User reviews

An average game, as mentioned by other users, the game is not for gamers but movie fans. It is sort of a "Fill In" for many scenes in Matrix Reloaded, or Ghost's or Niaobi's perspective of things.

One can play as Ghost or Niaobi and the game starts with us stealing a tape from a post office. The game moves forward and we get to know what Niaobi's group was doing while Neo and others were trying to get to the key-maker.

When I say about an hour of extra footage, it is live action footage and not some animated one. The game-play is fairly easy and is only for occasional gamers but not for hard core gamers. Another good factor is the sound, which is top notch and the music.

Direction/Animation: Good.

Story/Screenplay: Good.

Acting: Average.

Music: Awesome.

A game for movie fans but not gamers.

This is simply one of the best "movie-to-game" adaptations ever !

This game is basically a background story for "the Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions" and allows you to play as Niobe and Ghost ( voiced and played in the cinematics by Jada Pinkett Smith and Anthony Wong).

The player can be either Ghost or Niobe for each mission, but sometimes the missions will vary due to the character somehow being involved w/ a different aspect of the mission.

This game is fun though, but many gamers don't seem to think that for some unknown reason. Oh well, play it anyway if you love the "Matrix" trilogy or Action/Adventure/SciFI/Thriller games!

Played this religiously when I was younger. I replayed that first level probably over 100 times!

All the reviews I've read say that the game sucks, so why buy it? One reason and one reason only - there's over and hour of DVD quality video in the game. This video isn't just snippets from the three films either. When the Wachowski's shot footage for the video game as they were shooting The Matrix Reloaded and

Do you have to play the video game in order to see the movies. No, just like The Animatrix, you don't have to have played the game in order to enjoy the movie. Yet, there are some very interesting story lines and back stories that you miss if you haven't played it. This content enriches your movie experience. I equate it to watching your favorite television show. Take "Friends" for example. You can sit down and watch any episode of Friends and know what's going on and have a good time watching it. Yet a lot of the enjoyment of the show is the fact that you know about Ross and Rachel's past, or the fact that Monica used to be fat. When you know these back stories, things that happen in current episodes are more enjoyable. "We were on a break!" doesn't mean anything to you if you haven't seen the previous episodes.

The first segment involves going to the post office to collect the package. The second segment involves going to the airport to call all the other captains for the meeting that appears at the start of The Matrix Reloaded. I was very surprised to learn how the captains use the Matrix to leave messages for each other and there is some very funny dialog. While at the airport, you are called upon to save a fellow crew, which greatly expands the level. The third segment involves the meeting of the captains and the subsequent escape after the agents show up. In The Matrix Reloaded, we see Neo fight the agents, but we don't see what happens with the rest of the characters. It's a bit more expanded in the video game. After this third segment, I would recommend that you stop here and watch The Matrix Reloaded. Or at a minimum, watch The Matrix Reloaded, then play the game and then watch The Matrix Revolutions

Throughout the game you're presented with the following elements:

1. Cinematics - through the use of DVD quality video, you see the story unfold with all the main characters from the Matrix Trilogy. They take a few short cuts with the special effects in places, but otherwise it's the same quality of footage as the movies.

2. Animatics - to help transition you from the movie to the game, often times a cinematic with change into an animatic. This simply means that the story unfolds in an animated version using the game engine to render the characters. These cut scenes are just as engaging as the video because they use the actual actor's voices.

3. Game Play - you do actually get to play the game as well. As either Niobe, or Ghost, you navigate your way through the game unfolding the story as you play.

It was no surprise to learn that the game play sucks. As a game, Enter The Matrix is dead on arrival. No matter how powerful your computer is, the game play is going to bog down to a crawl whenever there are a lot of enemies on the screen. The limited ability to save your games is going to cause you to scream more than once. Last but not least, the game play is simply not that engaging. It's very linear and thus you're really only going from point A to point B, press a button, or open a door and the level is over. I'll be honest, as a game, it's a turd.

