5-Jul-2006 Lionhead's expansion pack for its Movies sim barrel-rolls to hits its mark for fresh filmic capers You couldn't imagine Mission: Impossible without Tom Cruise rappelling through a ventilation duct to hack into a high security computer terminal. Or Brokeback Mountain with a high-speed helicopter chase through a city, followed by an explosion and a giant mutant attack. Now remember how, when we reviewed The Movies, adored it and smothered it in a warm, fluffy Classic Award, we demanded the inclusion of stunts (and musicals, but mostly stunts). Now be amazed at Paul Presley's Nostradamus-like abilities, because here it is - a stunts expansion for The Movies.
This isn't mere tacked-on content, with the inclusion of a new stuntman character class who must be hired and cast along with the rest of the crew. Developing these stunt doubles from mere falling down artists into professional high-flying, magical flip-around, fire-dodging, explosion-loving animals is as important as developing your actors. Adding a stunt to a movie is a gamble, as successful stunts greatly increase the quality of the movie, while failed stunts cannot be reshot (as your stuntmen will probably need immediate hospital treatment).
At first, your diving divas can't take much more than a comedy plank to the head, but increase their skills through training and experience and they'll be jumping from helicopters and smashing through burning buildings with reduced chances of failure. You can even risk having your star actor do his own stunts, Jackie Chan-style. But, just like Chan, there's always the risk of having them breaking their leg in four places while vaulting over a bus. It all works brilliantly well: stuntmen are easy to manage, stunts are incredibly satisfying to direct and watch and your finished movie's greatness is massively amplified by the new-found on-screen action.
With new scenes and sets, such as blue-screens and miniature cities (for your highly original 'Nodzilla' and 'Codependence Day' movies), as well as the ability to control the camera's positioning within a scene (which greatly increases freedom of creativity), along with new costumes, effects and a bunch of fancy camera overlays like night vision and raindrops, The Movies: Stunts & Effects is an essential addition and should not be missed by fans of the original.
PC Zone Staff
// Overview
Verdict
Stunning and effective
Uppers
Stunts themselves are spectacularly performed Allows for far more exciting movies Free camera provides fantastic freedom Easy-to-manage stuntmen integrate seamlessly
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Stunts themselves are spectacularly performed
