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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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I know as gamers read this review, there is only one question echoing in their mind: "Is Path of Neo better than Enter the Matrix?" The simple answer is: yes. But, before you run out and purchase it, remember that Enter the Matrix was not the best of games. It actually was one of the worst movie license videogames ever produced, and managed to alienate both Matrix fans and videogame players alike. Thankfully, Path of Neo does a lot to fix the mistakes and shortcomings that Enter the Matrix had. Path of Neo, though, does have its share of mistakes, too. Honestly, the factor between renting or buying this game depends on how big of a Matrix fan you are.
Combat
The key to making a good Matrix game is the combat. The developers have to create a fighting system that is not only accessible to the novice, but also deep enough that the hardcore gaming crowd can enjoy themselves. Path of Neo takes the right steps towards this goal, but ultimately stumbles. The combat system in Path of Neo takes full advantage of the Xbox Controller. The Strike command is mapped to the Y button, and is Neo’s basic attack. By tapping it rapidly, the player can create simple combos that deal more damage. The B button by itself is not involved in dealing direct damage. Instead, by combining it in combos with the Y button, players will generate much more damage and dive into Neo’s more entertaining moves.
Some of these include throws, grapples, and even stripping enemies of their weapons. By combining the Y and B buttons, Neo can not only use more devastating attacks, but also assault multiple enemies. Multiple enemy fighting is one of the highlights of the combat system. By pulling the thumbstick in the direction of enemies, Neo will constantly shift his focus from one enemy to the next. These are known as “Off-Line” and “Link-Up” attacks, and are the best part of the combat system. But with all of these attacks, Neo is also going to need a way to dodge the enemy. That duty is given to the X button. Neo can dodge simple melee attacks as well as gunfire—in signature Matrix fashion.
In order to pull off all the more amazing moves, players will have to take advantage of the “Focus” ability, which is just another name for bullet-time. Indicated by a yellow bar under the health meter, Neo will have a limited amount of Focus he can use when fighting. Players can activate Focus by holding down the left trigger. Using it makes Neo’s attacks deal more damage and—at times—opens up new moves. Replenishing the focus meter is easily done by defeating enemies or dodging attacks. Because of this, running out of Focus is never an issue.
Neo is not limited to just hand-to-hand combat, either. In some levels, Neo will be able to pick up a variety of melee weapons and fire arms. Melee weapons thankfully don’t require any new combos to master; they simply deal more damage and give the players different animations to watch. Neo will also have numerous firearms that he can pick up from defeated enemies. Pushing in the right thumbstick pulls out the weapons, and by flicking the thumbstick either left or right the player can cycle through the available enemies. Going to Focus mode while firing weapons increases Neo’s accuracy.
Yeah, put those guns down.
The combat as a whole is much improved over Enter the Matrix, and has more entertaining moments than frustrating ones. Fighting against multiple enemies is a lot of fun, and pulling off Neo’s signature moves will bring smiles to the faces of Matrix fans. The controls could have been made tighter, though. What I mean by this is that Neo’s response to commands from the controller is a bit sluggish. Sometimes, his animations are just too slow and give off the illusion that the game is not responding to the player’s input. This reduces some of the combat to random button mashing, ultimately taking away from the experience. The gun combat also needs a major overhaul. Targeting enemies was just way too clunky, and I found myself not targeting the correct opponent and dying because of it.
Levels, though, are littered with destructible objects that Neo can shoot to cause damage to nearby enemies. The problem is, he targets these just as frequently as he does enemies—even when enemies are nowhere near the objects. When the poor targeting camera is put into the mix, it makes fighting with guns almost unplayable. This will likely lead to players sticking with the hand-to-hand and melee combat.
The story in Path of Neo is a predictable one. The players are taking the role as Thomas Anderson or, as he is known in the real world, Neo. The game follows Neo as he progresses through all three movies, plus a good amount of content that happened behind the scenes of the main storyline. These side stories are a mixed bag of good and bad. Some expand the Matrix universe beautifully, while others lessen it and actually take away from the movie storyline.
