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Platform: GC, PC, PS2, XB Genre: Action Publisher: Infogrames Developer: Shiny Entertainment ETA: May 15, 2003
Related Links: Reviews: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (XB)
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Enter the Matrix
Here’s one title I’m glad is finally nearing release. In development for what seems like forever, Enter the Matrix (ETM) looks like the wait just might be worth it. In terms of movie-to-game translations, it looks to outdo even the stellar The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. But enough of my meanderings, on with the facts: Developed
by award-winning Shiny Entertainment (an Infogrames studio), Enter the
Matrix is a revolution
in interactive entertainment – a third-person action game that
effectively blurs the line between Hollywood blockbuster films and next
generation video games. The
game is produced, directed and features a script written by the
Wachowski brothers, writers/directors of The Matrix film trilogy,
creating the most intensive collaboration between a video game publisher
and a movie studio to date. Enter
the Matrix isn’t just set in the Matrix universe, it’s an integral
part of the experience. Weaving
in and out of the upcoming blockbuster, The Matrix Reloaded, Enter the
Matrix’s stand-alone plotline follows the path of Niobe and Ghost
through the same timeline of the movie.
All of the other primary characters from The Matrix Reloaded also
appear in the game, including Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Agent Smith, and
many others. The game
features the same over-the-top gunplay, mind-bending martial arts, and
insane driving and stunts. In
Enter the Matrix, players will jack-in as either Niobe (Jada Pinkett
Smith), the fastest pilot in the fleet, or Ghost (Anthony Wong), a
Zen-master weapons expert. Depending
on their selection, players will encounter entirely different gameplay
experiences. The game
boasts multiple genres to challenge all manner of gamers, including
exploration, shooting, fighting, driving, flying, and hacking into the
Matrix itself. Enter
the Matrix also includes approximately one hour of never-before-seen
Matrix film footage – shot exclusively for the game – using the
actors, sets and crew from the blockbuster film. In addition, the
game features an hour of cineractives, directed by the Wachowskis and
rendered within the game engine, to help tell the epic story of Enter
the Matrix.
Features: Gamers
will choose their own hero – Niobe or Ghost – and get a unique
gameplay experience based on their selection The
story-within-the-story – by playing
the game, Matrix fans will understand more of
the The Matrix Reloaded story The
same “Bullet Time” special effect from the films will allow gamers
to defy gravity and logic to perform moves, like running on walls, that
could only be achieved within the Matrix Pioneering
Kung Fu fighting engine, directed and motion-captured by The Matrix
fight scene choreographer Master Yuen Wo Ping and his team (best known
for the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) White-knuckle
driving engine will create hyper-intense Hollywood-style car chases and
stunts Unique
flying element will allow players to pilot the Logos, the fastest
hovercraft in the Zion fleet, through the bowels of the Real World Innovative
hacking gameplay element – harkening to the days of text adventures
– that will allow gamers to penetrate gaming consoles and PCs with a
unique hacking system to change the Enter the Matrix experience Hours
of additional Matrix film footage and cineractives shot exclusively for
the game, starring the cast of The Matrix Reloaded, that tells the story
as only a AAA film title can What
can possibly be added? ETM
will be released on GameCube, PC, Playstation 2 and Xbox smack in the
middle of E3 2003 on May 15, so there’s sure to be a lot of buzz
surrounding its release (at least, among its attendees).
Not to mention the release of Matrix Reloaded at the same time.
It truly will be a mix of game and film not seen before.
However,
you still have to wonder how the action will shift between the different
modes. 3rd
Person action and racing (in and out of the Matrix)?
Hopefully the control doesn’t suffer because even with all the
slick integration of film elements shoddy controls can kill a game.
Although, With Shiny helming its development I’m less concerned
of this point. And the
hacking element? Bring it
on! Take me back to the
days when I spent many, many hours re-writing config.sys and
autoexec.bat files! But
now I’m rambling. Just
give me the red pill, already! - Omni (April 12, 2003) |
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