Seymour Goes to Hollywood


by Allister Brimble, Chris Graham, Peter J. Ranson, R. Fred Williams, Shan Savage
Code Masters Ltd
1991
Crash Issue 93, Oct 1991   page(s) 58,59

Everyone dreams of getting into the film business. All those parties, chauffeur driven limousines and endless autograph hunters - what a hard life! Nick Roberts fancies a go and jumps into an aspiring movie star's shoes…

Code Masters
£3.99

All Seymour, our hero, knows is the movie industry, until one day he comes to the studio to find the director of his new film has gone off on his hols, with the script locked away and the whole studio in pandemonium!

Your task now is to right all the wrongs and get your latest blockbusting film into production. You're not on your own though. There are people all over the studio to help you - once you've solved their little problems, that is.

GREASE LIGHTNING!

There are a pile of film sets throughout the studio - taken from classic films like Grease, Frankenstein and The Wizard Of Oz! Each film set has characters from the movie in it, as well as objects to help you solve puzzles all through the game. There is a sinister plot behind all the razzmatazz though! Someone has been murdered and little Seymour has got to bring the scoundrel to justice.

EGG 'N' CHIPS

If you're a fan of this style of arcade adventure (ie, very much in the Dizzy mould), you'll have a fair idea of what to expect from Seymour. It's also as instantly playable as Dizzy games. You're guaranteed a pure diet of mysterious objects, strange situations and tricky puzzles that need solving.

The puzzles here are perhaps a little too easy for the hardened Dizzy fan. In fact, players who know what they're doing could have the game cracked in a couple of days (but still find it a lot of fun). Someone darting off in the big with world of CodeMasters adventures may find it more of a challenge.

Seymour is a much better character than Dizzy (That's a bit controversial! - Ed). The old egg was good in his day but it looks like he's had his chips. Seymour's facial expressions, the leaps and bounds he makes with his gigantic feet and his hands wobbling all over the place make the game very attractive (and therefore it oozes addictiveness, keeping you coming back for more and more).

Of course, cutesy graphics alone do not make a hit, a good game plan is needed too. This is where Seymour falls down a little. The main game is fine, but there's just one section that could drive you nuts: it's the studio maze bit. From this all the movie sets are accessed, but each screen in the maze is exactly the same and it's very easy to get lost. If the programmers had made slight alterations to each screen (so you could tell roughly where you're going) it may be bearable but, as it is, you'll be tearing your hair out!

Seymour has its faults (like all games), but the overall impression is a definite thumbs up! A hearty round of applause for the programming team at Big Red, a slap on the back to Codies and a big 'Hurrah!' for me ('cos I'm taking this game home with me!). I really hope we're going to sea a lot more of this character.

NICK [90%]


Oh lordy! It's a walking turnip wearing big gloves! Bizarre, eh? Seymour is here and, as in the Dizzy games, he has to wander around solving puzzles a plenty. That's fine and dandy if you enjoy that sort of game, but I grew very frustrated with the 'wander along, collect a few objects, wander a bit further' etc (repeat until asleep) format. Helping the other characters to solve their problems is quite satisfying. However, some won't let you pass them until you solve their particular problem (annoying so-and-sos). Seymour At The Movies is bright and colourful. Our hero looks a bit of a thickie, especially with his buck teeth. but then we can't all look like Mel Gibson or Arnie, I suppose. If you love puzzle games give this a whirl. It's a treat!
MARK [80%]

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Presentation: 87%
Graphics: 89%
Sound: 84%
Playability: 87%
Addictivity: 87%
Overall: 85%

Summary: Another game in the Dizzy mould. And why not? People seem to love them so.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

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