But that's not the point. The reason for this game is not for you to play it over and over like Quake III, or Medal Of Honor Allied Assault. The purpose for this game is to tell a story. I don't know that a video game is the best medium for telling a story, but I have to give the Wachowski brothers credit for the attempt. To show you that the Brothers simply want you to get to the end, if you get to a point where you can rest, your health will automatically increase. Not just a little at a time, but in 20 seconds you can go from 2% to 100% if you simply stand still (and no one is shooting at you).

Other than the 1 hour of DVD quality video (have I said that enough yet?), the only saving grace is the audio in the game. Dane Davis, the sound designer for the Matrix Trilogies used the exact sounds from the movies. So when you're in bullet time and hearing the guns go off, it's just like you're there. It's weird when the sound effects are the most notable aspects of a game, but they are that good.

The music is also excellent. Don Davis, the composer for the Matrix Trilogies, composed music for the game as well. In addition, there are tracks from Juno Reactor, Chris Vrenna, Fluke, Rob D and others, that add a certain bit of adrenaline to the game play. Great songs to kick butt to.

If you're a die-hard Matrix fan, then I'd recommend buying the game if you can find it on sale. However, you don't have to be a gamer to play this game. Simple button mashing will get you through the game and through all of the stories - which is the point of the whole game anyway. Even if you're not a die-hard fan, the story arcs are good and worth slugging through the game to watch them.

I base this on the PC version. You've probably already heard a lot of negative about this. I wish I could claim that it was merely nay-sayers. The keyword is "rushed". This has almost all it should, really, and it surely is a nice amount, it's just incomplete. The Matrix feel is present through everything in this. The martial arts system is fairly well-done, simple to use, and allowing several different punches, kicks, throws, blocks, counter-attacks, disarm movements and even firing at someone after grabbing them. There are several ways in which you can do something like that... defense and battling(without bullets) multiple foes... and this was really when fighting came into VG's not entirely devoted to such, so there were ones coming out simultaneously that had takes on it. In this one, you can only concentrate on one enemy at any one time, and trying to avoid the others isn't going to help(worry not, usually, they're not too ruthless). As far as fending them off, moving towards them you can send simple blows their way, continually mainly going up against the main one. This is if you're in the combat mode, out of it, it's limited what you can do. In addition to that, you can also engage in shoot-outs(the interesting and notable thing here is that, largely, you get to pick which of those two you wish to do, and either of them can be cool), car chases and hovercraft flying(more or less all that they do in the movies, as well as a few other things). You visit plenty of places you know from the first two films. Let me get into the weapons... apart from a couple of kinds of grenades(good luck hitting what you want with them, and, at times, even avoiding the ones you've tossed), and a nice unlock-able one, they're all guns. The types are essentially all there... pistols, SMGs, shotguns, rifles, snipers and grenade launchers. Their usefulness fits, as far as accuracy, speed and power go. This, undoubtedly on account of being released for consoles as well as the computer, does not let you have a reticle when running. Instead, we get auto-aim, in the regular 3rd person angle, and an optional first person view, where you stand still(and of course, out of this, projectiles often go everywhere, even at close range... except for in a case I'll get into next). The camera is a bit boring, and not only comes off as rigid, but dull, too, like it has to force its way through syrup when you move it. The mouse sometimes goes too far. Now, there is a feature called Focus in this(using it is how you shoot straight), and holding down the button that starts it lets you break the rules, do things you can't in real life(slow down time, wall-run, dodge, etc.), and that is one of the areas where this gets fun. Yes, Bullet-Time was better in Max Payne, however, there are other things to it. This lets you choose between the characters of Ghost and Niobe(and provides development for them, though you do not need to try this to understand the trilogy), and the progression through this isn't entirely the same for them, if they could perhaps be less close to each other. You don't need to finish it as both, but I suggest it, for the full experience. You also have to wonder if the immense similarity in this to the cinematic efforts is intentional, did they want to put sequences in that weren't the real thing, but very nearly were, is this just the extent of the universe, or, the worst possibility, did the brothers just not have any other ideas? In spite of what the manual will claim, Mrs. N is a lousy chauffeur(try not to give her too hard a time about it... every NPC behind the wheel in this can be), when you're not controlling her(when you steer, it's not half-bad, and even entertaining). Neither her nor him are going to take you all that many hours to beat. Replayability is negligible. There are three difficulties, and this should be a challenge for anyone. There are bits in this where you don't feel like what you're doing has any impact. The level design is uninspired, and they are rather linear. The cut-scenes vary. A bunch of them are in-engine, then there is the 60 or so minutes worth of actual, produced live-action footage, in DVD quality, directed by the Wachowskis themselves. It expands upon Reloaded(this entire thing takes place before, during, and a little after, and aids in setting up Revolutions, so definitely ties into them), and is equally as nice-looking. The cinematography is excellent and faithful, at its best. The same goes for the music. The audio is mixed, the sounds are sometimes great, but they call attention to themselves. The voice acting ranges. The writing, as well. Same goes for AI. And Bosses. This holds a tad of philosophy, and has a sense of humor. Saving happens every time you start a new portion, if you confirm that you wish to, and it puts it in the slot(can anyone explain why the heck there are only four?) you are asked to select the first time you say yes. The graphics are reasonable. Animation is pretty decent. Adventure aspects are slim, but that wasn't the point of this. The Hacking is a nice touch, a DOS prompt-like mini-game. There are glitches and bugs in this, and it's not always stable. If their deadline hadn't been so harsh, this could have been amazing. They overreached, and as opposed to facing facts and trying to perfect some material, and drop other of it, they went for the whole, and it all wound up being average. There is sensuality, and moderately strong language, all relatively infrequent. I recommend this to any fan of the concept, anyone who wants to reenact favorite moments or acrobatics from the influential titles. Just know what to expect. 7/10

