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Enter the Matrix
Enter the Matrix is an action game from Atari inc. and Shiny Entertainment, it is available on PS2, Xbox, GC
and PC platforms.
The Matrix trilogy is quite popular, so it made sense when Atari tasked Shiny Entertainment
with the creation of a Matrix videogame. Enter the Matrix wasn't overly popular with the critics, some loved it, others
hated it.
I for one loved Enter the Matrix. The story is different depending on whom you play as, the choices
are Ghost or Niobe. Your main goal is to aid Neo and his team in their effort to save the world.
The game controls much like that of Max Payne and Dead to Rights. The only complaint I really have is
with the button placement, on the Xbox controller you use the small black button to fire your weapon, yes I know
it makes no sense. This makes firefights needlessly uncomfortable as your constantly having to deal with the akward button
placement. What with all the shooting you'd think that Shiny would have made it easier to use the weapons. As for
how your character controls. At times I found myself falling off of ledges due to some wonky animation, the vehicle portions
control horridly, but it still manages to be fun, even though I felt like I was driving a bathtub.
The core
gameplay has you shooting, ducking, jumping and using bullet time extensively due to the constant stream of...well
bullets flying this way and that. I enjoyed using bullet time more in this game than in Max Payne 1 and 2. It just
feels just right, I'd even goes as far as to say that bullet time is Enter the Matrix' greatest asset. You will fire
more bullets in this game than you ever will in GTA. Waisting countless foes with large streams of bullets while in bullet
time is a sight to behold. Some things bothered me, for one, jumping can be a real chore due to weak jumping animation, this
affects gameplay in that you can fall to your demise quite easily. All the shooting can become quite disorienting which
doesn't help when your jumping across buildings and what not.
This game is basic, shoot, dodge, jump, drive
and run like hell. Especially when faced with an agent, who are fun yet hard to fight due to their ability to dodge your
fire. The fighting is almost as fun as the gunplay, beating down foes with martial arts instead of bats, that
is something I find much more satisfying.
The graphics are a mixed bag, there are small problems such as clipping, textures
and repetetive levels. The character models are great, very detailed for the time. The animation is less than polished, jumping
looks ridiculous, climbing ladders, oh, don't get me started. Having said that I do have to mention that the
enemy animations are well done, and the fighting animation is acceptable as well. Glitches galore, this is
what could be said about Enter the Matrix, but guess what, that isn't what's important, it's about the fun
and Enter the Matrix delivers in spades.
Now it may seem that Enter the Matrix is just a bug riddled action game with
little substance, well that is true to an extent, but once you start playing you will be hooked, what with great
features such as bullet time, a wide variety of guns, and a great fighting system, this should keep action junkies and
Matrix fans hooked all weekend.
8.5/10
-Brandon Stanway (xplay25)
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