Hooray for Simulated Hollywood

Build your own Hollywood studio from the ground up in "The Movies." (Lionhead Studios)

For anyone who has watched a movie and thought they could do a better job making it -- and these days, who hasn't? -- "The Movies" is the game for you. The gameplay is a cross between "The Sims," in which you have to keep your virtual people happy, and a professional Hollywood editing machine.

The game starts in the 1920s. You have an empty lot, a suitcase of money and a line of folks wanting to work in the newfangled movie industry. The first thing you need to do is build sets and administration buildings. Then you have to look at the available talent and figure out who will be the next big star, who will be on your film crew and who can direct. You also need to hire maintenance workers, scriptwriters and even personal assistants.

At first your movie options are primitive. One- or two-scene movies in scratchy black-and-white on tiny sets are about it. You are also locked into using whatever tripe your bargain-basement scriptwriters produce. Eventually you can hire researchers to develop more colorful film, new sets and even special effects. If you can beat rival studios to a new film technology, the public will forgive a lot of other mistakes. Releasing movies makes the money roll in, which you use to improve your studio, hire more actors and gain prestige.

The actors all have personalities. You need to keep them happy by constructing trailers for them, giving them makeovers, providing food and liquor, and even sending them to rehab if needed. The more popular they are, the more of a pain it is dealing with them.

Once you get good enough, you can build a production facility, where you can edit the scripts your writers give you. You call the shots in this mode, directing, adding dialogue and generally making a movie however you want. It's pretty amazing what you can get your actors to do with an easy-to-use interface. There is a huge repository of movies from the game you can view at http://movies.lionhead.com or upload your own and see what the community thinks.

With new props and sets to download and the ability to design your own actors, "The Movies" has endless replay value. Developer Lionhead Studios has somehow captured that alluring movie magic and boxed it, opening the world of Tinseltown to the masses.

-- John Breeden II

The Movies Teen (13+), PC Windows 98/Me/2000/XP (3D Accelerator card required) ($40) Activision