Enter the Matrix
Encyclopedia
Enter the Matrix is the first video game based on The Matrix series
of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment
and published by Atari
and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2
, Xbox
and Nintendo GameCube
game systems, and for the PC
. It was published in Japan
by Bandai
. It sold one million copies in its first eighteen days of release, 2.5 million over the first six weeks, and eventually 5 million copies. Enter the Matrix was simultaneously produced with The Matrix Reloaded
and The Matrix Revolutions
films.
' s North American release, Enter the Matrix gives players control of two of the supporting characters in that film, Ghost and Niobe
, members of the same group of rebels as Morpheus
, Trinity
, and Neo
. Niobe is the Captain of the Logos, the fastest ship in the rebel fleet. Ghost is the ship's first mate and weapons guru, and is a deep-thinking, philosophical assassin
. The game takes place at roughly the same time as the events in The Matrix Reloaded; a character may walk out of a scene in the film, only to walk into a scene in the game.
which slows down time, giving players the ability to perform actions such as shoot in midair, dodge bullets and perform various maneuvers. Some levels involve one on one martial arts fighting against single opponents. In levels involving vehicles, one driving a car and another piloting the Logos craft, the style of gameplay depends on the selected player, with Niobe maneuvering the vechiles to avoid obstacles whilst Ghost takes control of a gun to fight off incoming enemies. A hacking system allows players to enter codes, allowing them to unlock secrets, weapons and skills.
, to be an integral part of the Matrix series. Many previous movies have been adapted as games, but in this case, the game expands upon the story told in the films. Enter the Matrix includes two hours of live action 35mm film footage written and directed specifically for the game by the Wachowski brothers (and later included as part of "The Ultimate Matrix Collection" on the "The Matrix Reloaded Revisited" DVD). The martial arts moves and in-engine cutscenes of the game feature actions captured directly from the films' actors and stunt double
s to recreate their unique fighting styles while suspended from wires under the supervision of the series' fight scene choreographer Yuen Wo Ping.
The player learns that Neo is not the only target of Persephone
's predilection toward trading kisses for esoteric information; Niobe and Ghost are both put into positions where they must submit to her whims in order to gain critical information that she offers them in return for their favors. Significant also to the continuity of the Matrix universe is the first appearance of actress Mary Alice
in the role of the Oracle
. (Gloria Foster
, the original actress, died of complications related to diabetes early on in the production of both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions). The game includes a film sequence specifically explaining her change of appearance, as a result of an attack on her by the Merovingian
, a malevolent character introduced in The Matrix Reloaded, who also appears in the game. Another film sequence reveals that the Merovingian's attack was facilitated by a sacrificial trade with the compassionate program Rama-Kandra. Allowed to occur by the Oracle, the Merovingian acquired the deletion codes for the Oracle's external "shell," and in exchange, he gave Rama-Kandra's daughter Sati her freedom and safety in the Matrix, despite her lack of purpose in the machine world, though the Oracle foreshadows that Sati will play an important role in both the Matrix and the Real. What role Sati will play is yet to be determined in The Matrix Online
.
, Ghost and Niobe escape from the Matrix with the package. The package is a message to the human city Zion
, warning them that the machines are tunneling to Zion with an army of Sentinels. Niobe and Ghost are tasked with calling the rest of the ships back to Zion to coordinate a defense. During this operation, Niobe and Ghost provide backup to another group of operatives trying to escape.
With everyone home, the captains of the various ships hold a meeting in the Matrix to decide on how best to defend themselves. During the meeting, Agents attack the building they are in. Niobe and Ghost help the humans escape; when everyone is safe except them, the Keymaker
, a program capable of accessing any area in the Matrix, leads them to safety through a door that he created. The Keymaker gives the two a key that they are supposed to give to Neo
, the protagonist of the film trilogy. However, the key is stolen by henchmen of the Merovingian, a program created during the early days of the Matrix who now is a crime boss in the Matrix. As Niobe and Ghost pursue them, the character that the player did not choose is captured by more henchmen. Before the player character rescues the one captured, the Merovingian destroys the key that the Keymaker gave them. They then escape from the Matrix.
