- PS2 ››
- Action ››
- Enter the Matrix
Enter the Matrix
- May 22, 2003 14:24 PM PST
- Email this!
Enter the Matrix took the red pill before it was really ready to know the truth.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
The Matrix Revolutions
Enter the Matrix is most interesting as part of the Wachowski Brothers ?multimedia revolution,? their novel attempt at telling a complete story through several different channels?in this case, a movie (The Matrix Reloaded), an anime DVD (The Animatrix), and a video game. Enter the Matrix tells the stories of Niobe and Ghost, two Reloaded side-characters, and serves as an extended ?Meanwhile...? to the events of the film. By design, Enter The Matrix?s story (by itself) doesn?t make a lick of sense...it only has meaning in the context of the film.
Mission Aborted
Unfortunately, Enter the Matrix makes a more exciting entertainment experiment than it does a game. It?s a coulda-been-solid actionfest that was clearly rushed out the door during its crucial ?tweak? phase in order to match the movie?s release date.
The control is the biggest victim?floppy, crude, and not at all as graceful as a Matrix game should be. Doing cool crap like cartwheels and wall-flips is clumsy thanks to the shoulder-button-intensive control scheme, and the game?s quickly-draining Focus meter doesn?t let you take advantage of the game?s best feature as much as you?d like. Too much gameplay relies on the really wonky long-range shooting; cover is almost useless, since most enemies seem to be able to shoot through walls; and most attempts at Matrix-y finesse usually result in death?be prepared to rush headlong into things if you want to succeed.
The graphics are extremely mixed?the textures in environments are often awful, and some peripheral driving sequences look like they belong on a PlayStation One. The slow-motion Focus attacks, on the other hand, look great?occasional collision problems aside, they manage to capture the movie?s thrilling tendency to ignore gravity with style. The sound effects and house music are movie-quality, too, with dead-on flip-whooshes and liquid-ammo effects.
Enter The Cheat Code
Enter the Matrix is an excellent example of a game that?s far, far better when you?re cheating: Turn on Infinite Focus and Infinite Health, and you?ll be able to experience all the good stuff?slo-mo kung-fu and the cool new story sequences?without having to deal with all the rest (careful, though, a few levels don?t let you cheat). It?s not a total dog?it?s just a shame there are Matrix clones that perform the Bullet Time ballet better than this.
