SEYMOUR AT THE MOVIES By: Codemasters Download: seymour1.zip Hints & Tips What are your favourite kind of computer games? In the case of the Amstrad, adventure games must be a popular answer. Quite a number of adventure games were churned out for the CPC and this genre included text games as well as graphic adventures. The king of the graphic adventure library was Dizzy, but he wasn't the only graphic adventure Codemasters released. The Codies actually released quite a few graphic adventure games and after Dizzy the best of the rest was Seymour. Seymour had a few games (both adventure and arcade) and could have been as big as the famous egg had he not appeared at the time when home computers were on the way down.

So who is Seymour? From the games he stars in it is clear that he is a movie star. You wouldn't know by looking at him. He certainly shares no resemblance to the likes of Mel Gibson. It is hard to describe what Seymour is exactly. He looks like a round blob with hands and feet. If he is meant to be anything at all I would guess he is a cartoon potato. Seymour at the movies was actually meant to be a Dizzy game according to some rumours. In the end the plan was ditched and the game was given it's own original character. Dizzy appeared in fantasy related games so that would perhaps explain why it was felt that he wouldn't work in a game which borrowed ideas from popular films.

Seymour at the movies is your standard graphic adventure. You guide the main character around the game talking to the characters you encounter and using whatever objects you find to solve puzzles in the hope of finding a movie script. Like in many Dizzy games you get three lives and an energy bar which will have to last you for the whole game. There aren't any extra lives to get or ways of replenishing energy you lose when enemies or other hazards hit you. There are also objects that need to be collected before the game can be fully completed. Three items can be carried at once but a Treasure Island Dizzy system is used (first thing you pickup is the first thing you have to drop). Thankfully when you press fire the game automatically selects which object you should be using to avoid frustrating the player too much. The thing that makes the game special is that the game-world has a number of movie studios where you'll meet famous movie characters. Having puzzles based on motion pictures is something most players can related to and makes playing a fun experience for most people who pick up the game.

The game's graphics are probably better than those seen in Dizzy. Although not many colours get used the main character for example is better drawn than Dizzy. Seymour is also well animated. If you leaving him alone for a while he will make a number of silly faces. But the game also has a number of flaws. The main one is the size of the game. The game-world is fairly large and it takes ages to complete the game with much time wasted carrying objects from where you find them to where they are needed. A large game isn't a bad thing (especially with emulators letting you save your progress) but when it was released it was a bit much to expect someone to finish it all in one sitting. Another problem the game has is the location of the studios. They are in a very confusing maze with all the studios looking the same from the outside. Make yourself a map or you will go potty trying to find you way around.

Those minor gripes aside Seymour at the movies is a great game for adventure fans looking for something worthwhile which is totally egg free.

Rating: 88%