Niobe later volunteers to go find the Nebuchadnezzar, the ship that is captained by Morpheus
and that carries Neo. Upon finding them and helping them escape from the Matrix, they agree to help in Neo's mission against the machines, as depicted in The Matrix Reloaded
. Niobe and Ghost's role in the mission is to destroy a power plant. After this mission is completed, the Oracle, a program that often gives the humans advice, requests that the player character come and speak to her. After their conversation, the player is confronted by Smith, a rogue agent that seeks to destroy both the human and machine worlds. The player character barely escapes from the hundreds of Smith copies and the Matrix. Once out, the Logos is attacked by the machines. They defeat the machines by setting off an EMP
, which disables their ship in the process. The game ends with the two of them waiting in the Logos to be rescued, leading into The Matrix Revolutions
.
, there are numerous secondary characters in Enter The Matrix.
Other musical groups, such as Evanescence
, Fluke
, Clawfinger
, and Celldweller
, are featured in the game and are credited in the game's booklet.
The album jackets for The Matrix Reloaded: The Album
and The Matrix Revolutions: Music from the Motion Picture
contain hidden codes for Enter The Matrix (not just the one code given for Infinite Ammo displayed clearly inside the Reloaded jacket). These other codes can be seen almost blending into the pictures from the films.
reported that the game had an average mark of 62 out of 100. Two critics from Electronic Gaming Monthly
gave it "bad" scores; another later admitted that his "average" score for the game was more positive than the game actually deserved. Mark MacDonald's comments were especially scathing:
GameSpot listed Enter the Matrix in several of their "Dubious Honors" lists at the end of 2003, including their five most disappointing titles of the year. One common complaint was that players wanted to play as trilogy protagonist Neo rather than secondary characters Ghost and Niobe, an issue Shiny Entertainment addressed with their later Matrix game Path of Neo
.
Steven Poole
, in his column in Edge, described Enter the Matrix as "Max Payne
with celebrity scriptwriters," and said that the films' fluid fight choreography could not be matched by the game's control system, and that the game's centred view, while practical, was not as interesting as the "kinetic montage" of camera angles used in the movies' action scenes. He also expressed other concerns:
Positive comments came from IGN, Game Informer, and Nintendo Power, with NP giving it an 82/100 and stating "Its game play suffers from repetition, but this two-disc technomelange has tons of great stuff for "Matrix" fans. IGN's review, while mixed, gave praise to its presentation and sound. They stated that "You can't get much better than having the Wachowski Brothers filming your cutscenes", and "Kudos to the sound team for bringing the movie audio to life in the game. Excellent sound design, and a great score."
Peer Schneider of IGN has also given positive comments, saying that:
He also gave praise to the GCN version, specifically:
The Matrix (franchise)
The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...
of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment
Shiny Entertainment was an American video game developer based in Laguna Beach, Southern California, and the creator of several popular titles such as Earthworm Jim, MDK, Sacrifice and The Matrix: Path of Neo. Shiny was founded by David Perry in October 1993...
and published by Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
game systems, and for the PC
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It was published in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
by Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
. It sold one million copies in its first eighteen days of release, 2.5 million over the first six weeks, and eventually 5 million copies. Enter the Matrix was simultaneously produced with The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
and The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
films.
Overview
First released on 15 May 2003, the same day as The Matrix ReloadedThe Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
Niobe (The Matrix)
Niobe is a fictional character in the video game Enter the Matrix and the two feature films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Niobe also appears in the MMORPG The Matrix Online...
, members of the same group of rebels as Morpheus
Morpheus (The Matrix)
Morpheus is the name of a fictional character and the secondary protagonist of The Matrix Franchise. The Wachowski brothers were fans of Neil Gaiman and based the character of Morpheus on the title character from the comic book The Sandman, also adopting one of his most common pseudonyms,...
, Trinity
Trinity (The Matrix)
Trinity is a fictional character and Neo's love interest in The Matrix universe, played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the films. In the gameplay segments of Path of Neo, she is voiced by Jennifer Hale...
, and Neo
Neo (The Matrix)
Thomas A. Anderson is a fictional character and the main protagonist in The Matrix franchise, as well as having a cameo in The Animatrix short film, Kid's Story. He was portrayed by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Trilogy and The Animatrix. Andrew Bowen provided Neo's voice in The Matrix: Path of Neo...
. Niobe is the Captain of the Logos, the fastest ship in the rebel fleet. Ghost is the ship's first mate and weapons guru, and is a deep-thinking, philosophical assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. The game takes place at roughly the same time as the events in The Matrix Reloaded; a character may walk out of a scene in the film, only to walk into a scene in the game.
