Matrix: Path of Neo (PC)

Outcomes of battles after continuous attacks made the game predictableThe graphics were poorThe fact that you can't freely fly around the city for example, not like in superman returns which also had bad quality but it letting fly on command and the actual speed gave you a feeling of being superman which mostly if you're playing as "The One" you'll want to feel like it. Also fighting against a gigantic tin Smith would be more fun if you can move, fly around at will.Hopefully there is a remake for this game try Ps3

Most moves looked awesome

The semi-alternate ending (because Neo still commits kamikaze)

Was fun and in the begining funny

The fact jumping height increased since Enter the Matrix gave a bit of a thrill

Rushing a game such as The Matrix really blew for the praise got from the films and a real let down.

Hopefully there is a remake or "starting from scratch project"

Ps3 and the Xbox 360 are around now put it on those too, do them!

I bought the Matrix: Path of Neo PC game with a naively optimistic hope that it would adopt all that was good on Enter the Matrix, and drastically improve the (many) bad bits. Unfortunately, I was wrong. In fact, in many ways it's worse than the earlier, deeply-flawed game.

First, let us start with the graphics. Yes, the graphics are okay, but not as amazingly crisp and detailed as some would have us believe. There are still unbelievably annoying flaws, particularly in the in-game cut scenes (which, truth be told, really are at the same poor standard as Enter the Matrix - characters look limp and lifeless, and there's a whole load of bad cutting and niggling flaws). But the gameplay itself looks alright, and I suppose the characters do look like they're supposed to (mostly...). Then there's the sound. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, the voice actor for Neo (bizarrely they couldn't get Keanu Reeves apparently, despite the presence of some of the other original actors such as Laurence Fisburne) does sound like Reeves, and plays Neo quite well. The world sounds like the Matrix, and the music (although not taken from the films) is atmospheric and tense.

But it all falls down with the actual gameplay. Appalling frame rate, even worse controls and boringly repetition dog this game from start to finish. Certainly, it (kind of) follows the path of all three films, and there are genuinely cool moments (such as fighting multiple Agent Smiths, or sparring with Morpheus in the dojo), but then again some of the set pieces just fall flat (see, for instance, the lobby shooting scene - this should really be one of the best bits, but is unfortunately one of the places where all the games flaws really come to the fore). And the fights do have the tendency to get boring after a while - just the same combination of random button presses until you get a result (reminiscent, dare I say it, of the atrocious fighting system of Star Wars Episode 3). Plus, the overall control system is just a nightmare - it is almost impossible to run, shoot and pull off focus moves all at the same time, because it's just too fiddly, and the targeting system gets grumpy whenever you try and change enemies or whenever you kill someone with a gun. In fact, despite the dodgy fighting controls, I much prefer the Kung Fu moves to the gun play, simply because it's so much easier to control. Couple this with one of those cameras that lets walls and other bits of scenery get in the way of the action, and you have an experience that is just a bit better than having your teeth pulled. In the films, artistic use of the guns provide a component and characteristic piece of the action. In the game, using guns just feels heavy, laboured and poorly thought out, as does almost every other part of the control system and gameplay.

Path of Neo stinks of rushed being put together to fill the vacuum created by the end of the trilogyzx, desperately pinning its hopes on Matrix die-hards who wouldn't dream of not buying this. But really, for a console that should be at the pinnacle of its technological ability (Half Life 2, anyone?), it is more of an attempt at an early Xbox game, and even back then wouldn't have impressed. My recommendation? Rent first, and then, if you really like it, or are a serious fan, go and buy it. But try before you do, otherwise you might get a nasty surprise. This should be so much better, and feel so much better (rather than constantly reminding you you're in a half-rate video game, it should totally immerse you in world of The Matrix). And I'm not prejudiced either - I really enjoyed all three of the films, and might even be so bold as to claim that I understand much of what the Wachowski brothers were trying to do and say.

I'm afraid the more I think about it, the more this sounds like a rushed movie tie-in, except for the fact that it's two years late! There's very little chance that "Path of Neo" would let you do the opposite of what he did in the movies. Has there ever been a game like that? I don't think so. It would be impossible. Or largely implausible. They might as well call it The Blue Pill. The only way choice can enter into it is between the scenes we see. And I still can't quite figure out how they'll pull off scenes like Neo flying to save Morpheus and Neo flying to save Trinity. There's no room for deviation there. And it's not right to imply there was a fight scene or some big adventure on the way to see the Merovingian when the movies make no mention of it. I really can't help imagining The Two Towers when I think of this. It's most likely to be the fight scenes and little else, but hopefully with some replay value and unlockables.

Don't get me wrong, it would be great to do things Neo never did, but it defeats the purpose of a game that lets you do what Neo did. As much as I'd love to destroy the machine city or fight Merv or have that nothing-but-a-rumor helicopter chase, it's not going to happen in Path of Neo. Maybe Path of the One Before Neo or Path of the Last Guy Morpheus Thought Was the One.

And as for the Wachs writing alternate paths for Neo, that would only be for the sake of gameplay, and they don't know anything about games, or else they would have made sure ETM was something they'd want to play, which I'm sure they don't. They're probably just there to fill in the details of what happened off screen. Even though their direct involvement may be a first in the game industry (may be, I don't know), it's not like they're designing this themselves. They just want to keep developing their little Matrix world and keep getting credit. In a way, we're lucky we don't have to read stupid, hastily approved stories about Neo written by unknown hacks the way Lucas has let people use Luke Skywalker for comics and novels (not saying they all suck, but I'm sure some did, especially the Marvels). But, I don't expect them to write a whole new Neo adventure either.