| actually get to play as Neo, Morpheous or Trinity (although they do appear in the game), instead you focus on other characters; namely pilot Niobe and Zen-Buddhist assassin Ghost, either of whom you can guide through the game. The plot of the game runs parallel to that of the film, so you might see characters step out of one scene in the movie, and step into the next scene in the game - it's certainly a unique approach to videogame making, and we're glad to see it's not just a cheap movie rip-off as we've become accustomed to. The Wachowski brothers are videogame lovers too, and wanted to make sure the game stood up to the quality of the movie, which, as well as know, is going to rock harder than we can ever imagine. The game is split into several sections; Fighting, exploring, flying, driving, hacking and more. The battle system in Enter the Matrix is unlike anything you'll have ever witnessed in a game before. Each character has a focus meter, which can be used to slow down the action in a bullet-time effect. So, this allows you to slow the action to a crawl, pull of incredible martial arts moves, take on more than one enemy at a time and yes, even run off walls, cartwheel, dive and generally look cool. This is no gimmick either, once you see Ghost run up a wall and administer a flying kick to an enemy, you'll be sold - this is how bullet-time should be done. When you're not fighting, Shiny have added driving and flying sections (to go with those in the movie) where, depending on your character, you'll be in the driving seat or taking out enemies behind you in a Silent Scope-style shoot 'em up. You can even hack into your PS2 and download new abilities for your character, an interesting possibility. Enter the Matrix has so many cool features, it's hard to fit them all in this short review. Yes, there's the running up the walls, with the kicking and the punching and the firing of the guns and the bullet-time, but there's so much more in store. For once, the hype seems to be justified, because Enter the Matrix has been made in full co-operation with the directors, actors and crew of The Matrix: Reloaded, it's the real deal and no expense has been spared. Believe it, Enter the Matrix is going to be absolutely bloody massive, just make sure you get in on the ground floor.
9 out of 10 |
