My Top 100: #88 – Enter the Matrix

Here’s another game on the list that was panned by critics, but gets my thumbs up!  Yeah, it could be glitchy, and it was a bit repetitive…  but dammit, it was cool!!!

The Wachowskis wanted 2003 to be the year of The Matrix, apparently.  The much-hyped Reloaded was released in mid-May, with The Animatrix and Enter the Matrix released pretty much that same week;  the second sequel, Revolutions, was to be released that November, with the MMO The Matrix Online to be released shortly after.

Indeed, it was a smörgåsbord of platforms to tell a story with.

*Smörgåsbord:  a type of Scandinavian meal served buffet-style with multiple dishes of various foods on a table, originating in Sweden.*

 

 

We had seen slow-motion “bullet-time” in gaming before, most notably in Max Payne.  The idea behind that game, however, was probably in response to the popular slow-motion effects in that first Matrix movie.  It was time for the new kings of slow-mo to have a gaming go at it.

I loved how the game really felt like it had a place in the franchise; on one hand, you had Don Davis’ soundtrack to get you pumped, and on the other, you could activate the slow-mo and pull off some ridiculous action moves.  No, you weren’t Neo, but Niobe and Ghost could hang right there with him in terms of fighting and shooting skills.

I never tinkered with it too much, but there was also a complex “hacking” portion to the game.  If you dug deep enough, you could unlock all kinds of things.

This was one of two games I purchased with my Xbox console during that summer of 2003, along with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  It was one of my first big purchases after getting my first “real” job that previous winter, and I’ll always love this game because it was my first experience on the new-to-me console.