Enter the Matrix

"Not quite the ONE, but OK."

Games made for movie tie-ins, as a rule are usually pretty average and in a lot of cases, awful. So it came as quite a surprise to find ETM surprisingly entertaining.

You play either as Niobe or Ghost and depending on who you choose the game does actually play quite differently, a welcome addition as I expected little variation (a common trait in other games).

Onto the gameplay itself. One cannot help but feel instantly submerged into the world of the original movie itself, everything you would expect is there, from the dripping green code to the camera swoops and sounds and sights associated with all things Matrix.

Although not brilliant the graphics do a good job and there is a fair amount of detail and effects but nothing jaw-dropping, the framerate is fine for the most part and character animation is of a decent standard especially when hand to hand combat is engaged. This is where the game hits the right note for me. I never got tired of pummeling the plentiful amounts of enemies thrown at me because it is so reminiscent of the fight scenes from the movie, including all the sounds and movements. (You really feel like you are the ONE, even if your not actually playing as NEO, sadly)

One problem I did have with the controllable characters (Niobe and Ghost) is the animation when they run it looks bizarrely strange and stiff, also when climbing ladders or over fences they look hilariously wrong, but these don't spoil the actual play, just something that really stood out aesthetically.

As briefly mentioned the sound is spot on, the incidental music and other associated tracks are here and are implemented very well indeed and succeed to immerse the player into the action around them. The sound effects in all cases are again excellent, going into bullet time (or Focus as it is called in the game) causes subsequent sounds to go into slo-mo as well as the action itself.

The Focus ability is triggered by tapping (or holding down)the left trigger button on the control and depending on how it is used becomes a vital part of defeating certain enemies or winning against a large amount of foes. Remember running up the walls in the Matrix? you can do that! Remember all the dives and jumps and weird kung-fu esque moves? you can do all them!! The game features many weapons at your disposal including dual pistols, machine guns and shotguns and a sniper rifle etc and all can be used in Focus mode aswell to great effect, but sadly they are not half as much fun as the hand to hand combat.

There are levels in the game that detract from this, namely driving and piloting aircraft, these are a nice change from the constant fighting but nothing really special.

One thing I must mention is the story, written by the Wachowski brothers themselves, the plot runs parallel to the Matrix Reloaded and as one would expect is of a high standard as is the voice acting for Ghost and Niobi done by the real life actors themselves, so top marks on this area.

Overall ETM is very much a fun game, nothing deep about it, there are no puzzles, no exploration and it's pretty linear, but it just feels so good when you play it even though there are very obvious flaws, the fighting and the use of Focus never gets boring although you would expect it to. It's just a shame that it seems rushed (like many other movie/games) to co-incide with the Movies release. Given a few more months this could have being up there with the best.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/21/03, Updated 05/21/03