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The Matrix Online
- April 20, 2005 18:34 PM PST
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The Matrix Online isn't quite as bad as you may have heard, but it's still something of a disappointment.
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"Trinityyyy!"
The game opens up immediately following Neo's death, with the Machines and the Zionists engaged in a sort of Cold War. As your character gains experience, you can select abilities from three distinct classes: Operative (which include martial artists, gun fighters and infiltrators), Coder (primarily a crafter and summoner), and Hacker (a combination healer/offensive mage). The Matrix Online even enables you to re-assign your character's skill points, an especially useful feature in group-based missions. You aren't locked into working for the Zion rebellion, either; later in the game you'll uncover opportunities to join the cold-blooded Machines or the crafty, Machiavellian followers of the Merovingian. So far, so good, right?
There's no question that a great deal of thought went into creating The Matrix Online. Nonetheless, the game developers made several ill-advised design decisions that nearly bring the entire experience to a standstill. For starters, the hyperactive interface is anything but streamlined: the game's multi-colored menus constantly compete for your attention. And the built-in AOL Instant Messenger is just a silly, obtrusive marketing ploy ("the future of the world depends on AIM, d00d!").
The Matrix Online's city is huge but feels somewhat vacant, and the missions instantly succumb to standard hunt-and-fetch conventions. But the cryptic combat system is definitely the biggest complaint. Buying abilities and "loading" them into your character is a cool concept, but employing them in actual battles is often painful. Combat actions interact in some sort of intricate rock/paper/scissors scheme, but even after you complete the barebones tutorial and practicing for hours, combat still feels like little more than educated guesswork. Sometimes you'll win (huzzah!), other times you'll lose, but at no point do you ever feel like you're truly in control of your character. Speaking of control, the combat camera is essentially broken--keeping your character visible on-screen during a brawl is no small task.
Neo's Geo
The Matrix films are iconic thanks to their glossy special effects and dynamite costume design. For the most part, The Matrix Online carries on that proud tradition. The gritty urban environments look exquisitely detailed, and you'll gawk in wonder at the game's gleaming glass buildings, debris-swept streets, and weed-entangled parking lots. Very, very pretty. So it's a huge disappointment to see that the featureless interior environments, where you'll spend much of your time, are sparsely decorated and maddeningly repetitive. What gives?
Luckily, The Matrix Online has a few more pleasant surprises, such as the slick digital wardrobes; not only do they endow you with special powers, they look cool enough that you almost wish you could click a "Buy This Outfit Now" button and get the real article shipped to you overnight. The graphics nicely capture the look and feel of the films, but it's the sound that makes you feel like you're really inside the Matrix, from the ethereal music (courtesy of Don Davis, who scored the films) to the wince-inducing cracks and thuds of combat.
(Bullet) Time Will Tell
Ultimately, one gets the distinct impression that the game is essentially one big work-in-progress. Sega should definitely capitalize on The Matrix Online's sizeable Live Event staff, one of the game's key advantages. Even if the missions are lousy and the combat sucks, there's undeniable appeal in bumping into a real-world actor playing Morpheus or the Architect. But for now, it's tough to recommend the game to anyone but Matrix true believers. Perhaps they can find out just how deep this rabbit hole goes, or if it in fact goes anywhere at all.
