This movie came pretty much out of nowhere and stunned audiences with its story and special effects. The movie I am referring to is the original Matrix. Since that time there have been two lackluster movie sequels, a cartoon movie series (The Animatrix), as well as many less then stellar games that have been produced off this storyline. Hopping to resurrect the franchise is a new game entitled The Matrix: Path of Neo, which offers gamers the chance to go into the shoes of Neo from the very beginning moments of the first movie until the end, as well as having an all-new ending written by the creators of the franchise. Read on to find out if you should rush out and get this game, or just stick with watching the first movie.

If you have ever seen any of the Matrix series then you will know what to expect from this game, and if you haven’t then don’t worry since this game will retell the events since many of the cutscenes that move the story along are taken directly from clips of the movie. Even though the pace is not as good as the movie, you can understand what is going on almost immediately. This game will take players though many of the most popular scenes in the movie, from fighting hundreds of Agent Smiths, training with Morpheus, and various other “Kodak” moments from the movies. The thing about these scenes is that this game adds to them and branches off of them creating some really interesting moments for gamers who are fans of the movie.

Unlike many of the other Matrix games where you get to play as supporting characters, this game allows players to take on the shoes of the one and the only Neo. Yes, this means that as you progress through the game you will get to have control of the same powers that was bestowed upon him in the movie. Some of these powers are really cool and useful to the players. For instance, code vision will allow players to see the Matrix in its pure coded form, and you will see hidden doorways, secrets, and enemies hiding behind corners. Other powers include flight and “bullet time.” This really gives players the sense that they are in the Matrix and makes the game really interesting at times.

The Matrix movies were well known for its use of martial arts as well as many weapons. Throughout the game players will be able to perform some really interesting combos that include using various weapons and using martial arts moves as well. Players will have access to many different weapons such as melee weapons which includes katana, swords, and Bo staff’s. Then on the weapons side there are pistols, machineguns, shotguns, and various other weapons that will definitely leave a lasting impressions on your enemies.

One thing that this game was in great need of was a targeting system for when you are fighting enemies on a hand-to-hand level. There is a pretty good targeting system for gun fights, but why not here. This means that when you are trying to fight an enemy many times you will be punching and kicking air, which is bad for you as they are pummeling you into the ground. While this isn’t too bad in the beginning of the game when you are fighting off only a couple of enemies, it is only in later stages that this becomes a problem. You see in later missions you will have to fight off a ton of enemies on the screen at once, and you will have very lengthy combos that you will be able to pull off. If you cannot target the person you want, then a lot of times you will be hitting air while you are waiting for your combo to finish so you can hit the correct enemies. This is just sloppy and really hampers the gameplay.

The graphics for this game are a mixed bag, because this game has so many good visual tricks in its arsenal that will impress you, problem is that this game does not - no strike that, will not take advantage of your higher-end PC. This is especially shocking because this game’s requirements are pretty hefty. This means that all of the character models are really bad looking especially if you look at them close up. Let’s not even talk about the framerate which gets really bad when you are fighting a lot of enemies on the screen at once. The only thing that is impressive to me is the amount of destruction that can be done in the game. The environments will crumble and fall apart just like they do in the movies, especially during the famous lobby scene from the first movie.

The sound for this game is a mixed bag and the blame on this can be put on the voice actors and here is why. You see since the game uses the cutscenes from the movie, you will hear the Keanu Reeves and other actors voices that you have grown accustomed to hearing. The in-game voices on the other hand are different. While they do a good job of mimicking the real actors, you can definitely tell a difference when the game goes directly from a cutscene into the game with the other actors, this is kind of distracting to hear. The music that the developers put in really fits the theme of the entire franchise, too bad that they didn’t use more of the licensed music from the actual movies. The sound effects are also really good, from the various gunfire to the way something sounds when it is getting destroyed.

The Matrix: Path of Neo is rated Teen for blood, suggestive themes, language, and violence.

The system requirements are:
AMD/Pentium 4 1.8 GHz
512 MB of RAM
Windows 2000 or XP
6X DVD-ROM
DirectX 9.0c
DirectX compatible 3D card
1GB of Hard Disk
Keyboard and Mouse.

Gameplay: 6.3
Could the controls of this game be any more horrible? Don’t answer that question as I am sure that they could have been. Any game has to have smooth controls it if wants to survive and unfortunately for gamers all we are left with is really clumsy controls that make it hard to really do anything in the game.

Graphics: 6.5
The graphics engine for this game is not very attractive. This is a shame since the requirements are on the high side, and yet it doesn’t take full advantage of them. I did really enjoy the sense of destruction that this game offers, though.

Sound: 7.6
The voice actors do a really good job of mimicking the actors they are portraying. The only problem with this is that the cutscenes use the original actors, so when you hear the real Neo then the mimicker it sounds off. The music and sound effects are done pretty nicely as well.

Difficulty: Medium
The game is not really that hard, you will have more difficulty with the awkward controls than the actual game.

Concept: 6.5
The Matrix is starting to get on the “old” side with a very been-there-done-that feeling to it. When I first heard about this game I thought that it might help resurrect the franchise somewhat, instead many things in this game have been done before and done better.

Overall: 6.7
The Matrix: Path of Neo is a really disappointing game that had quite a bit of potential. If only the developers spent a little more time polishing up the game a little bit more it would have been a lot better. Instead what we are left with is a half-baked game that only die-hard fans of the Matrix will truly appreciate.