Gameplay
Players play as either Niobe or Ghost, each of whom have slight variations during their story. Most levels involve controlling players in a third person perspective, using guns and fighting skills to defeat opponents and complete level objectives. At any time, players can activate bullet timeBullet time
Bullet time is a special and visual effect that refers to a digitally enhanced simulation of variable-speed photography used in films, broadcast advertisements, and video games...
which slows down time, giving players the ability to perform actions such as shoot in midair, dodge bullets and perform various maneuvers. Some levels involve one on one martial arts fighting against single opponents. In levels involving vehicles, one driving a car and another piloting the Logos craft, the style of gameplay depends on the selected player, with Niobe maneuvering the vechiles to avoid obstacles whilst Ghost takes control of a gun to fight off incoming enemies. A hacking system allows players to enter codes, allowing them to unlock secrets, weapons and skills.
Connections to the films
Enter the Matrix was designed, like The AnimatrixThe Animatrix
is a 2003 direct-to-video anthology film based on The Matrix trilogy. The film is a compilation of nine animated short films.-Production:Development of the Animatrix project began when the film series' writers and directors, the Wachowski brothers, were in Japan promoting the first Matrix film...
, to be an integral part of the Matrix series. Many previous movies have been adapted as games, but in this case, the game expands upon the story told in the films. Enter the Matrix includes two hours of live action 35mm film footage written and directed specifically for the game by the Wachowski brothers (and later included as part of "The Ultimate Matrix Collection" on the "The Matrix Reloaded Revisited" DVD). The martial arts moves and in-engine cutscenes of the game feature actions captured directly from the films' actors and stunt double
Stunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
s to recreate their unique fighting styles while suspended from wires under the supervision of the series' fight scene choreographer Yuen Wo Ping.
The player learns that Neo is not the only target of Persephone
Persephone (The Matrix)
In the movies The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, Persephone is the wife of The Merovingian. She seems bored with her existence in the Matrix, and is disaffected by her husband ....
's predilection toward trading kisses for esoteric information; Niobe and Ghost are both put into positions where they must submit to her whims in order to gain critical information that she offers them in return for their favors. Significant also to the continuity of the Matrix universe is the first appearance of actress Mary Alice
Mary Alice
Mary Alice is an American actress.Alice was born Mary Alice Smith in Indianola, Mississippi, the daughter of Ozelar and Sam Smith. In 1987 she received a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in Fences...
in the role of the Oracle
Oracle (The Matrix)
The Oracle is a fictional character portrayed by Gloria Foster and Mary Alice within the Matrix series of films created by the Wachowski brothers...
. (Gloria Foster
Gloria Foster
Gloria Foster was an American actress, most known for her stage performances portraying an array of African-American characters, including her acclaimed roles in plays In White America and Having Our Say, winning three Obie Awards during her career.In films, she was perhaps best known as The...
, the original actress, died of complications related to diabetes early on in the production of both The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions). The game includes a film sequence specifically explaining her change of appearance, as a result of an attack on her by the Merovingian
Merovingian (The Matrix)
The Merovingian, also known as the Frenchman, and called Merv by Trinity, is a fictional character in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, portrayed by Lambert Wilson in both films...
, a malevolent character introduced in The Matrix Reloaded, who also appears in the game. Another film sequence reveals that the Merovingian's attack was facilitated by a sacrificial trade with the compassionate program Rama-Kandra. Allowed to occur by the Oracle, the Merovingian acquired the deletion codes for the Oracle's external "shell," and in exchange, he gave Rama-Kandra's daughter Sati her freedom and safety in the Matrix, despite her lack of purpose in the machine world, though the Oracle foreshadows that Sati will play an important role in both the Matrix and the Real. What role Sati will play is yet to be determined in The Matrix Online
The Matrix Online
The Matrix Online was a massively multiplayer online game developed by Monolith Productions created by Richard Carroll. It was the official continuation of the storyline of the Matrix series of films. The game began closed beta-testing in June 2004 which was then opened for people who pre-ordered...
.
Plot
The story begins with Niobe, captain of the Logos, and Ghost, her first mate, retrieving a package left in the Matrix by the crew of the recently destroyed rebel ship Osiris. After being pursued by AgentsAgent (The Matrix)
Agents are a group of characters in the Matrix series. They are sentient computer programs, displaying high-level Artificial Intelligence, and are representatives, or "Agents", of the main antagonists within the Matrix fictional universe. They are guardians within the computer-generated world of...
, Ghost and Niobe escape from the Matrix with the package. The package is a message to the human city Zion
Zion (The Matrix)
Zion is a fictional city in The Matrix films. It is the last human city on the planet Earth after a cataclysmic nuclear war between humankind and sentient Machines, which resulted in artificial lifeforms dominating the world.-History:...
