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%]
CodeMasters
£xx.xx cass
Reviewer: James Leach
If you haven't met Seymour before, imagine a relative of Dizzy the egg, who lives in the real world. He's a sort of slug-type thing, who wanders around with his little eyes blinking and his little hands waving (yes yes, I know slugs don't have eyes and hands, but if you could imagine one that did). He scrolls his way through life jumping over things, collecting them, working out puzzles and trying not to get killed.
And in this, the first of the Seymour escapades, the little sluggy fellow has zipped off to Hollywood. Why? It's difficult to say, really.
There must be a place in a film for a talking slug with hands and big shoes. But even if Spielberg or someone is contemplating a version of ET or Indiana Jones starring a gastropod (look it up) it's not going to be too easy for our little white chum to become a top idol. Firstly, he's actually got to get into the film studios by somehow proving to the big and dangerous security guards that he is the famous Seymour. Its difficult because, like us, nobody in Tinseltown has ever heard of him either. But if you can find him a pair of dark glasses, he'll look exactly like Jack Nicholson (or Madonna or someone), so he should have no trouble getting in.
His hassles are only just beginning though. Once actually in the studios, he's got to get through the maze of equipment and he's even got to be able to talk to the stars (who are notoriously dim, as we all know). Its a real problem, especially when you're trying to communicate with Tarzan!
TRICKS, TRAPS AND TEAPOTS
All the usual CodeMasters tricks, traps and head-scratchers have been included in the game, as well as a couple of nasty pranks (but strangely, there aren't any teapots). I spent hours trying to get Seymour across a frighteningly busy LA road only to find that it was impossible, and I should have set off in the other direction. Arrgghh! I said (it's true, he did. Ed). But once you get into the swing of things, Seymour, like the Dizzy games it resembles, is completely brilliant. Its packed with great graphics, its got a kickin'soundtrack and is very, very playable.
As it's set in the real world, Seymour Goes To Hollywood is a bit more logical than some of the Dizzy games, The general formula is pretty much unchanged from the Dizzy days though. There are lots of objects (which you won't know what to do with) and there are lots of problems to solve before you can proceed. Use the correct objects with these probs and you can get past. It calls for a bit of grey-matter exercise, does this.
There are 96 stonking screens, each one packed with detail, colour and things to jump up and down on. You pick up or drop things using the RETURN key, which also triggers the objects in your pockets as well. So if you find a key, hit RETURN to open a locked door. Easy enough, so you don't need to bother with typing in commands or anything.
And in case you hadn't gathered by now, guess what, budget fans! The Codies have done it again! Seymour Goes To Hollywood is absolutely crammed with, er, stuff. There's loads of colour in the game, continuous sound and rather cute graphics. The only thing is, they don't seem to be too bothered with attribute clash. Seymour changes colour happily as he passes in front of things but it doesn't matter much (and if they'd put less colour in, I for one would have been incredibly unhappy. So unhappy, in fact that I'd have gone round to the Codies and painted their famous farmhouse in tons of bright colours.) Sorry, I seem to be digressing somewhat.
Anyway, if you like the Dizzy games, run to the shops now, wake up the shopkeeper and force him to sell you a copy of Seymour Goes To Hollywood. If he says "But this is a fishmongers", tell him YS sent you. Whatever you do, you've just got to get hold of Seymour Goes To Hollywood at any cost!
Code Masters
£3.99 cassette
Reviewer: Rich Pelley
"Seymour is completely brilliant. It's packed with great graphics. It's got a kickin'soundtrack and it's very, very playable. 90%". That's what the back of the inlay quite rightly quotes YS as saying from the last time we reviewed it back in the December issue, so, er, quite why I've been sent it again even I would be quite intrigued to know. Here then is Andy with an explanatory bracket to clear things up entirely. (Pssst. That's you, Andy). (Ermm.. it's being re-released Rich. Ed)
So whatever reason Andy just gave is the reason that we're reviewing Seymour again, which I'd say seems good enough reason as any. Following direct head-swop operations with the programmers of Dizzy, the people behind Seymour have made their main character a blob on legs and stuck him in a flip-screen arcade adventure Seymour has just been sent to Hollywood to star in his latest block-busting movie you see, the director has gone missing and only you can save the day. As ever, this is done by collecting objects and using or giving them at the correct place.
"As ever"; those words rung round my head minutes after commencing play. I don't know about you but personally I'm growing a little weary of all these CodeMasters arcade adventures - it's just that, especially puzzle-wise, they are all so similar. Obviously no one else agrees with me here, they always get rave reviews and sell like hot cakes. It's just that after the step forward of Slightly Magic, Seymour seems like a bit of a giant and somewhat Dizzy leap back. But if that doesn't bother you (and providing you can keep your eyes off the complete solution in the February issue) then there's at least three quid's worth of fun to be had here.
Label: Code Masters
Memory: 48K/128K
Price: £3.99 Tape
Reviewer: Big Al Dykes
Dizzy is a character we are by now all familiar with in Magic land and Fantasy world. But believe it or not he has a real-world cousin named Seymour who finds himself in this, his first adventure, pitted against the larger-than-life characters and pitfalls of good old tinseltown; Hollywood.
Seymour is apparently a film star and thus feels he has earned the right to hob nob with the big boys in sin city LA. The loading screen fills viewers with hope as famous hollywood characters like Robocop are sketched rather nicely in familiar poses, however we don't actually see much of these in the actual game! Instead we're presented with a classic Dizzy pick up the pieces and deposit them in the right place or the right person's hand scenario and, as Barry Norman would say, "Why not?"
The graphics are very cartoon orientated and can be quite humourous. Seymour looks rather like peeled potato on legs and is usually only taken seriously by the other game characters when he is wearing a pair of film star sunglasses. Watch out for his secretary, she's very nice. A real sweet potato! The soundtrack is fine too.
Dizzy seems to have a charmed life as a character and I don't think his fans will be too disappointed with Seymour. Even if he is a potato he may not be an instant Smash with everyone.
GARTH:
Wondering around the studios of Hollywood could have been more spectacular - but this 'real world' Dizzy is entertaining.
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