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| | Title:
The Matrix: Path of Neo
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System:
Xbox
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Genre:
Action
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Publisher:
Atari
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Developer:
Shiny Entertainment
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Release:
11/15/2005
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
Rating Pending
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The world of what you realize is dependent on your knowledge of what you understand, based on your perception. Just as it takes only the smallest portion of such a complex function as it is for us to perceive to know that this game absolutely ROCKS! This is not just another metamorphic video-game wannabe recreation of the Matrix; lured through the complexion of intense marketing to sell to gamers something else they were expecting. No tricks, no gimmicks...
This is the real world, and Shiny Entertainment along with Atari has unleashed a digital world of phenomenal proportions. Unlike previous games based on the Matrix, this looks to be the real deal. No more dreaming, no more hoping, no more wishing: This time around it looks as if they got it absolutely right.
Bringing it to Life
When the original Matrix made its debut in 1999, audiences were stunned at the sheer quality of the special effects and easy-flowing sequences. This is not to mention that the action alone in the film revolutionized how we visualize the motion, elegance, and the imbue of technological wizardry into a format of directional poetry. Well, the Wachowski Brothers are at it again. And this time they are unleashing their techno-philosophical machine story with the help of Dave Perry and the rest of the guys at Shiny Entertainment.
The Story in this game is a story of no great complexity. Well, no complexity outside of what it is as a story based on what we (who have seen the films) already know (somewhat) of what this is about, or where it intends to go. Starting with the original Matrix, players are thrust into the role of Neo and his journey through the self-discovery of reality and the complexities of a sub-reality, or a mechanical surreality, created by the Machines. Unlike the trilogy of movies, the game actually looks to extend on the underlying aspects of Neo’s journey through the story, which unfolded across the trio of films. This basically means that the players will experience things that were not entirely shown (or sometimes explained) to their entirety throughout the film(s). This is not to say that this game will be the end result of all those out there who still had/have questions requiring answers. I’m sure a large majority of Matrix fans will enjoy the novelty this game represents as an overall experience, but I’m not going to be the first to say that this holds the answers to even some of the simpler questions within the world of the Matrix. More-so, this game looks to unclothe the veil of depth and story-involvement regarding around Neo’s journey from what he thought to be the real-world, up to, (and possibly past) his final duel with Agent Smith.
The Red Pill
Now for all those entirely unfamiliar with what would seem to be a ubiquitous franchise, The Matrix itself is a story that I could not tell wholly without occupying the good readers’ time to some great extent, and possibly filling out more pages than some people would prefer to read. Instead, I will simply explain the story from the point of which the game revolves, and seemingly where the movies (and game) take you.
Neo, or Mr. Anderson, is living a life that he would prefer was not his. He seems bored and dulled with the redundancy of the strife and struggles with sub-normalcy. He believes in something, or somewhat, the idea of something beyond the current state of his reality. Or rather, what he believes reality to be, at that moment. This drives Mr. Anderson on a quest, a rather non-adventurous, non-explorative quest to find out about something called, The Matrix, by following a little "white rabbit" to meet a famed hacker named Trinity. Who explains to him that what he knows goes deeper, much deeper into the rabbit hole of knowledge concerning the Matrix. Neo then returns to his normal life, to ponder on this. Now, his normal life has him working as a software programmer, the whole 9:00 to 5:00 kit-in-caboodle.
His second life, his night life, has him doing what any programmer might consider doing to bring in a little extra cash, illegal software breaching, hacking, and etcetera. This is something that the authorities are paying very close attention to, and not just any kind of authorities, a very special kind of authority. Hence, Mr. Anderson is confronted by these authority figures, i.e., The Agents, about his moonlighting as a programmer, and they warn him to stop; and proceed to implant a tracking bug into him. He then wakes up thinking it was just a dream, until some unlikely rebels reveal to him that he has a tracking bug in him, proceed to remove it and bring him to meet one of the leading forces behind the rebel movement: Morpheus. This is where Mr. Anderson abandons that alias and decides to stick with his hacker alias, Neo. He joins the rebel movement with some reluctance and the digestion of a little Red pill, and eventually develops into a computer-symbioses super-hero. Like in the movie, Morpheus, Trinity and other relevant characters in the story make an appearance as you play through the distinctive moments in Neo’s journey to attaining the status and full potential of being The One and bringing balance to the war between the humans and the machines. From what’s been revealed so far, it looks as if being The One means being able to do some wickedly fancy Matrix-style stuff.
Yeah, yeah, everyone wants to be like Neo
The limitations in this game seem bleak or sparse, as literally everything Neo did in the movies, (or rather some of the things Neo didn’t do) are all doable in this game. It might seem unlikely or confoundedly impossible to bring that kind of choreographic styling, featured in the films, to the console systems. But Shiny Entertainment seems to have gone out on the uttermost and thinnest ledge possible to trim this game into the playable stages for the console systems in the way that it is. Simply said, this game almost seems too big, too cool and nearly too much to be true. The fighting system looks radical with the grab moves and counter attacks. And the flying around is somewhat on the level of being insanely fresh without being overdone.