Case in point would be the first few missions where Neo is training in hand-to-hand combat. In the movie, viewers got the impression that Neo simply needed the information downloaded into his head and he instantly was a fighting master. The game, however, makes it seem like Neo needed to train. While the training missions are necessary, the way they are handled dilutes both the movie and game storyline. We don’t want to know he had to train to become a fighter; the idea of just downloading the information was so much cooler. Not all the storyline expansions are bad, though. The opening level where Neo must escape from the Agents was one of the more enjoyable stealth scenarios that I’ve played, outside Splinter Cell and MGS, of course.
In the end, Neo actually gets away as opposed to being caught in the movie. In the end, it is a question of how much of a Matrix fan you are. Hardcore Matrix fans may find the changes annoying, while the casual gamer could care less.
But I'm the One...
The goal of this game is make players feel like they are Neo, and have them progress along to become the ultimate Agent-fighting, Matrix-changing machine. For the most part, the game succeeds in this—except when it’s time for Neo to face the Agents, the credibility of the game gets hurt. During the first movie, Neo was not a match for Agents (not until the end, at least). So, I expected if I ever ran into an Agent before this point that I would be gravely outmatched, and the only choice would be to run. Not so. Long before the lobby scene and accompanying rooftop battle, I ran into several agents and managed to take them all down as Pre-“The One” Neo. Now, this makes no sense.
The aspect that made the second movie so cool is the fact that Neo could beat down the Agents with ease. But, to have Neo be able to do this beforehand completely robs the game. When players actually do get to the opening Neo and Agent fight of Reloaded, the only difference is that the Agents now have a health bar and will fly incredibly far when finally defeated. Other than that, it’s exactly the same as all the other Agent fights in the game. I never got the feeling of extreme superiority over the Agents that was conveyed in the movie. Instead, Neo feels like he is their equal.
The ways the signature Matrix moments are handled are like everything else in this game: hit or miss. The final battle against Agent Smith is worth the 14 hour journey. However, probably the best fight scene in the Matrix trilogy is disappointingly underwhelming—the Burly Brawl. For those unfamiliar with the movies, this was the end all be all fight scene where Neo fought 100 copies of Agent Smith in an abandoned park. It was fast, chaotic, and a blast to watch. The game fails on capturing this feeling. I was expecting numerous Agent Smiths to be attacking me at once, and that only my quick reflexes and knowledge of the fighting system would get me through it. Not so. Instead, the Burly Brawl goes something like this. Between five to seven Smith’s attack Neo, at any one time, while the rest run around the fight in a circle. When one Smith is defeated another takes his place. This continues until Neo survives long enough for the level to end. I can’t emphasize enough how disappointing this was.
Looks and Sound
Graphically, the game really isn’t that bad. It is a huge improvement over Enter the Matrix, although that isn’t too big of an accomplishment. The environments are incredibly responsive to the damage; walls crack, furniture breaks, and lights explode. The effects are great when fighting against enemies. The character models are structurally detailed, but their textures could have used some sharpening. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t great, either. The best effect the game has is when in Focus mode and bullets fly by Neo. Unlike the terrible white trails from Enter the Matrix, the effect is very similar to the movie’s in Path of Neo.
When it comes to sound, the voice acting is top notch. Each character’s voice is appropriate. Dialogue is easy to follow, yet doesn’t drag down the story. The only drawback in the sound department is the lack of official music from the movie. Why this is such a let down is because a lot of the scenes are known for their intense musical score, penned by composer Don Davis. During Burly Brawl, the music was just weak electronic beats, and did not convey the insanity of the fight. This is typical for all the music in the game.
Overall
Overall, Path of Neo is a huge improvement over Enter the Matrix. The combat system is more varied, and the controls are much tighter (just not tight enough). The problems in the game arise from how Neo is portrayed in regards to the movie character. With prolonged fights with Agents, and making simple guards a threat, it takes away from Neo’s typical appearance as the ultimate entity in the Matrix. The deciding factors for this game are whether you consider yourself a diehard Matrix fan, and how badly you want to experience an okay Matrix game.
| The Core Score |
Overall
7.7 |
| Fun |
|
7.5 |
| Gameplay |
|
8.0 |
| Graphics |
|
7.5 |
| Audio |
|
8.0 |
| Replay |
|
7.0 |
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