It's a bit hard but this game recreates the Matrix universe in a whole new light that kinda ended with the closure of The Matrix Online MMO. Most of the scenes from said game are on the Matrix blurays and can be found on youtube as well. It also has its fair share of glitches too.

...not as good as the movie(s). I think that the fight and other coerography is very good, but the graphics and the gameplay (Max Payne was a lot better) is too average. The music is very good: it makes a real Matrix feeling for this game. In my opinion, this game is: 8/10!

This is a very GREAT game! I absolutely love it!! Andy and Larry W. did a great job at making this game. Every time I want to play Xbox....this is the first game i play! Its really entertaining. It has clips of the movie.....which are very cool.Also I think the graphics of this game look perfect. I think this game is for all ages.Its just so fun to play. I played it for 8 hours ounce. It has great casting.Great graphs.Great levels. If you have 20$ or whatever you have in your wallet.........BUY THIS GAME RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!Its really worth to buy you know.It has every thing you want.Its real cool. I don't know how many levels there are though..........but there's a lot. Ghost and Niobe are both real cool.

Honestly, games of movies are always average. but taking one where you play through not to the movie plot? Well that sounds more original than some doesn't it? No, well this is just as flat as all video game adaptations of movies, they never work properly and are so badly coded that even I could have done better and my knowledge of computers of scarce. I played through a few levels, the driving experience was even more flawed than the driving system in halo (even though fans of that won't admit it, seriously that is bad). Piloting the nevacansea is absolutely terrible. If those levels were all that were released I would demand more than my money back for having to actually witness them. Why is this game liked so much???????

When I first heard about this game and how it tied in with the Matrix movies I was very interested. Afterall, it sounded like a very unique idea. Unfortunately, I was interested enough to throw away $50 on it. Enter the Matrix is, hands down, the worst video game I have ever played: controls are terrible, graphics are crap, game play is frustrating. As I said, I did think this was an interesting idea--certainly more original than any other video game based off of a movie--and I still do think it is a neat idea. The only real problem was the execution. They spent more money on the rights to use character images than they spent on game design. I know what you're thinking: "but, they had to use images of Niobe and Ghost", but those aren't the character images I am talking about. I talking about the other characters that you don't actually get to play as. One official review I read stated that $10 million alone was spent in order to use the image of Neo. Just imagine what $10 million could have done for game development. If you're thinking of getting this game, do yourself a favor and spend your money on candy. Once again, this idea behind this game is a very good one, but what they failed to realize is that games must be playable.