, warning them that the machines are tunneling to Zion with an army of Sentinels. Niobe and Ghost are tasked with calling the rest of the ships back to Zion to coordinate a defense. During this operation, Niobe and Ghost provide backup to another group of operatives trying to escape.
With everyone home, the captains of the various ships hold a meeting in the Matrix to decide on how best to defend themselves. During the meeting, Agents attack the building they are in. Niobe and Ghost help the humans escape; when everyone is safe except them, the Keymaker
Keymaker
The Keymaker is a fictional character in The Matrix film series portrayed by Korean-American actor Randall Duk Kim. The Keymaker is one of the sentient programs, rogue to the System. It carves shortcut keys used by every program in the Matrix...
, a program capable of accessing any area in the Matrix, leads them to safety through a door that he created. The Keymaker gives the two a key that they are supposed to give to Neo
Neo (The Matrix)
Thomas A. Anderson is a fictional character and the main protagonist in The Matrix franchise, as well as having a cameo in The Animatrix short film, Kid's Story. He was portrayed by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Trilogy and The Animatrix. Andrew Bowen provided Neo's voice in The Matrix: Path of Neo...
, the protagonist of the film trilogy. However, the key is stolen by henchmen of the Merovingian, a program created during the early days of the Matrix who now is a crime boss in the Matrix. As Niobe and Ghost pursue them, the character that the player did not choose is captured by more henchmen. Before the player character rescues the one captured, the Merovingian destroys the key that the Keymaker gave them. They then escape from the Matrix.
Niobe later volunteers to go find the Nebuchadnezzar, the ship that is captained by Morpheus
Morpheus (The Matrix)
Morpheus is the name of a fictional character and the secondary protagonist of The Matrix Franchise. The Wachowski brothers were fans of Neil Gaiman and based the character of Morpheus on the title character from the comic book The Sandman, also adopting one of his most common pseudonyms,...
and that carries Neo. Upon finding them and helping them escape from the Matrix, they agree to help in Neo's mission against the machines, as depicted in The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
. Niobe and Ghost's role in the mission is to destroy a power plant. After this mission is completed, the Oracle, a program that often gives the humans advice, requests that the player character come and speak to her. After their conversation, the player is confronted by Smith, a rogue agent that seeks to destroy both the human and machine worlds. The player character barely escapes from the hundreds of Smith copies and the Matrix. Once out, the Logos is attacked by the machines. They defeat the machines by setting off an EMP
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
, which disables their ship in the process. The game ends with the two of them waiting in the Logos to be rescued, leading into The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
.
Characters
Aside from Ghost and NiobeNiobe (The Matrix)
Niobe is a fictional character in the video game Enter the Matrix and the two feature films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Niobe also appears in the MMORPG The Matrix Online...
, there are numerous secondary characters in Enter The Matrix.
- Sparks — The operator. He gives players tips and information throughout the game.
- SmithAgent SmithAgent Smith is the main antagonist of The Matrix film series and multimedia franchise, mainly played by actor Hugo Weaving and briefly by actor Ian Bliss in the films and voiced by Christopher Corey Smith in The Matrix: Path of Neo.In 2008, Agent Smith was selected by Empire Magazine as number 84...
(AKA: Agent Smith) — A program who can absorb human bodies and humanoid programs to make copies of himself. He chases the player through an abandoned skyscraper, and later, Chinatown. - Agent Johnson — An agent who appears frequently during the game. Niobe defeats him by kicking him off a cargo plane while Ghost defeats him by knocking him into a short-circuited computer server. He was the leader of the upgraded Agent trio in the films.
- Agent Jackson — Another agent with frequent appearances in the game. Ghost defeats him by blowing up his helicopter.
- Agent Thompson — The least-featured Agent in the game, who only appears in cinematics, and the only opportunity to fight him occurs at the end of Niobe's missions at the power plant.
- The OracleOracle (The Matrix)The Oracle is a fictional character portrayed by Gloria Foster and Mary Alice within the Matrix series of films created by the Wachowski brothers...
- Seraph — A martial arts master who protects the Oracle; he fights Niobe or Ghost once during the events of the game.
- MorpheusMorpheus (The Matrix)Morpheus is the name of a fictional character and the secondary protagonist of The Matrix Franchise. The Wachowski brothers were fans of Neil Gaiman and based the character of Morpheus on the title character from the comic book The Sandman, also adopting one of his most common pseudonyms,...
