Enter the matrix

[CCGR]

bet there will be some cool moves, hope they don't blow the storyline

[MaxX]

Most games based on movies suck...wait, it was movies based on games that suck...

[CCGR]

Tomb Raider was decent..but then again I didn't play the games much

[lutikri55]

Tomb Raider was a decent one. I don't think a games should be made about the Matrix. That movie is a work of art. It should not turn into some cheap way to capitalize and make a profit.

[SLAM]

I just read the PCGamer preview about it actually, and it sounds quite intriguing. I'll post more here, just as soon as I finish up this down-to-the-minute eBay auction.

[SLAM]

ONE MINUTE!

[SLAM]

30 SECONDS!

[SLAM]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

I'm now the proud owner of a vintage Descent II: The Infinite Abyss set.

Ouch...I just realized that the guy who was also bidding was, in fact, there, and made a last ditch attempt to get it back...paying $18 plus shipping :-p. Oh well, that's the price you pay...literally

[SLAM]

Okay, here's the basics...Enter the Matrix is being developed in a proprietary engine, no liscensing is occuring. We all know this can either be a blessing or a curse, we'll have to wait and see.

You do not play as Neo, or as any of the movie characters. A seperate set of characters, and a parallel storyline has been developed. It allows the game to move on its own, and not rely to heavily on events from either the original movie or the sequels. However, it is said that it will cross paths with the sequels' storylines, and help explain some of the backstory that isn't developed too heavily in the movie.

The ability to slow down time and perform stunts and the like is provided by a recharging commodity called Focus (sounds a bit like using the force in one of the Jedi Knight games).

According to one of the devs, using stealth in the game will acheive nothing. It's intended to give all that Matrix action we've been waiting for.

"You'll likely also benefit from a meaty PC, as it powers a physics engine that allows your bullets (and other actions) to knock over tables, blow out ceiling tiles, and otherwise trash every square inch of the fighting space. I saw this aspect of the game in action, and it was truly stunning, perfectly capturing the chaos and destruction of the movies' monumental action sequences."
w00t :-)! Can anyone say "Lobby Shootout?"

Other than that, there's a sad fact that it will be singleplayer-only...of course, how could you handle bullet time in a game like that without it affecting everyone? Uh...weird.

The detail they've gone into in developing this has been truly astounding, and I won't go into it here. Rest assured we're looking at an excellent game in the future.

[lutikri55]

Congrats on the Descent II set. That is a cool game. I bought my copy for a hefty 0.87 cents ;). That Matrix game does sound pretty cool after that description.

[MaxX]

"According to one of the devs, using stealth in the game will acheive nothing."

Now that's my type of game http://www.cgalliance.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif

[iamscott]

You know, I actually read a Gamespy preview that said that two minor characters, one played by Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and the other a ace pilot, are playable. The characters are in the movie, but is just a brief role. Also, when a character walks off the screen in The Matrix Reloaded and doesn't appear until later, the chances are the missing character is in Enter the Matrix.

There was an hour of extra motion capture footage shot for the game. And another thing. In Max Payne there was an adrenaline meter on screen-- Enter the Matrix has something called Focus. With this, you will be able to do all those really cool moves that were in The Matrix. How do I know this? It's coming to Gamecube...hehehe.....

[iamscott]

I just preordered it!

[SLAM]

Yeah, that, and the fact that I posted it last page :-p.

[iamscott]

I don't think you posted the whole 'motion capture' thing last page. I read that you said that an entirely new set of characters will be used, one of whom is Niobe, Jada Pinkett Smith's character. The idea is story within a story. You see, if you see an event take place in The Matrix Reloaded, then that event will likely effect Enter the Matrix. Story within a story. And guns. Lots of guns. Luckily, it scored a Teen rating from the ESRB.

[SLAM]

I wonder how it managed that...

[iamscott]

...don't we all...don't we all...

I think it may be because there is no infamous Lobby shootout scene. You know, when they storm the military installation? Yeah. Well, anyway, I also think they cut blood and cussing out of the game, but that is just speculation. Go to esrb.org to find out for sure.

[SLAM]

IF THERE'S NO LOBBY SHOOTOUT LEVEL, I'M NOT BUYING IT!!!

[iamscott]

Well, here's the deal. There are nine Animatrix shorts. One of the ones that is currently out in theatres is Final Flight of the Osiris, which takes place just before Enter the Matrix. In fact, at the end of that particular short they leave a package in a mailbox...you pick that up in Enter the Matrix. True, a Lobby shootout would be cool for a game, but the game's story runs parallel to The Matrix Reloaded, meaning that, like I said before, events affect other events, and vice-versa. Also remember that the game, and movie, take place after Neo hangs up the phone at the end of The Matrix, and that the machines have learned the location of Zion, the last human settlement. That alone sets both storylines up for awesome conflict and even more action packed scenes...plus, I'm guessing that you'll be able to face off against Agents('Call me a virus again, and BAM!'...hehe, sweet dreaming). I have also learned that the game is about 70 percent fighting levels, 15 percent driving levels, and 15 percent flying levels...in all, the game promises to be very well done, and I, personally, do not think that you should dismiss it. Now, excuse me, I have to write a review for Console.ccgr.org.