After seeing the movie, i started playing the game. It weaves in and out of the story of the movie, and adds its own never before scenes to move along the story. The hacking is fun to unlock, and the rewards are great (multiplayer fighting). Action, graphics, and in game script are great. It's a wonderful game to along with the movie. 10/10

Lets start by getting the negatives out of the way first.

1. The physics of the game are a little off in that the people don't react the solid objects correctly. Sometimes you will kill or incapacitate an enemy their body will be laying halfway inside a wall or laying flat as if they were on the ground but are actually laying on a one inch rail.

2. The sound in a few FMVs has some kind of echo problem that makes it hare to understand what the characters are saying.

3. Occasionally your character will perform a complex fighting move where they grapple with an enemy and knock them out except they don't pull off the first move correctly, i.e. getting a hold of the enemy, and they will perform the entire sequence of fight moves against thin air.

The first problem is understandable considering that MOST video games don't have accurate physics engines. The other two indicate that The Wachowski Brothers wanted it out in time for the release of Reloaded. The game came out 3/11/2003 and the film 3/15/2003.

Now for the good parts.

1. Other than these few problems the game is quite enjoyable and gives you a very in-depth look at the Matrix reality. Unlike most movie tie-in games this actually compliments the films rather than trying to imitate it or be a condensed version.

2. The game's plot line actually interweaves with the film Reloaded giving you a better understanding of the films complexities.

3. The use of focus power, or bullet time as it is also known, makes for some very impressive hand to hand and gun fighting. For those of you unfamiliar with the Matrix concept (if you don't know any thing about the films then why the heck are you reading about the game?) I will give you a prime example of bullet time so that you can understand the magnitude of being able to control this power.

Five minutes into the first Matrix film we see a woman dressed a black, leather biker's outfit with her hands on her head about to be cuffed from behind by a cop, there are three other's who all have guns trained on her as he approaches. Just as he touches her wrist she quickly spins around, breaks his right arm at the elbow and jams the palm of her hand into his face breaking his nose, all within one second. She then jumps 4 feet straight up into the air and time suddenly grinds to a halt. While time is frozen the camera view rotates 180º showing her poised like the Karate Kid ready to perform a crane kick. Time then resumes normal speed. She kicks the cop so hard that he goes flying backward about 10 to 15 feet into a second officer. She, defying the laws of physics, is not moved back at all by the force of her kick and simply lands back where she was. She quickly kicks the wooden chair she was sitting on into the face of a third officer, stunning him and shattering the chair. The fourth officer aims his gun at her and begins to fire. She runs up a wall along the corner of the room, again defying the laws of physics, and then runs back at the fourth officer ducking and weaving until she is in front of him. She then spins the both of them around until she is facing the third officer, now regaining his composure and taking aim, with the fourth officer behind her facing the same way and her hand controlling his gun. She fires a few rounds at the third officer, presumably killing him, and then whips her leg up kicking the fourth officer in the face over her own shoulder, incapacitating the last of her would be captors. This is what bullet time is about.

The game itself is sufficiently entertaining that if every thing about the matrix were stripped away from it and it were simply an action/adventure/fighting game with no connections to any other product it would still be a decent enough game to stand on it's own. The thing that makes this a good game is that it (like The Animatrix) is more like a compendium to the matrix than an entity unto it self.

All in all I would give this game a. 7.5/10 (10 being excellent, 0 being horrible and 5 being average).

I held off on buying this game because I had heard so much about how it sucked that I wasn't about to drop 50 bucks for a bad game. I picked it up the other day because it has become one of those "Playstation 2 Greatest Hits" titles.

Really what it all gets down to is this: This game is fun to play. Above all else, that's the most important thing in any game. The controls, which so many complain about, were really easy to get used to. I really don't understand what everyone was complaining about. The sound was great, and I really enjoyed the added dimension the cut scenes gave to the films. The graphics were weak, I'll admit. But frankly, I'd rather play a fun game with a good story than a beautiful game with no story that bores me to tears. All in all, it's a good game and if you like the Matrix, get it.

