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| Reviewer | Platform | Publisher | Developer | Players | Screenshots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Bailey | PlayStation 2 | Atari | Shiny | 1 (2 in bonus share-screen mode) | Here |
| Requirements | Also on... | Buy from Amazon.co.uk | |||
| At the time of writing, we did not have a requirements section. | Xbox, GC | Click here to buy Enter the Matrix. | |||
Enter the Matrix is one of the most hyped games of the year. It has even out-hyped the new Tomb Raider (which as I write is lost in release date confusion) and Halo 2, which now won't be making an appearance until at least next year. Enter the Matrix is riding on the hype created by the new Matrix film; the sequel to the hit 1999 movie, which itself never saw a computer game tie-in. ETM is closely related to The Matrix Reloaded, not just because of the title, not just because they share characters, the directors, the action or the use of bullet-time, but, quite importantly, because of the storyline. ETM and The Matrix Reloaded don't share the same storyline; instead Shiny got The Wachowski Brothers (creators of The Matrix trilogy and big fans of computer games) to create a plot for them that cleverly intertwines with that of the new movie, giving fans of the series the chance to experience more of the on-going storyline. The Animatrix is a series of animation shorts from various directors using a range of techniques which all tie in to the Matrix universe, and one of these, the CGI film from the creators of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within titled The Final Flight of the Osiris, links up to both the new movie and this game, providing the background for you activities. Of course this is a bit of brilliant marketing strategy on behalf of Atari and AOL Time Warner, likely to make them and the Wachowskis even richer, but still you cannot ignore the fact that the concept adds depth to the Matrix universe, and indeed, enhances the nature of both film and game.
About the game itself; ETM is a 3rd person adventure game featuring two characters of the film; Niobe and Ghost. The choice of character at the start of the game determines which objectives you receive and which part of the levels you visit. Either way, you will find yourself armed with a collection of various weapons or, alternatively, you can fight it out in hand-to-hand or foot-to-face combat, with a system that is simplistic, yet makes the action look impressively cool. There's still fun in pulling off a running jump into the wall, which takes out your opponent, even hours and hours down the line. However, in order to break up the on-foot action, a few levels feature the use of vehicles, either with cars or your 'real-world' ship, the Logos. This is another point where your choice of character comes into play. Taking control of Niobe means that you are in control of the cars and the Logos, while with Ghost you either fire a weapon out of the side of the car or fire the on-board guns of the Logos; where in both cases the computer drives for you. These make a nice change to the normal gameplay, and vary the experience of the game, but after a while you will want to get right back to the action, especially as these elements aren't without their niggles (the car handling, for example).
In terms of controls ETM can often feel a bit clunky, but that should not stop you pulling off some amazing moves with relative simplicity. Of course, no Matrix game would be complete without bullet time, and it rightfully makes a presence in ETM. The function, known as focus, allows you to slow down time when your bar, measuring this ability, isn't depleted, and when this occurs, you will see the bullets fly towards your screen, giving you enough time to dodge some of them. It also allows you to perform some focus-only moves, and just generally making the combat seem more impressive. However, the game does lack a proper bullet-dodging function, and there's no camera spinning effects which were are some of my favourite moments in both the first and second movies.
The graphics of ETM are a bit of a mixed bag. Obviously, the team were aiming for the feel of the film, but it seems they haven't quite made it. In the texture department, some polished surfaces look very good, but there are other points where the textures are rather dull and grainy. The character models, however, do look consistently good; with realistic-looking faces and heads (including Niobe's very well modeled bobbled hair), and leather jackets that flap around with the character movements. It's all very impressive, and couples well with the game's excellent animation, which provides a real kick (literally) to the fighting. These two factors combined help make the combat the best part of ETM. However, there is one major problem with ETM, that seems to cause quite a problem with many 3D games, and that is the camera. The biggest issue here is the lack of camera control; without this freedom the view is often stuck in positions you do not want it to be, and when taking cover it can prove to be very awkward.
ETM does manage to impress in the sound department; it links a music score from The Matrix Reloaded into the game in both high-quality and perfect timing. The action is often wonderfully accompanied by appropriate music, and the action itself provides the use of some great weapon blasting sound effects. If you have a Dolby Pro Logic II-enabled system you will certainly want to hook it up to your PS2 for this.
Two last points about ETM need to be mentioned. Firstly, thanks to the tie-in with the new movie, and its connecting storyline, the game features about an hour's worth of proper film-quality FMV sequences, using the actors from the film, and aside from these being well scripted, and down-right amazing for a game, they expand your knowledge of the film and make the game more of a movie experience than it already is. Certainly something big fans of the Matrix series should consider when looking at this game. Secondly, there is an extra feature to the game that completes the Matrix-style experience; hacking. You are able to 'hack' your game save in a command prompt-like interface. Although not particularly easy to do on the PS2 with no USB keyboard support (which is a shame considering the simplicity of implementing such a feature), it can provide for some extra enjoyment, and allows you to view those impressive FMV sequences on their own, check out bios for the characters, or view some art from the game's development. The hacking mode is the also the place you can unlock special cheat features, including a sword, some cheat codes, or the hidden multiplayer mode.
It may come as no surprise to many that walkthroughs and cheats for this mode, and the rest of the game are already located on CheatingZone:
Cheat Codes | Hacking Guide
| Graphics | A mixed bag of good and bad; great effects, models and animations, but poor camera and quite a few textures are rather dull. | 7/10 |
|---|---|---|
| Gameplay | Action in hand-to-hand combat and with weapons is great fun, but again, the camera hampers the enjoyment of the game. | 7/10 |
| Value | At the time of writing, we did not have a value for money ranking. | 0/10 |
| Lifespan | Although there are two characters to play through, they do share large portions of the game. However, each portion is relatively short (just a few hours) due to the movie-style approach. Hacking is an extra hour's fun, and multiplayer is a laugh for a few more minutes. | 7/10 |
| Audio | Very high-quality music and sound effects that provide a perfect atmosphere in Dolby Pro Logic II. | 9/10 |
| Overall | Manages to provide some of the coolest hand-to-hand combat seen outside of the beat-'em-up genre, but the driving sessions are not as enjoyable, and the game can feel a bit incomplete. With more time (it had to tie-in with the Reloaded release date) it could have been a better game, but as it is, it is just something that just has not quite lived up to our full expectations for a Matrix game. | 7/10 |
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