Enter the Matrix

"I'll be looking for an exit, thank you."

It was pretty hard to not get excited about this game- released the same day as the highly anticipated Matrix Reloaded, Enter the Matrix promised to more fully explore the story introduced by the new movie. So, despite well over a decade of experience to the contrary, I decided that this movie- licensed game might actually be good and purchased it with out hesitation.

In Enter the Matrix, you play as either Niobe or Ghost in a quest to stop humanity's destruction from the onslaught of the machines by taking on a series of missions that run parallel to Matrix Reloaded. With over an hour of footage to help move the game along, the plot of Enter the Matrix answers a couple of questions you may have had while watching the movie. While a few of these story elements offer some rather dramatic insight into key events, most are rather trivial and non-consequential to the overall lore of the Matrix Universe. In fact, there are even a few scenes that contradict the film and may add a bit of confusion.

Graphically, Enter the Matrix is a bit of a mixed bag. Character models are very detailed (close-ups look particularly nice as the programmers used facial capturing technology to model the characters) and animate extremely well (thank the motion- captured stunt team who also did the work for the first Matrix flick). The backgrounds are, with a few exceptions, extremely sparse. Repeating textures, few objects and an angular design really detract from the gameplay experience. Oh, and the last two stages? Complete ass. You get the joys of flying the Logos, which wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have a flock of Sentinels on your tail which follow you like a school of fish, faithfully mirroring your movements no matter how much fanciful flying you engage in. The programmers responsible for this little end-game sequence apparently lack depth perception as well since you can crash straight into a wall and the Sentinels in front of you still maintain the exact same distance.

And on the other hand, Enter the Matrix's audio experience is nearly without equal in its excellence. Strong words? Perhaps, but I stand by them nonetheless. The voice acting is some of the best I have ever heard, due, in no small part, to the use of the actual film stars. It goes without saying that this helps to immerse the gamer into the Matrix's complex story even further since you are already familiar with certain characters. The audio effects are no slouch either, adding just as much to the game and sounding every bit as good as the movie to boot. I honestly can't think of a single thing to complain about here so I'll just move along to something a little more rant-worthy...

...Like the control. It's not that there's anything fundamentally wrong with the controls, it's just that they never feel quite right. Your character always seems a second or two behind the action and his or her movement is always just a little too spastic. It's not enough to hinder game- play, but it sure is irritating after a while. Then there's the actual control set-up. Why, in this day and age of advanced technology, is it so difficult for developers to just give us the option to map our own buttons? The Focus button, probably the single most important element of the game, never felt at home in any of the three default configurations since you have to use it in conjunction with so many other buttons (if you want to pull off some of the cooler, Matrix-esque, moves). It takes a little fun out of the game when you have to pause and place your fingers in physics- defying positions just to do a cartwheel and shoot at the same time.

What Shiny set out to do was design a game that tells a story running parallel to Matrix Reloaded. And they did just that- they took a story a made a game around it. Enter the Matrix certainly has all the elements of the movies: lots of action, Wire-Fu fighting, incredible feats, spectacular special effects and a twisted story that'll keep you guessing to the end. In the end, however, this approach fails to deliver a solid experience when not enough attention was put into the key aspects of what makes a game fun. Take, for instance, the driving sequences. They are an example of what is not fun. To be able to outrun your enemies in a labyrinthine maze of steel and concrete would be idea if said maze wasn't actually just a straight path full of pre-determined turns. I've already touched on the extreme difficulty and assinosity of the last couple of stages, which leaves me with nothing further to add here.

With a rather unique approach, the bonuses of Enter the Matrix are unlocked through a cleverly designed hacking mode. Set up something similar to DOS, you must input commands on a virtual keyboard, delving deeper and deeper into an imaginary computer system. Secrets range from simple diversions that allow you to create sequential tones to galleries of Matrix-related pictures to viewing already unlocked in-game movies. It doesn't take too long to 'beat' the hacking mode but it's certainly a fun little diversion for the few hours it lasts.

I honestly can't recommend this game to anyone except hardcore Matrix fans. The difficulty of the Smith stages and the complete crap of the Logos levels really drag down what could have been a fairly good game. Only get Enter the Matrix if you're looking for a little more storyline and you've already watched the Animatrix a couple dozen times.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 08/12/09

Game Release: Enter the Matrix (US, 05/14/03)