to agree with a lot of what is said here.
The animation is pretty bad. All the characters are hideously ugly unlike those adotrable Sims and even when you dress them up, it's kinda like putting lipstick on a gorilla.
But then, watch out.
Like a junkie you will be glued to your computer screen.
It slowly and insidiously takes you over.
You begin to build sets only to get new sets. You make movies that after a while, you don't even watch because you are too busy trying to please all your actors as much as you can to reap the rewards you will get at the "award ceremony" every five year mark. I actually cheered when my studio was nominated. I was alone. In front of my laptop. Unshaven in sweats with a sink full of unwashed dishes. Yes, "The Movies" has turned me into a junkie loser.
Even though the graphics are terrible, the 3-D effects are top notch. You can actually go deep inside any sound stage or studio to watch your movie being filmed first hand. Amazing.
I got this version not knowing there was a "deluxe" version available. Damn.
There are still a few kinks, like basic studio dressing like trees, chairs and garbage cans not being redily available and not findind a quick stress-relever for your overworked stars (dropping them into rehab is just a waste of time) other than that and the hideous looks of your actors, this is an amazing game.

Have you ever dreamed of making movies? If you're like me you've dreamed of making a horror film starring an axe-wielding gorilla. Well friends, last night I made my dream a reality thanks to The Movies.

This game has multiple components to it which must be addressed in order to have a complete review. First, the movie-making process. Yes this is fun. You have multiple sets, costumes, props and actions that your actors can utilize. It's fun putting these flicks together and then showing them to your friends. My brother was over for dinner a couple days ago and we made a silly film of robots invading the wild west and we laughed our butts off.

Unfortunately there is a limited number of scenes/actions that your actors can use. There is also a limit to camera angles you can use which is a bit of a downer. I would like complete control, and while I don't have it here, this games comes closer to anything I've seen in this price range.

Now there is the sim component. If you like micro-managing to the extreme you'll love this part. I think it's a pain in the neck. Here's what generally happens. You're having fun making an awesome movie when all of the sudden something interrupts the shooting. Your star has wandered off to the bar to get drunk and your director is so stressed out about that he refuses to work. So you put your star in rehab and drop your director someplace where he can have fun, but then they complain about their salary, or the quality of their trailer, or how many assistants they have. And as soon as you finally make one happy, the rest get upset because they aren't getting the same treatment. And all you want to do is make a gorilla flick!

But there is a sandbox mode where you can focuse more on the movies. However there is a catch. The sandbox only lets you use sets and costumers relative to what you've unlocked in the main game. So you still have to play that sucker and meet all these demands just to use the cool stuff.

If you get this game, I would recommend not having more than 6 stars/directors. It is too much of a headache even to deal with that many, but you can't get much done without that many.

So in the end, the game is so fun and creative, that i am willing to put myself through the stress of babysitting these whiners. And once you get far enough in the game, mosey on over to sandbox and have fun.

When I bought this game the salesman raised his eyebrows and said, "I thought this came out three years ago."

Apparently it's been in development for a long time but, of course, it was just released. The concept is irresistable: A Sim game AND "tycoon" game where you operate a movie studio, make business decisions about movies, make money, but also produce "art."

It apparently is a lot to bite off and therefore a lot to chew. First, let me assure you that it is "playable." If you commit to learning the game (not as easy as it should be), you will enjoy the results. However, if your primary purpose in buying this fairly expensive game is to shoot your own movies, you'll find the producing architecture to be limiting, even constricting.

It can make for some unintentionally hilaious results, though.

What's tough is making "good" movies in the early stages of the game. You pretty well have to go through the entire time sequence, from 1920 to now, to get even close to anything looking like watchable moviemaking, and some of us might not have that kind of patience.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it, though, and you will be too. Merry Christmas!!

I've played for about 25 hrs so far and this game even with its flaws is still a blast. The concept was fantastic and although the game is great it could have used alot more work for it to become a 'classic'. Maybe when they make a 'sequel' they'll fine tune it so you have COMPLETE control over every aspect of writing,directing and producing the movie. This game is hard at first but once you get a hang of it , its totally addictive. No other game lets you make an outer space zombie movie. So 'props' to Lionhead for creating an original game.

I'm suprised to see some of the reviews that say this game is really hard. It's a little more difficult than your average game but not irritatingly so. And this is me, a pretty average gamer, saying this.

The game's point is to create movies and stars and create a very successful company. It's a slash between Roller Coaster Tycoon/The Sims. If you like either of those games, then you will like this. The game starts 1920s which I thought would suck but it turns out actually enjoyable. Slowly as you go, your movies get better and better, moving from 1 star to 5. Your stars get better with rehearsal and experience.