Seriously, if your a fan of the matrix and you love movie based games done well, then this is the game for you. Yes it is true, this is more for movie/matrix fans then it is for the hardcore gamer. I fall into the former category, I am not or ever will be a "hardcore" gamer. I am a movie fan more, and I did really enjoy the matrix movies, so being able to do bullet time in slow mo, dressed in some slick duds with sunglasses and visiting matrix 1 environments, evading agent smith clones, all the while watching a story made exclusively for the game that ties into the movie, its just a great experience and a fun one. You really do feel you are in the movie world of the matrix, the same creepy vibe you get in films is evident in the game, much more then the other matrix game "path of neo". I thought the graphics were exceptional and well done, even though other reviewers say it looks "rushed", think about it, the game had to tie into the release of the movie and if it at times looks like that, which is rare, it still doesn't look "bad". not at all. this was before xbox 360 graphics and such, so its commendable what they accomplished with this game. Its very interesting story and you can play as 2 characters, and each has different and unique abilities the other doesn't have. 2 different stories, alternate outcomes. its very cool, plain and simple. I've never before or since seen a movie based game done this well or had so much effort put into it.

Ok, first off I'm going to say that I got this game free, legally I might add. I was able to get a full rebate from Amazon a while back. And I'm also going to say that I'm glad I didn't end up paying for this. The gameplay was pretty bad, the graphics weren't much better, and the AI was absolutely atrocious. In the driving portions, when you weren't driving, you were lucky to get to the end in one piece. Another thing: square tires are bad; zooming in on clearly square tires is worse. Sure, you could do Focus moves, and they were cool, but they were also useless for the most part. You regenerated health fast enough that you could take a few hits while just running around killing everyone with no real negative effects.

That said, the extra footage/plot info was great. I really feel most of the dialogue in this game was better than could be found in the movies. I really wish Sparks and Ghost had been allowed some character development in the actual movies, Sparks in particular. And it was nifty seeing the Trainman reappear in the movie.

In the end, I'd recommend this game to any, at least slightly serious Matrix fan. But if you're looking for a good game, look elsewhere.

I was ecstatic at the idea of a Matrix video game, but I avoided it after most reviews panned. I finally rented and, like everyone else, was disappointed. The game *cannot* stand apart from either The Matrix Reloaded or Final Flight Of The Osiris. The cut scenes read like the deleted scenes from the film, but without any of the connecting scenes from the movie or exposition explaining what's going on, the game has no coherent story or thru-line.

The game play was decent, but the graphics are far behind other games for GameCube, Playstation, or X-Box. The motion capture often left the animated cut scenes feeling stiff. Also, the lack of in-game displays and indicators made it difficult to differential friend from foe and figure out your next objective. The final stage where you pilot the hovercraft through the underground tunnels is the worst of all in terms of graphics and play control. The game ends without any sense of accomplishment or closure, so I was left feeling unsatisfied.

Ok, before i get into the specifics, let me be blunt. This game was horrible, horrible, horrible ect.

First off, what were they thinking with the hacking thing? all it does is waste about an hour, it is incredibly easy and controlled, (no real hacking involved, just another game off of the main one) and it totally screws up the game. So why hack at all? Its the only thing that's halfway decent about the game.

The final level? I was laughing my head off by the time I beat it. It was a few hundred miles short of PS2's capabilities, the things show up on your screen and follow it around. When you press the left button, they go left. if you press up, they go up. Wheres the AI?? This reminded me of the really old handheld games where you have to shoot the ships as they come at you... worse then pac-man or asteroids

There are so many bugs as you reach the middle of the game, that I thought that I had to clean the disk. I take it out and, viola! its scratch free. No, PS2 doesn't have magical powers, the bugs were in the game. It crashed every time you reached the sniper level, so eventually I had to cheat to get around it.

