Four walls
and several pillars, all covered with a shiny gray paint. Part of the room
seems somewhat hypnotic, bringing images of a supernatural world to mind. The
view is purposely crooked, changing with the action but staying close to the
target at all times. Two security guards enter and without a second thought I
spring into action, deflecting their attacks and pummeling their chests with
rapid, impossible reflexes. The stunned guards collapse and fade away as a
green glow crosses over their body, erasing their existence in one quick
swift. This world – it’s so familiar, so unique and, despite the dangers, so
appealing to those of us seeking more excitement in our lives. This is the
world of The Matrix.
The Matrix:
Path of Neo is a new, interactive iteration of Neo’s journey to become The
One. For moviegoers this means altered story elements, scene compilations that
are cut and pieced together differently than they are in the original trilogy,
and an alternate ending created by The Wachowski brothers. For gamers this
means new gameplay, new fighting scenarios, and more bullet-dodging action.
The game
begins as previously described. I’m not sure if Neo’s having a dream here or
if this is supposed to represent the rest of the saga, but the opening battle
is not how the story begins. As you know it begins with Neo at a computer
screen where he receives Trinity’s infamous message. A few short sequences
later and it’s time to decide which pill to take. When Agent Smith and his
Smith clones come for Neo at work, you can allow yourself to be taken into
custody, which Neo does in the movie after losing the courage to climb to the
roof of the building. Sound like a bad idea? Why not try something else?
Continue running for a new scenario that could put an end to Neo’s life long
before he gets the chance to fulfill his destiny.
Choice plays
a major role in this game. Enemies, whether human, robotic, or mythical and
mind-boggling like Agent Smith, have many weaknesses that need to be
exploited. Security guards are a common foe early on, and in almost every
circumstance you may choose to eliminate them silently one by one, or attack
them all simultaneously with everything you’ve got.
Unlike the
previous game, which was simplistic in form but frustrating in every other
respect, Path of Neo gives us a lot to master. Learning the basics isn’t too
hard – some of them are bound to come naturally through trial and error. Neo
can defeat his enemies through rapid punching, painful kicks, and powerful
throws.
Each of
these moves are executed with one or two quick actions. Throwing, for example,
is done by pressing the B button to grab the enemy, followed by a pull of the
left analog stick in the direction opposite of your opponent. Combos are
prevalent and relevant, combining multiple hits and multiple attacks for a
plethora of deadly combinations.
The controls
are a little choppier than I had hoped, but overall the game has a good,
highly effective control system. Neo jumps with the A button, runs with the
left stick, etc. That’s old news. The new (and good) news is that, after about
30 minutes of practice, flips, rolls, dives and wall runs become really easy
to perform. Guns are drawn by pressing into the right analog stick, allowing
for quick access to your arsenal while tapping the other buttons. This sounds
negligible I’m sure, but in combat these features go a long way in making the
experience as immersive and as seamless as possible.
It’s been
hard to get excited about current-gen graphics since Xbox 360 and PlayStation
3 were unveiled, but that didn’t stop Path of Neo’s artists from doing what
they could with the technology available. The textures on the characters’
faces, especially Morpheus (whose polygon model is based on the actor that
played him the movie, Laurence Fishburne), is unreal. Neo looks like Keanu
Reeves, Trinity looks like Carrie-An Moss, and Agent Smith has that same
creepy quality that emanates from Hugo Weaving.
Aside from
the controls, which are good but still need perfecting, Path of Neo is held
back by repetition and a flawed camera system. The camera moves smoothly and
seems to work well when you’re walking or running through an open area. In
comparison to other games with flawed camera systems Path of Neo doesn’t seem
that bad. Come close to a wall, particularly a corner, and you could run into
problems. All walls and characters become transparent when the view is
obstructed. The problem is that every action, including attacks, is related to
the camera and thus become harder to perform when the view is messed up. It’s
not always easy to correct the view, increasing the frustration.
The Matrix:
Path of Neo is a better, more balanced and more action-packed game than its
predecessor. The combat is nothing short of being awesome and worthy of all
the comparisons to the movies that gamers will make when playing. Story
segments are long and very involved. It’s interesting to see how the Wachowski
brothers jumbled together old clips with voice tracks from different portions
of the films. It has its flaws, but they’re more easily overlooked than the
nonsensical gameplay introduced in the first game. This is the path the
previous game should have taken.
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Gameplay: 8.0
Big on combos,
fast moves and bullet-time attacks, The Matrix: Path of Neo is an entertaining
brawler. Attack any foe at any time just by pressing the analog stick in the
direction of the enemy plus one of the attack buttons. Prince of Persia was
successful at doing this with swords; now a game is successful at doing it
with fists. Matrix fans will instantly get into the familiar scenarios,
environments, and the new combos (some of which are considered a secret). My
only serious gripes are the camera system and the game’s repetitiveness. No
brawler is free of repetition, so expect to press the same buttons and fight
the same enemies a zillion times before the story ends.
Graphics: 8.5
The backgrounds
and character models look great, you can tell that from the screens. Something
only die-hard Matrix fans will pick up on is how Neo moves like Neo. His
animations are very close to the way he moves in the film. Even the way he
runs, strangely enough, is the same. Now that’s detail!
Sound: 9.0
Excellent,
realistic sound effects backed by a Matrix-inspired soundtrack. Pay close
attention to the level of depth within the sound as objects are destroyed.
Listen to the way the sound changes as Neo walks on different surfaces. Also
note the voice-overs and how they’re edited differently to sound close, far
away, amplified through a speaker – whatever the situation calls for. Very
impressive.
Difficulty: Medium
Concept: 7.9
I wasn’t blown
away by the altered story, though I might’ve been if Revolutions hadn’t
changed everything we knew about The Matrix. Nonetheless this is a good,
well-executed concept with the re-telling of a classic story that doesn’t fail
to entertain.
Overall: 8.0
The Matrix: Path
of Neo should redeem the series in the eyes of gamers and give moviegoers a
reason to take a second look at the trilogy. I don’t need another movie, but
this game has me hungry for more sequels. The bullet-time, wall-hopping, Agent
Smith-butt-kicking gameplay comes closer to matching the film’s battles than
any game before it. That goes for any movie game with ground battles – Star
Wars, The Lord of the Rings, etc. With Path of Neo I felt like I was a part of
the action. Repetitive or not, this was an experience I couldn’t pass up.