— One of the members of the rebel group Niobe and Ghost are part of. He is Niobe's ex-boyfriend, and captain of the Nebuchadnezzar. - TrinityTrinity (The Matrix)Trinity is a fictional character and Neo's love interest in The Matrix universe, played by Carrie-Anne Moss in the films. In the gameplay segments of Path of Neo, she is voiced by Jennifer Hale...
— Another rebel, she is a good friend of Ghost, referring to him as "dear brother". - NeoNeo (The Matrix)Thomas A. Anderson is a fictional character and the main protagonist in The Matrix franchise, as well as having a cameo in The Animatrix short film, Kid's Story. He was portrayed by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Trilogy and The Animatrix. Andrew Bowen provided Neo's voice in The Matrix: Path of Neo...
— The most important rebel. He is "The One". - Axel — A rebel the player must rescue from Agent Jackson at the airport, in a plane, and finally after a car chase.
- The KeymakerKeymakerThe Keymaker is a fictional character in The Matrix film series portrayed by Korean-American actor Randall Duk Kim. The Keymaker is one of the sentient programs, rogue to the System. It carves shortcut keys used by every program in the Matrix...
— An old man who guides players through certain portions of the game. - The Trainman — An old man who carries multiple wristwatches on his arms. He controls the link between the Matrix and the machine city, and works for the Merovingian.
- The MerovingianMerovingian (The Matrix)The Merovingian, also known as the Frenchman, and called Merv by Trinity, is a fictional character in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, portrayed by Lambert Wilson in both films...
(A.K.A. "The Frenchman") — A man who has a chateau in the mountains. He has the Keymaker imprisoned. The Merovingian's henchmen are from early Matrix programs, and are rumored to be "vampires" and "werewolves". - PersephonePersephone (The Matrix)In the movies The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, Persephone is the wife of The Merovingian. She seems bored with her existence in the Matrix, and is disaffected by her husband ....
— Wife of the Merovingian. Often betrays him out of catty spite. - Cain and Abel — Two henchmen of the Merovingian. They are encountered by the player in the chateau dungeon.
- Vlad — He is the black-clad, pale-skinned leader of the Merovingian's vampires. During the game, he captures Niobe, and locks her in the chateau
' s attic. Vlad decides not to take Niobe to the Merovingian, for reasons unknown. Niobe breaks free of her ropes and fights Vlad, who is in the next room. After a lengthy fight, Vlad knocks Niobe to the ground and leaves, saying he has better things to do. Vlad and Niobe later fight a second time in Persephone's bedroom. The only difference this time is that Niobe wins, killing Vlad by stabbing him through the heart with a wooden stake. He only appears if the player is Niobe. - Cujo — He is the menacing leader of the Merovingian's werewolves. Aside from that, he guards the chateau
' s dungeon. The player encounters Cujo in a pit in the dungeon. In the end, Cujo dies from impalement upon a wooden stake. - The TwinsTwins (The Matrix)The Twins are fictional characters in the 2003 film The Matrix Reloaded. They are the henchmen of the Merovingian who can become translucent and move through solid objects....
— Employees of the Merovingian, who are encountered as the player leaves the chateau. The Twins chase the players down a long tunnel, before they are finally evaded.
Soundtrack
A promotional CD release of the soundtrack accompanied the video game, with compositions by Erik Lundborg in the image of Don Davis.Other musical groups, such as Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
, Fluke
Fluke (band)
Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager...
, Clawfinger
Clawfinger
Clawfinger is a rap metal band from Sweden and was one of the earliest bands to adopt this sound. Clawfinger is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and anti-racist themes in their songs.-Band history:...
, and Celldweller
Celldweller
Celldweller is a Detroit, Michigan-based Electronic Rock project that was created by multi-instrumentalist Klayton, former frontman and songwriter of the bands Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, Angeldust . Celldweller's music is multi-faceted, often labeled electronic rock and more commonly being...
, are featured in the game and are credited in the game's booklet.
The album jackets for The Matrix Reloaded: The Album
The Matrix Reloaded: The Album
The Matrix Reloaded: The Album is a 2003 soundtrack album from the blockbuster movie, The Matrix Reloaded. The two-disc album is groundbreaking among soundtrack releases in that it includes separate discs for the film's songs and the score, whereas most films release the songs and the score as two...
and The Matrix Revolutions: Music from the Motion Picture
The Matrix Revolutions: Music From The Motion Picture
The Matrix Revolutions: Music from the Motion Picture is a 2003 soundtrack album from the blockbuster film, The Matrix Revolutions.-Track listing:# "The Matrix Revolutions Main Title" by Don Davis – 1:21...
contain hidden codes for Enter The Matrix (not just the one code given for Infinite Ammo displayed clearly inside the Reloaded jacket). These other codes can be seen almost blending into the pictures from the films.
