The Matrix: Path of Neo

"It's official: The Matrix license can't translate into games without being bad."

Let's face it: movie games have a tendency to suck. None more so than the utterly horrible Enter the Matrix. Other spin-offs have come and gone and we find the first Matrix game to let you play as the main character, Neo. How'd that work? Anywho, while this does show some life in the franchise, it still falls completely short.

GRAPHICS: 7/10
Even for the Xbox, this isn't very good. The environments all look true to the movie series, but when the action gets frantic, it gets distorted. The characters themselves, well they got the clothes right. The faces don't necessarily look completely right. Neo and Agent Smith are okay, but others aren't that good. The fighting action does look okay though, especially when you do bullettime, but when you have tons of people on there it gets hectic and confusing. I thought they'd at least do well here, since that area hasn't seemed to falter in any of the Matrix games.

SOUND: 7/10
I will give this game something good. The voice-overs are pretty well done. They weren't able to get everybody from the films, they only got Lawrence Fishburne (wouldn't you think you'd want Keanu?) and all the rest do a good job imitating it. Especially the guy who does Neo's voice. He can get the surfer stuff of Keanu down pat. The music is, well I didn't like it. It does stay true to the movie, but I didn't like the movies' music either. The sound effects...actually...I didn't pay attention much. The gameplay forces you to concentrate, so I never paid attention.

GAMEPLAY: 6/10
ALMOST! This kind of fighting definitely works well on the Xbox, with the martial-arts and bullettime. But, when you've gotta fight more than maybe 3 guys, it can get tough and confusing. There are a ton of tutorials just to learn everything about this game! There are unlockable powers of Neo as you progress, and the powers are pretty well done. It's just that most of the fights you encounter require fighting between 10-20 people and that gets confusing. The only real stealth element isn't that good either. Some puzzles require you to think, but I kinda liked that. This game also allows you to make some decisions you couldn't make in the movie (like taking the blue pill). I wouldn't try to follow the story though. The Matrix is one of those stories that just isn't for the casual person. They're getting the right idea here, but they aren't hitting it clean enough.

OVERALL:
While this game does show a glimpse of potential in this franchise, it still falls very short of acceptable.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/05