The agents were also dissapointingly easy. Insane invincible monsters in the movie, but idiots who can't aim for crap in the game. And the multi-player mode that you get through hacking? took about a minute to figure out that if you throw your opponent over and over, you win every time

Overall this game gets about a 3/10. The 3 comes from an interesting first few missions, and you are able to play until the end just for the really cool matrix trailer. Just another crap movie-video-game

Ok before I tell you stuff about this game let me tell you I have played, experienced,and beat the game that will change the way people look at video games forever. Warning Magor Spoilors ahead!!!!!!! In Enter the matrix you could either play as ghost or niobe. I would recommend you to play as ghost because ghost does a lot more than niobe such as shooting cars in your way in a 3D graphic car chases. Ok to the game the story lets you understand the movie better such as seeing what happend before everything happended in reloaded. There is also exclusive film footage. You get to battle alongside the original motion picture cast. The game has excellent sound, gameplay, music,and just experiencing it is an astonishing experience. You get to battle agent smith but my advice to you is to run your ass off! There is a love scene in which ghost and pherisope kiss and make love! The twins from the movie are in the game with villins not showcased in the movie such as vampires,S.W.A.T. team guys, and many more. Overall this game I could go on and on about but overall I'd give this game a 15/10 ****out of ****and an A+!!!!!!!!!!!

I've played Enter the Matrix for the Playstation 2 and i think that the game is absolute class, the graphics, the action that's in the game and the movie is just cool, i think it's an amazing game and i really would give the game and outstanding 10/10

Since I'm doing reviews right now, I might as well review this one, because no one seems to see the problems I have with it. I don't know...though the game got a bit of praise, it still didn't come together right. I was expecting a joyride of thrills but I didn't...quite...get what I asked for.

GRAPHICS: The ONLY things graphically impressive are the clothes Ghost and Niobe wear. The environments were not done with much care, and believe me, they weren't. As the name of this review implies, yes, there are literally a lot of glitches inside this game, such as distant objects disappearing and objects just changing shape after coming in close to them. There are also points where you see huge globs of flames, but they are not even close to impressive. In order to give the impression they are big, their directions are fixed to the camera, so if you turn, the fires will turn in match to the camera. Also, for those who know the Matrix series well, you'll know how bullet trails look. You won't see that here. Though the motion blur during your Focus moments is decently done, the bullet trails aren't. Instead of actually making a trail following a bullet, there's a white zig-zag of smoke following a silver stud. The bullet trail is actually HANGING off the bullet as it follows it, not like the real bullet trails that actually jump out of the bullet to show it ripping through the air at the speed of sound. The motion-capture is also limp and lackluster...when characters run, it looks like they're running on a high-speed treadmill, and when they fight, it looks like they're dancing. Hit detection also sucks badly, because punches and kicks don't necessarily have to connect in order to make damage (though that's what it looks like...punches and kicks don't connect. When they do connect, your body goes right through their character models).

SOUND: Pretty decent, but I don't know why people are missing the fact that the music skips at given points (the PS2 version, anyway). And, no, the disc wasn't scratched. It was practically brand new. One of the songs actually repeated it's ending once as the song ended. The music is supposed to be randomized so each song sounds different every now and then, but it was done better even in the N64 games. However, the music is based on the Matrix movies themselves. At the point where you're running from the Smith clones, you'll actually be hearing the song that played as Trinity was running from the Agents during the opening sequence in the original film. Gunshots sound realistic, too, such as the handguns, which actually sound like the blazing gunfire coming from the guns in the films.

GAMEPLAY: Play through the first 20 minutes of the game and you'll automatically be in awe. Play through the first 2 hours and you'll start getting sleepy. Yes, gameplay is repetitive through the whole game. The game basically relies on shooting enemies and dodging their bullets along the way. That's another glitch...when you're dodging bullets, you're telling the game you're SUPPOSED to be dodging them, so if you're flipping around in Focus mode and bullets are flying through you with 10 bullets a second, they'll go right through you and they won't hurt you. You'll start thinking about that after a while of gameplay. There is not auto-targeting system, either. You basically position yourself so you see an enemy and shoot. That probably won't bother you because of the game's play style, but be sure to go into Focus mode often. It's the only thing to save your life, since some enemies have dead accuracy. However, the first set of enemies at the beginning of the game are so stupid you shouldn't even waste bullets. You can just fight them with hand-to-hand combat, which is another element of the game. Sick of shooting people? Beat them up instead! Also, driving missions are terrible. Ghost's side of the driving missions are easier, but as Ghost, you'll have to suffer the dreaded driving mission where you chase the plane through the canyon. Your car LITERALLY glides all over the place after hitting bumps and curves, so if you hit one little bump, expect your car to go flying down the street a few meters.