Pros:
The overall concept is pretty cool just thinking about it
Graphics are very fresh
Plenty of movies to create and keep yourself busy
Contrary to some reviews there is a pretty good variety of sets
Lots of clothes and customization of characters
Fun side things like rehab and boob emplants

Cons:
Can't hire a decent amount of builders and workers sometimes
Relationships take forever to build
Needs to focus less on actor's bitchy needs

Graphics: 5/5
Sounds: 3/5
Durability: 4/5
Fun: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

So I would suggest you buy this game. If you aren't sure about it, get someone else to buy it FOR you or just wait until the price lets down a little bit. But it is worth the 50 bucks I spent on it.

Ive played the sims and love it. The sims is my favorite. Id been wanting the movies for a long time. Okay so I find out it's 34.99 at best buy. I head over to best buy and pick it up along while doing some last minute christmas shopping. I get home and pop the discs in and install the game. The game runs great and is very playable. I start playing with the game thinking it's really fun. Fun for a little while and than.....

Boring. It's very repitive and making movies becomes old after awhile. I tried making a movie that made sense but it didnt happen. I love the idea behind this game but it was not devolped far enough. Luckly I paid $35 instead of $50.

This game will be down to a budget game at $14.99 in no time. Ill stick with my sims.

I received this game for Christmas and haven't stopped playing or thinking about it since. While it at first seems like a tycoon game, with a strong AI, you quickly come to realize the real power and attraction of the game: the custom script building portion where you can create your own movies.

This mode of play is for the right-brained folks among us. If you're a creative person, then you'll be in heaven at the possibilities. If you're the more analytical sort, this game will not make you into a movie mastermind - You're got to do the work!

Choose your actors, costumes, sets and scenes, then take the full reel of footage into post-production where you'll spend the most amount of time. From here, you can edit and cut up the scenes, move the pieces around and add a soundtrack, including music and effects. You can choose to add subtitles, or even full voiceovers where the actors' actually lip synch to the words.

While my "creative side" is loving this, I'll admit that more precise controls in post-production could have been implemented. That said, I've yet to come across something I couldn't accomplish with the toolset provided. The several small movies I've made are just as I intended.

As of this writing, I'm in the process of editing together the first installment of a serial that I'll be sharing with the Movies community site - something that you're able to do from within the game. With a goal in mind, it challenges both you and the game to meet the requirements.

Back on the "tycoon" side of the game, the feature that engaged me most is the passage of time from the 1920's to modern day. From the radio broadcast voiceovers, the content of the news, clothing style and star demands, it really feels like you are growing along with the movie industry.

I have several customer reviews of the game, and tend to disagree with some of the negative remarks. Within an hour of play, I had all of the basics figured out - such as placing objects, rotating them, building a staff and catering to the stars.

The tutorial may not go deep into each and every topic, but the interface is rather simple. If you've never played a tycoon game before, you may be a little overwhelmed. In game popups offer suggestions, and when you pick up a script or star there is always a small trail of glitter that points to the most appropriate place to take them. (A star may want to go get a snack, or a script should go to release, etc.)

If you are still skeptical, go to the official site and view a few of the top ranked user movies. If you're like me, you won't believe they were all made with just the game - that is until you get in there and see what's possible!

While not as involved as The Sims, or as complex as other tycoon and Sim, the game appeals to fans of both genres and opens up to a new demographic in the custom movie mode. Play the game as you choose!

The Movies - for better or worse - is a marvel of a game. The reviews here on Amazon run the gamut of all the game's pros and cons very well. I'll try to summarize my experience and opinion without getting into all the details already covered.

Game Summary: The Movies sees you in charge of a studio starting at 1920 and going to the present day - with all the changes in technology and world events to go with it. All the changes affect everything in the game: the game-world is very interactive as far as what sells and what's happening.

The game has two major components (with so many sub-parts I couldn't even begin to write about): building and managing your movie studio - all the buildings, staff, and finances that you can imagine going into it; and making movies - replete with script-writing, stage sets, and marketing. The experience of running your own movie studio is very compelling.

As an added bonus you can create your own movie stars - everything from head shape to eye color to personal hygene. And you can throw movies into post-production and edit every single detail of every single scene if you so desire. Movies can be saved in files or CDs to play in the standard Windows Media Player (make some "interesting" family movies). If that doesn't strike you as astounding for a simulation game then don't waste the money on this one.

Quick list of pros (+) and cons (-):
+ Graphics: excellent, believable, and engrossing
+ Sound: fitting, clear, and engrossing
+ Gameplay: intuitive, easy-to-learn, and addictive
+ Performance: solid, smooth, doesn't distract
- Learning Curve: there's a LOT to do here
- Expansions: expansion pack "STUNTS" over-priced under-packed

Make sure your system meets all the requirements on the box: you'll need directx 9.0c compatible hardware to run the game. Updating your graphics and sound drivers may also be needed. The game comes with the STARMAKER program to make your own movie stars; but check the company's website for the current update patch.

Also I had an installation issue where the autoplay menu wouldn't install after clicking the 'install' button. If this happens to you you'll have to go the CD drive the game is in and double-click the "Setup.exe" file to get it going.

Enjoy and make some movies