Enter the Matrix

"This Review Is Not Real"

You just can't help but shake the feeling that ''Enter The Matrix'' (a very ambitious sidestory of the recently released ''The Matrix Reloaded'') has let down the gaming generation. There was too much hype (although the hype worked - 1 million sold!). And in my personal opinion? They're right. I, admittedly, was expecting a kick-ass game that wouldn't disappoint. And while I don't think EtM was a complete waste of my money, it is rather flawed and VERY buggy. There's no way The Matrix has this many glitches.

Gameplay - 7/10

Before I go into the gameplay, I'd like to address the bugs. Many of you have noticed them, and many others have not. But I have. Several times. Enemies run past me and into walls. Niobe and/or Ghost get ''stuck'' at a certain spot and won't move, despite being able to fight and kick. A cutscene plays twice. I understand that Shiny had a deadline, but was ANY preliminary testing done on this game at all? Yeeesh.

EtM is composed mainly of three sections: fighting, driving, and flying the Logos. The fighting is fun and relatively easy to do. The effect made famous by the first film, Bullet Time, has become somewhat of a staple for third person action games (Max Payne, Dead to Rights, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc) but it's well pulled off here and doesn't feel like a gimmick. Different, more powerful moves can be done when you enter Bullet Time (or ''Focus'') and it makes you feel like a true bad ass. The driving and flying, unfortunately, are nowhere near as fun. The driving physics are just terrible, and you're much better off choosing Ghost to do the shooting so you don't have to manuever around the slow-as-butter streets. The flying is even worse, and that's what the last two levels consist of. It's a confusing mesh of bashing into walls, blindly hurling through tunnels, and shooting randomly at sentinels. The flying is truly awful. Just grit your teeth while playing them and they'll be over soon.

So, the bottom line? Fighting feels as good as wiping your arse with silk. Driving is as painful as having an Agent rip out your heart. Flying the logos is the videogame equivalent of tearing off all your skin and rolling around in salt. But since the majority of the game is fighting, the gameplay gets a 7.

Also, there's hacking, which I'm pretty neutral on, but a lot of you old school DOSers will appreciate it.

Story - 8/10

What? The story doesn't get a perfect 10? BLASPHEMY! THE WACHOWSKIS WROTE IT! YOU STUPID PIECE OF--

Yes, yes. Many have been praising EtM's storyline and I'm with them. Somewhat. It follows the doings of the Logos crew during The Matrix Reloaded, and they seem to be dedicated to helping out Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus. We learn of Niobe's relationship with Jason and Morpheus, as well as Ghost's relationship with Trinity. And Sparks is a cynical (but often funny) smartass. That's pretty much it. The ending feels very empty and tensionless, despite obviously being a ''cliffhanger'' that'll most likely be picked up on in Revolutions.

So why an 8? Well, the story flows relatively smoothly and even helps answer some questions that arise from Reloaded. It does flesh out the characters of Niobe and Ghost, which I appreciated, because they were relatively nonexistent in Reloaded.

Graphics - 7.5/10

Resident Evil 4 this game is not. The character models look really good, but the environments are bland and boring, with the possible exception of the Chateau. The motion-capture is smooth and very impressive, which makes the fights all the more exciting. The frame-rate is mostly good but there are times when the game stutters (particularly when the environment gets foggy). So, the graphics aren't great, but they're not terrible. They just... are.

Sound - 9/10

This is where Shiny picks up the slack and does a terrific job. The score takes many cues from the films (and rightfully so) and also uses several kick ass tracks from great bands (Evanescence, for instance). The fighting/exploration bits of the game really pick up when a music track starts - it really highlights the moment and makes you feel like you're in the game. The sound is also very well done; the sound of guns blazing, necks snapping and bones cracking are all presented with believable panache. Also, when you enter Focus, the music/sounds blur to make it feel as if you're underwater, which I think is a really cool effect.

Replayability - 8/10

The game allows you to replay any of the levels you've completed, something I always appreciate. Also, there's the hacking that I mentioned earlier, which lets you do things like input cheats, drop weapons at certain locations, and watch the FMVs you unlock in the game. Pretty cool.

Rent, or Buy?

It really depends on you. If you're a hardcore Matrix fan, buy it without a doubt. But if you only liked the films a bit, but are curious as to what the game is like, I'd say give it a rent. And if you're in the middle? Do whatever you want. I can't control you.

This Summary Does Not Exist

All in all, Enter the Matrix is a relatively fun game that doesn't take long to complete, nor is it hard to play. It's a nice experience for any Matrix fan to experience, but might leave other gamers feeling empty. If there's a game made to parallel Revolutions, I can only hope more care and effort is put into the engine to make the experience unforgettable to any gamer who gets their hands on it.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/03, Updated 05/25/03