The Movies PC Review

[Akeldama]

Could Lionhead do it? Such an ambitious project to bring movie studio management and user movie creation together in one game. Surely it's a recipe for disaster. But what's this? The game robs your time, your sleep, will have you playing through the whole night? Yes The Movies is here, and lo-and-behold, it's a rather special PC release. Check out the full review at Boomtown (http://pc.boomtown.net/en_uk/articles/art.view.php?id=9751).

[Taco]

I wonder how long we have to wait to ensure the reviews are proper?

[darkwarrior]

End of the day perhaps?

[Akeldama]

I have no idea what Taco is on about. But Activision had the reviews embargoed until today, so you'll most likely see a lot reviews of the game going up now. One would expect the big US sites to have reviews towards the end of the day.

[Taco]

I'm thinking I bought Black and White based on a lot of reviews over the first couple weeks. I see a good review, it's a good thing because I like good games. But I'm still a bit hesitant.

I'm not one of those people who believe all positive reviews are paid for.

[Akeldama]

It's not paid for, it's just a damn good game. And for what it's worth if you read our review of Black & White at Boomtown you'd have seen a more negative review. :)

[zeeeg]

Plus it's even the same writer who reviewed B&W2 (and gave it a 5/10).

[Vandenh]

Interesting...

Now I can finally start my Sherlock Holmes movie series and my plan to conquer the universe!

[Taco]

Good answers. I'm still going to wait it out a bit, but I'm encouraged ;).

It's not paid for

And just to be clear, I never thought it was. I was just worried about unintentially reviewing the hype and not the game.

[Grimgrock]

Given what problems you've mentioned I think I'll be waiting on this one. Perhaps if a patch is released in the next month, I'll give it a try. Still want a demo though. That would be the best way of getting the attention of folks like me who are not sure.

[Xaerin]

All those preview movies really put me off and I fear no amount of positive reviews will change that.

[doyama]

I wonder how much emphasis is placed on making your own movie? I think it's an awesome feature but unfortunately I'm very left-brained and like all the gritty number crunching type things! I'm looking forward to running my own studio but not much to the prospect of having to make a really crappy movie due to my lack of creative skills! I wonder if its possible to play it purely as a 'studio sim' so to speak.

It's also going to take quite a lot to rip me away from Civ4! Just as soon as I can kick the computer's ass on Noble :p

[GodFather]

Im looking forward to this game. I am going to wait cause I bought 7 games in the past couple of weeks and havent even played half of them so far. But this game is on my list.

[Akeldama]

Doyama you don't have to create movies yourself if you don't want to, there's a team of AI scriptwriters who'll do it for you.

[mulligan]

Doyama you don't have to create movies yourself if you don't want to, there's a team of AI scriptwriters who'll do it for you.


sighs... sadly just like in real life. (leaving the "I" part behind)

[Akeldama]

I wonder how long it will take Uwe Boll to start using The Movies to create his features. :)

[Suicidal ShiZuru]

Sex scenes? Nudity? Patches for this? I hope so...

cough

[motorhappy]

Is it possible to add content; similar to The Sims?

[DigitalFirefly]

I can't wait for the Porn Star expansion pack.

[Taco]

I can't wait for the Porn Star expansion pack.


Well that's that, I'm sold.

[bean19]

Is it possible to add content; similar to The Sims?

I've been following the game, and there are already some modders working on this. You can add backdrops that you import, and you can use the StarMaker (a Lionhead product that comes with the preorder) to custom make faces for your stars. Also, I believe you can import your own soundtracks and of course you can import your own voice too.

So the answer is a definite "yes". However, just like in "The Sims", it takes a lot more savy and know how to do things beyond making clever carpet and wallpaper tiles, so the features that are integrated into the game are for amateur modders, and making stuff like guns and/or new outfits will require that you have some advanced skills and look at the modder FAQs for directions.

How much they support advanced stuff? I have no idea.

Considering some of the things that have made their way into "The Sims 2", they might be more cautious about this.

[doyama]

sighs... sadly just like in real life. (leaving the "I" part behind)

Are you kidding me? With the crap that Hollywood is churning out, I'm almost positive Lionhead gave out Beta copies to all the stuidos to start making movies with! :D

Think of it, don't have to buy a script or pay someone residuals on a movie! Plus it's indistinguishable from the real crap that Hollywood puts out anyways.

BRILLIANT! :p

[jwbxx]

Cmon people wake up. It's lionhead for christ sake. Every time their games get released they get great reviews. But once you buy it and go home and play it, you realize its garbage. Dont get tricked again.

[Taco]

Thanks for the heads up jwb, I was asleep and totally forgot to mention that in the very first and fourth post of this thread.

Thank you for waking us up, as I'm sure if by chance I did say something like that no one(especially not Akeldama or Zeeeg) would attempt to answer my concerns.

[jwbxx]

Its ok taco, people depend on me to tell it like it is. Anyways who really reads your posts anyways?

[Akeldama]

Jeez Taco, you're a friendly guy aren't you?

[Taco]

Totally friendly.

Being redundant(while acting otherwise) just happens to be a pet peeve of mine. Harping on Lionhead is encroaching on DNF status.

[bean19]

Taco - I think Akeldama said that there would be other reviews out quite soon. I thought that answered your concerns, so I didn't (redundantly) repeat them.

It is getting fairly high reviews (http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/561567.asp?q=the%20movies), but the devil is in the details. You should read said reviews. I'm pretty fond of this one by Boomtown, as he has communicated the problems well, but also the spirit of the game and it's innovations.

[Taco]

No, you're correct, the redundant comment was directed at jwb.