[SLAM]

WELL, I DON'T CARE! I WANT A LOBBY SHOOTOUT LEVEL!

Hehehe...I've seen similar maps made for many different games, but it was never QUITE like being in the Matrix. Oh well...maybe someone will make a custom map for this game.

[SaintK]

Well Slam, you can play Max Payne if you want the lobby shootout. Heh. Anyways, ETM looks horrible as of now...but don't know how much better they can make it in less than a month. Hopefully the gameplay will be polished enough to make people overlook the graphical flaws. And I don't have much faith in Shiny....

[iamscott]

GRAPHICAL FLAWS??? Obviously, you don't know about the motion capture. If, by some chance, you eventually think the game has good graphics, then perhaps it does. But, if you'll remember back a few months...there were many games that people wanted to play, foremost Metroid Prime, Final Fantasy X, and The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. For those three games, they each had a different system. One of my friends commented on the horrible graphics for Metroid Prime. People soon saw they were outstanding. FFX, one of the best Final Fantasy games in many people's minds, achieved a graphical quality that I never thought was possible on the PS2. Morrowwind, with it's huge, epic roleplaying realms, suffered from clunky character models and strange looking houses. Yet many admit it may be one of the best games ever. If you think that graphics is directly correlated to gameplay, then you are mistaken.

[SaintK]

Well by no means gameplay isn't directly related, but to me it certaintly helps. For instance I don't care how good Final Fantasy 3 is (or pick your favorite NES game), but it is just wayyyy too ugly for me to enjoy playing. I can barely stand to play a PS game nowdays after I've been spoiled by PS2 and Xbox graphics. Call me a shallow gamer but to me graphics provide an indirect enrichment of overall gameplay. Oh and motion capture has nothing to do with how good the graphics are. Well animation, but not graphics, I tend to separate the two.

I will admit that the game seems very fluid (I've seen the videos), but the stills look horrible. Some textures are just plain ugly and makes me wish for a whole lot more. I do desperately hope that ETM will turn out to be a great game, but right now I don't have too much faith in it (I don't want to disappoint myself by hyping it up, and movie to game transitions hasn't worked too well in the past).

[iamscott]

And what if it turns out to be the next Goldeneye 007? That was one of the best movie to game transitions ever. Or The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers? I don't know about you, but LotR couldn't have been a better game, in my opinion. There is the possibility of it being another ET: The Extra Terristrial (actually, there isn't the possibility, but bear with me) for the Atari 2600. That game was cranked out in five weeks flat, and so many copies were produced that the company who made the game took the unsold copies (of which there were many) to a land fill. I have full faith in the Wachowski bros. choice for Shiny as their developer, and I have a huge amount of confidence in Shiny to create the best game experience possible. Here's the deal though. It isn't a movie to game transition. It is a seperate story that runs parallel to the movie. I think that's pretty innovative.

[SaintK]

As innovative it might be(or maybe not), seems like a quite a number of people who have played ETM are crying "average!". Alot of people on forums(gamefaqs mainly) seems to say that the game is merely average with some good elements. Nothing excellent that everyone is hoping for =( It's truly sad since the Matrix was a huge, huge opportunity to create an amazing game, but it seems like it fell flat. And these are previews of the final code, not betas. I'll rent it and give it a go since it's the matrix and I need to at least play it. Hopefully the next Matrix game will be what everyone was hoping for.

I'm not saying that this game is bad (I can't since I didn't play it), but merely stating the general idea of those who have played it. It seems very likely that this game will be somewhere between average and good.

[iamscott]

Nobody's getting it until the fifteenth...right?

[SaintK]

My roomate got it a day early so I got to play around with it for a few hours, and I stand corrected on my initial comments on the game. It's very average (especially the graphics), the controls are kind of awkward, and so is the camera. Perhaps the only saving grace of ETM is the Matrix license and the hand to hand combat. A must rental at best, not a purchase.

[Xel]

Don't bother buying this, definitely a rent

[iamscott]

Sorry, guys...the Gamecube version of this game is awesome. Although some of the sounds and graphics are awkward, the controls and really cool MoCap features are excellent. I guess I'm one of the only people here with a Gamecube. I personally do not have enough time to play two discs in five days. Enter the Matrix was a buy for me.

[iamscott]

After seeing the movie, and sitting down with the game a little more, I understand what they mean by unparalleled collaboration. The game is very literally, an extension of the movie. True, the graphics may not be the best, the driving levels floaty, but the game feels just like the movie. The graphics are about what you can expect from most PS2 games, although it is on the Gamecube, and there are more jaggies than I like, but it is an enjoyable game. These are really only minor complaints. Graphic-hounds may not be reveling in the pleasurable of the Matrix game, but it is about what I expected. And let me tell you, during a cutscene when Ghost has jacked out, and Niobe is waiting for the call, it is amazing the collaboration. This is an excellent game.

[SLAM]

I'll have to see the PC version I guess. Something to try :-).

[iamscott]

I guess. One thing though. The PC version is supposed to have horrible frame rate probs. And, the game is short, even though it's two discs.