The Movies

Become a movie mogal and run a Hollywood studio with Lionhead's superb PC game.

Tweaking the script of a western adventure

There's so much depth to the creation of movies that it offers a game within a game. A sandbox mode away from the regular game offers the opportunity to spend more time on your movie creations without worrying about keeping the stars happy. It's possible to output your finished movies in Windows Media format to share with friends. Movie making within the game is highly addictive and I've really enjoyed creating some horror and sci-fi masterpieces with it already.

The graphics are a real delight. There's plenty of detail to be scene from the top down view as all the members of the studio go about their daily work. The many objects and buildings you can create have all been beautifully designed. What's more impressive is that you can zoom right in and get a close up view of the action. You'll be amazed how much detail there is in the game, for example watching the guy at the refreshment stand flipping burgers or seeing individual blades of grass sway in the breeze. The sound is equally accomplished with radio DJs offering a funny view of the world as the studio developers from the 1920 to 2010.

Sliders help you control the scenes

The Movies is clearly a very accomplished game but it does have a few problems. As previously mentioned there can be a lot of micromanagement in the regular game. Other problems include a clunky scene choosing interface that often makes it hard to find the particular scene you want and sometimes scenes not being available to match up with others with particular props.

However despite these few problems The Movies really is a superb game that will appeal to so many different people. If you're into The Sims, you'll no doubt enjoy familiar gameplay as you manage the lives of your movie stars. And for those of a creative bent, there's a chance to create your very own movie epics and share them with friends. Lionhead has succeeded beyond my expectations with The Movies and the game really does deserve your attention.

Read more reviews of The Movies via Metacritic .