Reception
Despite a great deal of hype and solid sales after the game's release, it was met with mostly tepid critical reviews. MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported that the game had an average mark of 62 out of 100. Two critics from Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
gave it "bad" scores; another later admitted that his "average" score for the game was more positive than the game actually deserved. Mark MacDonald's comments were especially scathing:
"In more than 20 years of playing games, I have never seen a console game as obviously unfinished and rushed to market as Enter the Matrix. ... This game is a complete mess, and that's the only thing complete about it."(EGM, August. 2003)
GameSpot listed Enter the Matrix in several of their "Dubious Honors" lists at the end of 2003, including their five most disappointing titles of the year. One common complaint was that players wanted to play as trilogy protagonist Neo rather than secondary characters Ghost and Niobe, an issue Shiny Entertainment addressed with their later Matrix game Path of Neo
The Matrix: Path of Neo
The Matrix: Path of Neo is the third video game based on the Matrix series and the second developed by Shiny Entertainment. Players control the character Neo, participating in scenes from the films. It was released on October 4, 2005 in North America....
.
Steven Poole
Steven Poole
-Biography:Poole studied English at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and has subsequently written for publications including The Independent, The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement, The Sunday Times, and the New Statesman...
, in his column in Edge, described Enter the Matrix as "Max Payne
Max Payne
Max Payne is a BAFTA Award–winning third-person shooter video game developed by Finnish developers Remedy Entertainment and published by Gathering of Developers in July 2001 for Microsoft Windows. Ports created later in the year for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and the GameBoy Advance were published by...
with celebrity scriptwriters," and said that the films' fluid fight choreography could not be matched by the game's control system, and that the game's centred view, while practical, was not as interesting as the "kinetic montage" of camera angles used in the movies' action scenes. He also expressed other concerns:
"The most worrying new precedent that Enter the Matrix sets, though, with its massively hyped synergy and narrative overlap with Reloaded, is that it seems the film itself has been deliberately made to suffer, to donate some of its lifeblood so that its vampiric brood can feed on it. In Reloaded, Niobe and her crew go to blow up the nuclear power plant, a feat of security bypassing which would presumably require something like a lobby scene squared. Instead, we see nothing until they are already in the control room. Why? Because that's what you get to do in the game instead. The film's sense of rhythm and victory over threat is compromised just so we can bash buttons on our consoles at home. It's as though James CameronJames CameronJames Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
had cut footage out of AliensAliens (film)Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
so that it could be rendered in blocky 2D graphics2D computer graphics2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
in the 1987 SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
/C64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
tie-in game released by Electric DreamsElectric Dreams SoftwareElectric Dreams Software was a video game publisher established in 1985 by ex-managing director of Quicksilva, Rod Cousens and ex Software Manager of Quicksilva, Paul Cooper...
— which remains, actually, a superior film-to-game conversion.
Positive comments came from IGN, Game Informer, and Nintendo Power, with NP giving it an 82/100 and stating "Its game play suffers from repetition, but this two-disc technomelange has tons of great stuff for "Matrix" fans. IGN's review, while mixed, gave praise to its presentation and sound. They stated that "You can't get much better than having the Wachowski Brothers filming your cutscenes", and "Kudos to the sound team for bringing the movie audio to life in the game. Excellent sound design, and a great score."
Peer Schneider of IGN has also given positive comments, saying that:
"Things could have been much better with a few more months in development. That said, the story elements and the way the Wachowski Brothers tie together the Matrix movies, the Animatrix shorts, and the game is exceptional. Not being able to slip into the black robes of the movie's principal characters is a bummer, but there's no denying that playing through Enter the Matrix will actually increase your appreciation of the Matrix universe as a whole ..."
He also gave praise to the GCN version, specifically:
"A big 'thank you' to Atari and Shiny for making sure that Nintendo's little cube didn't get shafted. The GameCube version actually ships on two disks to accommodate all the video and audio content. DPLII, progressive scanProgressive scanProgressive scanning is a way of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence...
, DIVXDivXDivX is a brand name of products created by DivX, Inc. , including the DivX Codec which has become popular due to its ability to compress lengthy video segments into small sizes while maintaining relatively high visual quality.There are two DivX codecs; the regular MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX codec and the...
compression — it's all used to full effect to make sure the GameCube version is as good as it can be."