The mechanics of the gameplay, exactly, have yet to be revealed in its entirety. Exactly how or on what level the fighting system works is something of a mystery still. But I can tell you that what fighting that is done in the game looks more remarkable than what most fighting game specialty companies put out there on the market. In comparison to the other Matrix games released, this one by far seems to outshine the others in Shiny’s attempt to solidify sound gaming and buttermilk-smooth gameplay into a euphoric mix for Matrix fans.
I know Kung-fu, and so can you!
One of the questions on everyone’s mind would certainly have to be, “Do we get to play the part where all those Smiths jump Neo?” And the answer is definitely yes. As fore-mentioned, the fighting in this game looks remarkable. Multiple-enemy fights are not the standard looking punch, punch, spin-kick combination we get in most street-style, multiple-enemy fighting games. Instead, it looks as if Shiny has taken the time out to accurately recreate the finesse and stylized techniques executed during the fight between Neo and the Smiths. Or for that matter, every fight we saw Neo in (and even some we didn’t). The moves and forms from which the moves are executed all fit together as if the player was watching a masterfully choreographed fight of the original stunt team from the Matrix movies.
Instead of going through the motions of punch, kick, block, and the opponent repeating the procedure, the fighting actually takes into account the high fidelity between counter attacks, defensive counter-attacks, and offensive counter-attacks. You are no longer playing through on the standard feed of button mashing to the success of simply seeing the character on-screen simply do something. It’s actually about doing something in a right way. Or a manner in which moves coincide to an actual effect they have on multiple or single foes. As when Neo was fighting multiple Smiths at one time during the game, he actually grabbed one Smith and entangled him with another Smith, to which he executed a double grab move on them both to incapacitate them. Hence, the flow of the game is set, seemingly, to play out smoothly enough to make good distinction of it’s gameplay from that, as opposed, to the insidiously redundant likes of arcade-like fighters.
If it looks good, gawk
Graphics seem to be an impending need in the video game industry to sell a game well: Halo 2, Mechassault 2, Doom 3, etc., etc. Once a commercial starts, and we see any semblance of the advertisement being that of a video game, instantly we identify whether or not it’s worth watching to the effect of being interested in buying, based mainly on the presentation of how it looks and comes across as a buy-worthy game from the commercial. If it looks blocky, chunky, or littered with visibly flat polygons and the basic elementary lighting and shading effects, we shun the game as if it were blight to our visibility. Unless of course, we find out it has some amazing features and game modes. Otherwise, what we see, is what we either plan on buying right off the shelf, or abandoning it there to collect dust in it’s eternity of store-shelf solitude.
The Matrix: Path of Neo is one of those rare games that could sell itself with the graphics alone. Nothing else but the graphics. That is just how nice this game looks. This comes as a bit of a shocker that we should also be treated to the far-more-than-adequate gameplay features. It’s almost a wonder the game could look the way it does, featuring the solid interactivity and action sequences that it does. Mainly it is because this Matrix game is running on some new graphic software technology that, in layman terms, simply improves on what was already there. This means that players can expect top-notch gameplay and graphical presentations without missing a beat. While I should hate to reiterate on this rather poignant aspect of the game, it’s simply that no matter how well I describe in words the visual display of this game; you would simply have to see it in action for yourself to believe the amazing quality of its graphical presentation.
If you don’t like it, change it
The Wachowski Brothers want players to experience the game in ways that the movie could not. Allowing players to have choices and options to change how scenarios from the movie play out in the game. Which means everything Neo did is not always something the player will decide to do every time they play the game. The routes and variables for mixing up the outcome of the story-line will be interesting to see in the finished product of the game. Shiny even had help from Warner Bros., and the Wachowskis’ with shooting over an hour of extra movie footage specific to this game and the viewpoint portrayed from Neo. Without being entirely exact about how the story changes exactly, Shiny, the Wachowskis’ and Warner Bros., have verily made sure that the ending provided in the game will be quite different from what was seen at the end of the trilogy of Matrix films.
Considering the depth in which this franchise has gone--beyond the silver screen--it will be refreshing to see a game with actual depth that goes beyond the silver screen--yet at the same time coinciding with it. With the features, graphics, and near dead-on replication of some of the most amazing scenes from the Matrix trilogy, (and then some) it will be interesting to see how this game fairs with a much anticipated release (Mostly a lot of people hoping it just doesn’t suck, but one glance at this game and that point of view will quickly fade.) Scheduled for mid-November release later this year, it will definitely be a game to look out for, Matrix fan or not.
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More Reviews for this game: (displayed by authors name)
Cloud890
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