Enter the Matrix (PS2)

“Okay--I will be quick... this is not a bad game... well.... lets go over this. Essentially they have a really awesome engine behind this game. The sort that makes me want to take the engine apart and play with the insides. Movement, combat...”

“Okay--I will be quick... this is not a bad game... well.... lets go over this.

Essentially they have a really awesome engine behind this game. The sort that makes me want to take the engine apart and play with the insides.

Movement, combat and what not is exactly what you'd expect from being n a Matrix movie.

You are incredibly strong, fast--can run insane distances.

Unfortunately, the plot, character design and level design is also something you'd expect from the people who made The Matrix.

The levels are more or less completely and totally unimaginative. Progressing through them is not so much about find red key, open red door. It is more, walk to red door, find you need to use yellow ladder instead. Head to yellow ladder. Find that you have been spotted (yet, no agents appear when you start doing Matrix-fu crap). Then you hit a spot where the police are flooding the building.

Then, they start to use gas on me. Myself, I would have crapped a clothe, and urinated on it--them put it over my face. You know, face with gas the Canadian way (that was kind of how we faced having our troops gassed in both world wars. The Canadian Army has always been BYOK. That is Bring Your Own Kit).

Now, the thing is, this gas just floats at the bottom of the room. There is a nearly infinite supply of it. It seems to slowly take away my health while in it.... however it does nothing of the sort to the police that are in it. In fact, there are a few cases where the world is only harmful to me. Level hazards do not hurt the emenies.

I am okay with cops entering into a gassed area to flush me out. BUT NOT WITHOUT PROPER PROTECTION.

Essentially, I am seeing New York Police in their normal street uniform entering into a large cloud of smoke that slowly kills me, a character who breathing is entirely optional. This cloud of smoke, however does nothing to harm or hurt the cops.

How hard is it, to at least make a police officer model with a gas mask on it? Just for this one level.

Since it is a Matrix based game, it is no surprise that the characters are just about as imaginative and interesting as plywood with some black finish on it. I mean, I have debated taking a plank of wood, drawing sunglasses on it wih a Sharpie, with a word bubble of "woah", and passing that off as the real Keanu Reeves (nobody could really tell the difference. I know I could put the two together and end up mix them up).

"So... which of you is Keanu... and which is the plank of wood?"

"Woah...."

"Woah...."

"Woah..."

"Alright you two--this is not getting any where... dammit... I need some kind of test to tell these two apart."

So, the character design is well aware of being filled with Mary Sues and Gary Stus, dressed head to toe like some hooker in bondage. This is an occupational hazard of doing anything that involves The Matrix.

I must admit, I did not get far enough to really review more, as I kind of kept dying at that "Gas that only kills people from Zion" wall banger moment. Why the heck are the cops not affected?! Yeah--that little part distracted me. I am also fairly certain that there is a lot more like that.

The engine however, I really am in love with. I'd love to be able to make games, that take this engine, and put it to use on something that does not have all the inherent flaws that making something based on The Matrix would have.”