Gaming Target - Xbox: Enter the Matrix

Written by Leigh Culpin on May 28, 2003

Second View: See how deep does the rabbit hole goesЕ

Released the same day as the new Matrix movie (Reloaded), Enter the Matrix was written and directed by the writers of the movies and developed by Shiny Entertainment to tie in fairly closely to the movie plot, offering some more background information and side story. However, it seems that the coinciding release is both the games strongest and weakest point Ц while it certainly does ensure that everything in the Matrix world is fresh in your mind, and frankly playing the game does want to make you go see the movie again, the whole experience feels somewhat rushed due to the inflexible release target.

The whole game experience is somewhat of a roller coaster Ц early on you may experience some points where you're playing it only in hopes that it gets better, and then it does Ц while the various problems the game has are still all intact at these points, the sheer coolness factor jumps up a few notches before sizzling down again by the end. While there isn't really any one part of the game that is absolutely terrible, it's not the most memorable experience either.

You can play as either Niobe or Ghost from Reloaded, and although neither really make overly major appearances in the film, both characters have a fair amount of actual recorded video, acted and shot as if it had been a part of the movie. At some of the core scenes, which intertwine heavily with the film it feels like you're watching a natural continuation of where the movie left off, which is one of the reasons you'll keep playing the game. Both characters have their fair share of independent storyline, and while they both are constantly together in the same building or area, each character has their own path for the most part. For instance, in the driving sequences, playing as Niobe will find you driving whereas playing as Ghost will give you the role of gunner (with one exception). It's kind of cool to play through as one and then piece together some missing components of the story when you play through as the other afterwards. The two characters even have their own distinctive animation sets designed to fit their appearance.

The story prior to the timeframe directly dealing with the movie is somewhat weak and seems to be more of a Уget used to the ridiculous controlsФ type of deal Ц no training levels are present, and the controls really are odd Ц you have no ability to adjust the external camera whatsoever, and oddly enough the button used to fire you weapons is the black one, easily one of the most ignored buttons on the Xbox's controller. The white serves as your secondary weapon (grenades of various types), the right trigger serves as your targeting button (hold it to strafe of face an enemy) and the face buttons correspond to jumping or combat. The left trigger engages УfocusФ mode Ц bullet time. Using this equips you with an entirely new variety of moves for fighting, jumping, running, diving, and even opening doors. While the world around you slows down drastically, you move at nearly the same speed as you normally would, giving you a movement advantage which allows you to dodge bullets, jump long distances and pull off some extremely sweet fights. The bottom right corner hosts a meter which informs you of how much focus you have left before you're kicked out of the mode and have to wait a few seconds for it to recharge. While it doesn't sound like a big deal, in the middle of a battle it can be somewhat troublesome to run out of your greatest asset.

The actual fighting system is fairly well done, allowing you to commit silent take downs, holds, throws, blocks and a variety of kicks and punches. However, by the end of the game you'll see all of these repeated constantly, and as in Blood Rayne, there are some clipping issues Ц occasionally you'll have an enemy on the ground, punch over his head and see him go flying when there very clearly was no contact made. The animations accompanying this system vary in quality as well Ц some are very well done but are sorely lacking force (for instance, Niobe can kick an enemy's legs out from under him, turning him sideways in midair, and then throw a hard palm to his chest to send him flying backwards, but neither the animation nor the accompanying physics do the awesomeness of this move justice) whereas others are just mediocre. This is the same with all other animations Ц the running animations are downright silly until you get used to them, as are some of the jumping and especially ladder climbing clips. While in due time you do get used to the absurdity of these, you shouldn't have to in the first place.

The gunplay is also a big part of the game, though perhaps not as fun as the combat system. It is a blast, there's no denying that, but like the rest of the game, it's a mixed bag of tricks Ц the combat was glitchy but satisfying, whereas this is better done aesthetically but less satisfying. It's really just too easy for the most part, which is likely why ammo is somewhat sparingly placed, but by the end of the game I was fully loaded with almost every gun I encountered since I stuck with the hand to hand combat for the most part. You don't really need to use your weapons in too many cases aside from the sniper and rail missions and the occasional long distance encounter with a large group of enemies. There is even a mock lobby scene fairly early on which is somewhat cool on it's own but frustratingly unfinished when compared with it's potential, and to be fair the gunplay along with focus can potentially let you recreate a scene fairly close to the original.

The levels quite often throw in some nostalgia from the original film here and there, such as the aforementioned lobby scene, a familiar rooftop setting or two, and various other situations. Once you start tying directly into Reloaded's story, however, is where you'll see the most comparable scenery, including the highway, tea house, library, ball room, and many others. Again you're presented with a Уit's cool, but it could have been so much betterФ feeling, as all of these are modeled fairly accurately to the movie's sets but lack texture detail or any really outstanding features.

Graphically, the game is yet again a mixed bag of tricks Ц Niobe and Ghost look spot on, but the majority of the game's characters are mediocre and repetitive, the textures are bland, the animations are iffy, and the special effects are perhaps the most disappointing of all. Visually the game screams for polish, and the potential is constantly in sight but also constantly untapped, making this game somewhat frustrating to play.

The audio is certainly one of the highlights, and while it is repetitive, it is also almost exclusively captured from the movie, including gunshot sounds, special effects sounds, music and the cool combat sounds. Having a bullet whip by your head in focus mode will play the appropriate sound at the appropriate volume, and the gunshot sounds are uber-cool for the majority of the game. The music can get a little tedious and plays at odd parts at times, but certainly does it's job and well. The voice acting is all very well done and certainly conveys the required emotions and themes, tying in perfectly with the world of the Matrix.

A key thing about the movie was it's darkness Ц most everything is pale or dark, without a lot of bright colours with few exceptions. The game tries to capture this, and while the levels are appropriately dark, they're also somewhat muddy and drawl. Using focus mode will increase the Matrixy feel a bit, but generally running around in a level you won't completely feel like you're actually in the Matrix.

There are a fair amount of extras via the Hacking option, which allows you to УHack the MatrixФ and enter a variety of cheat codes, including one allowing you to get it on one-on-one style with a friend in close-range fistfight in a variety of arenas. Unfortunately, being two player, there's no focus available, so it really becomes more of a half-baked fighting game than anything once the novelty wears off.