Enter the Matrix - PS2

Just over a year ago, Infogrames announced that it was to publish Enter the Matrix, Shiny's long-awaited pet development. Shiny's veil of secrecy around the content of their game was intriguing and not a little frustrating for those who like their games and films sci-fi flavoured. Twelve months or so down the line, and a publisher name-change to boot, Enter the Matrix enters the fray, tying in with the release of the second film in the series, and making sure the hype machine goes into overdrive. Infogrames, before it became Atari in early May 2003, spent a lot of time and money on this. Has it been worth the spend? Is it worth a few hours of your time? Let us Enter the Matrix…

Not just a game based on a film, Enter the Matrix is scripted and directed by the Wachowski brothers, Larry and Andy, and is full of content unique to the game. The brothers insisted on writing a different chapter in Matrix lore for the game experience, and have come up with a storyline that is cleverly interwoven with that of The Matrix Reloaded, as well as neatly following on from the Animatrix movie, The Final Flight of the Osiris. This is where you come in, so to speak.

To sum up the contents of Enter the Matrix in a couple of hundred words really doesn't do the game justice - you have to play it to fully appreciate it. We reckon that it's also worthwhile (though not strictly necessary) to revisit the original Matrix movie, catch the Anime series if you can, and get in line at the cinema to see The Matrix Reloaded, to get a better understanding of what's in store. Suffice to say you can expect a lot of blurring of action/time, martial arts-type showing off, aerial and land-based chase action, exploration, shooting, and hacking into the Matrix itself. There's also a whole hour of never-seen-before film footage, filmed concurrently with The Matrix Reloaded.

The game's plotline follows the path of Niobe and Ghost through the same timeline of the movie. Your adventures in the Matrix will differ according to whichever playable character you select, Niobe or Ghost. All the other primary characters from The Matrix Reloaded also appear in the game, including Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Agent Smith and others. Enter the Matrix spans multiple genres to challenge gamers of all types, and if there's nothing you can find here to satisfy, then what are you doing playing games, eh?

Matrix fans without consoles, now's the time to invest. Your Matrix experience is not complete without this game. more