STORY: This is actually the side story next the Reloaded's story. You play as Niobe or Ghost (minor characters in the Matrix sequels) and see what their jobs were while Neo and company were playing Catch with Smith and the Merovingian. The events in the game actually take place after the "Final Flight of the Osiris" mini-movie, and 3 days before the events in Reloaded. In fact, the first mission in ETM follows what the Osiris had to do before the unfortunate happened to them...one of the crew members (it was a woman, I forget her name) was jacked into the Matrix and was to send a package with information warning that the machines were getting on the offensive. It goes to the post office, and this is where ETM comes in. In a nutshell, the story actually creates the balance that adds up the plots of the later films.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent this game first. If you're not satisfied after 5 days, take it back. Otherwise, if you think you can suffer through what I just mentioned above and still enjoy the game, buy it if you will. 6.75/10, and that was actually being nice.

"Enter the Matrix" is an interesting exercise, it's the latest attempt to merge video games and movies closer together by linking them to one story. Unfortunately, the video game part takes backseat to the story aspect. This title takes place between the CGI animated short "Final Flight of the Osiris" and "The Matrix Reloaded".

It's basically a back story for the two minor characters who are featured in "Reloaded" played by Jada Pinkett Smith and Anthony Wong. The game, at its heart, is a typical third-person shooter. You basically run around and shoot at anyone with a number of firearms and weapons. You also have the ability to "focus" and manipulate the Matrix like Neo, Trinity and Morpheus do in the films.

The levels are mindless entertainment, they do not require much from the player other than to press a few buttons to fight and move. You can either play as Niobe (Pinkett-Smith) or Ghost (Wong), but the stages are the mostly the same with a different perspective. I did like the element of "hacking" into the Matrix, which is based on the old DOS system.

With this, you can unlock a number of features, cheats and mini-games. In fact, I enjoyed this more than I did the game itself, which also includes some tepid "rail" sequences which brought back memories of some appalling Sega CD FMV games. The Wachowski brothers, the brains behind "The Matrix", are avid gamers and big time "Halo" fans.

It's disappointing their first venture into interactive entertainment is such a mediocre affair. Some "Matrix" fans would say the same thing about the two highly anticipated 2003 sequels. Maybe juggling the production of the movies, comic books, video game and animated shorts were just too much to tell one huge story with.

Perhaps the brothers should've just concentrated on the sequels and forgotten the back stories and mythologies. Oh well, there's always "The Matrix Online".

** out of ****

When "Enter the Matrix" came out, everyone was buying it, because everyone wanted to do everything they saw in the movie. For me, I got disappointed, because my copy was one of many copies that were bugged. The game seems to lock up after extended play, or if there is more than four baddies on-screen. And if you don't have an up to date PC, stay clear of this one. One of my friends started this up on an old emachines computer, and the results were more like a slideshow than a video game. The boring gameplay doesn't help either. Sure, the game lets you do bullet time, but even that gets boring after a while. What you pretty much do is this:

1. Disarm the opponents weapon

2. Beat the living daylights out of him or

3. Shoot him

4. Rinse and repeat

There are some driving levels, but the controls feel too sensitive so it's hard to stay on track. Then theres the graphics. Not only is the animation jerky, but the level design on most of the levels is just greusome, especially on the last level. I almost went blind! But there are some things that are good. The sound and the Hacking mini game, where you can cheat and do some other things real hackers do. But still, when the best part about a video game is the cheating menu, that game has problems.

A 2 out of 5