Enter the Matrix

With only weeks to go until the global release of Enter the Matrix, we though it was time for a final preview - new screens included.

	Version PS2, Xbox, CGN, PC	Developer Shiny Entertainment	Publisher ATARI	Genre Action

By Brian Haggenmiller

On May 16, 2003, the summer movie battle becomes official when The Matrix Reloaded is released. Well the day before that, Enter the Matrix will be released on all platforms - and gamers are in store for perhaps the most innovative movie licensed titles ever. Retail orders for Enter the Matrix on PS2, Xbox, GC and PC have now surpassed 4 million, making it Atari's largest initial shipment ever. So it has to sell well, or the 'shiny' new Atari people (pun intended) are in big trouble!

The famed Wachowski Brothers (creaters and directors of The Matrix series of movies) have worked to innovate with this license. They've been working with Shiny Entertainment (makers of Earthwork Jim and MDK) for over two years to bring their vision of Enter the Matrix, the game, to life.

The game is written as a side-story to the movie. You won't be controlling Neo or Trinity or Morpheus in the game at all - they show up as non-playable characters. The story centers on two of the supporting characters from The Matrix Reloaded, Ghost and Niobe (played by Anthony Wong and Jada Pinkett-Smith, respectively). The videogame is aiming to expand these two characters and another story of the Matrix that was not told in Reloaded. The W brothers achieve this by writing the game's story in parallel with the movie. The film's actors specifically had to film another hour of footage exclusively for the game.

To tell the story of Enter the Matrix, Shiny has combined movie footage, the game itself, and cutscenes created by the game's engine. A cool example of this is the scene where Niobe runs into Agent Smith in a hallway. The scene from the movie predicates the meeting of the two and then it jumps right a fight between them. Though the movie and the game can stand alone, they weave into one complete story.

Enter the Matrix will be just as action-packed as the Matrix movies, if not more so. Ghost and Niobe won't only have to punch and kick through the levels of the game, they will have to fly and drive through them as well. Most of the game will be a 3D action platformer, in the neighborhood of Dead to Rights or Max Payne. Our protagonists are making their way through the varied levels and kicking the crap out of the bad guys. Dave Perry, the main man at Shiny, states that there will be over 2000 moves in the game. So all of the moves that we know and love from the Matrix will be present. The finger jab to the throat - got it; the sweep and two-fisted punch to the gut - got it; the Trinity jump kick off of the wall - got that too. And those are just the moves we recognize from the first movie.

Beyond the punching and kicking, a grapple system and a "Bullet Time" effect have been implemented. Enemies can be disarmed or taken to the ground with a variety of grapples and wrestling moves. Also, moves can be countered. In the trailer, Ghost's and Niobe's attacks are being blocked and countered by the enemies in the game. "Bullet Time" is the effect that the Matrix has made so popular; this is the effect where the world around them slows or freezes and the heroes move at regular speed. In Enter the Matrix, this is known as 'focus'. Gamers have a focus level that starts at 33% and with progress through the game increases to 100%, which will unlock even slicker moves. The focus factor is a great addition because it allows them to run on the walls and pull off special moves.

As previously mentioned, there are flying levels and driving levels in the game. One of the flying levels has one of the characters pilot a hovercraft through the underground tunnels while avoiding sentinels. In the driving levels, Niobe takes the wheel in efforts to make it to their destination in one piece. But Ghost is not going to let her take this one alone, as he is riding shotgun and using a machine gun to blast away anybody that Niobe fails to run over. Sounds cool to us.

The driving scenes an example of a level where Ghost and Niobe actually work together to complete the level. There are levels where the two take different paths, levels where they simply cross paths, and levels where they work together to complete it. It will be interesting to see how Shiny makes use of both characters in Enter the Matrix.

So far we have the moves of the Matrix, but what about the look? Shiny Entertainment has done a great job of taking Jada and Anthony from the movie set and putting them into our systems. The facial work is ridiculously textured. Take a look at the trailer and see how the game and the movie mirror one another. The characters in the game are exquisitely detailed, right down to Jada's little Princess Lea buns. When Ghost and Niobe perform cartwheels and rolls, you see their trench coats naturally flow freely from the body. The enemies in the game don't share this intense level of detail, but they are also well represented.

The environments are a mixed bag. These environments promise to be destructible, so that puts a plus in their corner. The textures on some of the levels looks great, especially the brick wall level show in the trailer, but on others, it looks like it was an afterthought. Despite that, Shiny is able to make the levels feel alive. For instance, in the driving levels there is a constant flow of traffic around you and not just the characters that are chasing you. One level from the preview has loose papers blowing past Niobe as she is crouching. Little touches like these make the game feel more realistic and show that the developers paid attention to detail.

This game should be huge. Not only are there two characters to use to complete the game, a hacking mini-game will be included. Perry states that if hacking is not your thing, don't worry about it because you won't need it to complete the game. But if you like it, you can hack weapons and fighting styles to your position in the game. Just imagine being trapped in a warehouse with a pistol and a boxing fighting style and you hack in an M16 and Aikido. The possibilities and the usefulness of this option are endless.

Also, there are some secrets planned for the game. Shiny hasn't given up too much, but supposedly you can play through the game and not see or do everything. For instance, you can fight Trinity one-on-one if you do the proper things in the game, but if you didn't, you would even know about it. Hopefully, everything isn't too hard too find because if I missed a fight with Trinity or Morpheus, I would be pissed. Let's hope that the developers have even more planned for us salivating gamer.

Shiny Entertainment and the W Brothers look like they have a great game planned for us. On May 15th, gamers will be able to plug into one of the hottest games this summer. Too bad we will have to stop for two hours to see the Matrix Reloaded on May 16th - gotta take a break sometimes.