You’re In the Movies

You’re In the Movies

When Sony first unveiled their Eyetoy camera for PlayStation 2, gamers were certain that gaming would never be the same again. What need for 3D characters now that we could star in our own games? In reality, things didn’t quite work out like that. Their flagship game, a collection of minigame tasks in which you cleaned windows, played karate and danced awkwardly in your front room never blossomed much further than that and most gamers went scurrying back to their more traditional control methods.

You’re In The Movies is a party game that seeks to rekindle that first dream, using the Xbox 360’s Vision camera. Here you and up to three friends perform various ridiculous tasks to camera, follow a ‘Noo Yoik’ film director’s acting instructions and then, in the delicious final act, watch as the game edits all of your performances together into a movie trailer.

You begin by selecting the type of movie you’d like to make from a large selection of different titles in various genres. There are super hero movies, horror movies, giant gecko movies, science experiment gone wrong movies and so on. Once you’ve chosen and selected the number of players, everyone must move out of the way of the camera as it scans the room. Then, when you move back into the room you’re magically cut out and placed on a virtual background, like the green screen technique used in the movie industry. Providing your room is well-lit the technology works reasonably well.

Each player then picks a role to play in the film and, one by one, the director calls you up to perform on screen. These performances take one of two forms: minigames in which you perform ridiculous tasks that are then repurposed for the final trailer (i.e one where you turn a valve to shut off a water supply becomes a driving scene in the final trailer) or straightforward acting challenges. After four stages the game is complete and you can all sit back and watch the trailer for the film you selected, with you and your friends in the leading roles. Once you’ve viewed the trailer you can upload them to your computer and download them to share with friends and family.

As you complete movie trailers you unlock new ones and eventually you’ll unlock a director mode allowing you to create your own scripts. While the novelty of the experience does wear off after a few sessions, You’re In the Movies is an exceedingly enjoyable experience, perfect for party play. Occasional camera glitches aside, this is the most successful use of a camera yet seen in any game.

4 out of 5