Enter The Matrix
It took a while for a proper Matrix game was released. For a while I considered modding Max Payne (if that is possible) to try to recreate the experience. Which would have worked quite well considering how much Max Payne borrowed from The Matrix and John Woo films. They didn't even merchandise the movie pretty much at all until the sequels were announced. Then it blew up a bit and we saw a toy line by McFarlane, an animated collaboration of movies that filled the gap between the first two movies and a number of video games. The first one I jumped on immediately, I even preordered it from EB and picked it up on my way to the theater to watch Matrix Reloaded. The timing was perfect as the game itself bridged Reloaded and Revolutions including content that was filmed during the movies that exists exclusively within this game.
I was super happy with this game. I was waiting for a Matrix game forever and this really delivered. Truth is, there wasn't much you needed to do at the time to impress me with a Matrix game. So long as it featured some bullet-time slo-mo and some crazy kung-fu gunplay, I'd have been happy. But instead I got a lot more than I had bargained for. The game not only included some fantastic gameplay but also an absolute ton of extra tie-in content that expanded the movie experience so much more than any other movie-game tie in before it.
All because the Wachowski Brothers were determined to go out of their way to expand their world into a variety of mediums. Back in '99 the official website featured a ton of official short stories and comics, then in 2003 we saw the Animatrix; 9 short animated films, some directed by the brothers who hand picked their favourite studios. And now, with the Enter the Matrix game, the brothers made sure to weave the story in that of the films, going so far as to direct over an hour of footage to be used as cutscene content in the game. It also goes so far as following two supporting characters instead of Neo himself. This meant these characters could have gaps in their individual plotlines during the movie while the focus remains on our main three heros. Gaps that were filled with the content of this game.
Enter the Matrix' biggest downfall was simply that it was rushed to meet a strict release date and that it was asking a lot of a early console generation. Gunning for a realism to match live action content instead of stylising more meant that it got visually dated quick. Plus, all the content including crazy car chase scenes, gunplay and nicely created fight animations appear limited by low-poly models and textures. It's almost too bad they couldn't remake this game on current systems, but the truth is that it was a real product of the time and as cool as it was, is no longer relevant story-wise.
Still, it was great at the time. Fights and gunplay were as fun as you'd imagine they would have been. You followed both male and female protagonists; both minorities, which is really unheard of in a major AAA game release. They even threw in a couple moments that really mirrored the 'lobby scene' from the first movie. Which is a real plus for most any fan. Plus, as a bonus, there were a ton of hidden extras that were available through a 'hacking' console. With the proper sequence of codes you could get into a few neat bits including an extra two-player fighting game; one that even included fights between character models and even cars.
The Matrix didn't see as many video game releases as it really could have. Maybe because most of them didn't do so well. Enter the Matrix sold an absolute ton within the first few weeks of release, but was a hit-or-miss with critics. I guess it was a real hit with fans, but was received mildly from anyone else. Nevertheless I enjoyed it quite a bit. Maybe one day the brothers will return and expand on the series with a new game, animated movie or the like.
It took a while for a proper Matrix game was released. For a while I considered modding Max Payne (if that is possible) to try to recreate the experience. Which would have worked quite well considering how much Max Payne borrowed from The Matrix and John Woo films. They didn't even merchandise the movie pretty much at all until the sequels were announced. Then it blew up a bit and we saw a toy line by McFarlane, an animated collaboration of movies that filled the gap between the first two movies and a number of video games. The first one I jumped on immediately, I even preordered it from EB and picked it up on my way to the theater to watch Matrix Reloaded. The timing was perfect as the game itself bridged Reloaded and Revolutions including content that was filmed during the movies that exists exclusively within this game. I was super happy with this game. I was waiting for a Matrix game forever and this really delivered. Truth is, there wasn't much you needed to do at the time to impress me with a Matrix game. So long as it featured some bullet-time slo-mo and some crazy kung-fu gunplay, I'd have been happy. But instead I got a lot more than I had bargained for. The game not only included some fantastic gameplay but also an absolute ton of extra tie-in content that expanded the movie experience so much more than any other movie-game tie in before it. All because the Wachowski Brothers were determined to go out of their way to expand their world into a variety of mediums. Back in '99 the official website featured a ton of official short stories and comics, then in 2003 we saw the Animatrix; 9 short animated films, some directed by the brothers who hand picked their favourite studios. And now, with the Enter the Matrix game, the brothers made sure to weave the story in that of the films, going so far as to direct over an hour of footage to be used as cutscene content in the game. It also goes so far as following two supporting characters instead of Neo himself. This meant these characters could have gaps in their individual plotlines during the movie while the focus remains on our main three heros. Gaps that were filled with the content of this game.
Still, it was great at the time. Fights and gunplay were as fun as you'd imagine they would have been. You followed both male and female protagonists; both minorities, which is really unheard of in a major AAA game release. They even threw in a couple moments that really mirrored the 'lobby scene' from the first movie. Which is a real plus for most any fan. Plus, as a bonus, there were a ton of hidden extras that were available through a 'hacking' console. With the proper sequence of codes you could get into a few neat bits including an extra two-player fighting game; one that even included fights between character models and even cars.
The Matrix didn't see as many video game releases as it really could have. Maybe because most of them didn't do so well. Enter the Matrix sold an absolute ton within the first few weeks of release, but was a hit-or-miss with critics. I guess it was a real hit with fans, but was received mildly from anyone else. Nevertheless I enjoyed it quite a bit. Maybe one day the brothers will return and expand on the series with a new game, animated movie or the like.
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