Imagine the look on peoples faces when this game was announced. A game that would let you take control of 'the one' sounds exciting, doesn't it? Well, you had to wait 2 extra years for Path of Neo to be released, because you don't even PLAY as Neo in this installment.
The whole story ties in with The Matrix Reloaded movie. I've never seen the movie, so I wasn't expecting anything much. At the beginning of the game, you can choose between two characters. Naiobi, and Ghost. Why couldn't they of just added good characters to play as? If you aren't going to make Neo the main character, why not some one else important like Seraph or Ballard or Morpheus or some one? I personally don't have anything against these characters, but it did feel like a stupid idea to add two characters that don't really mean much, but anyway.
After you select a character, you then move on to a cut scene showing both of the characters jacking into the Matrix. Then you are told to receive a letter from a post office. The letter is a crucial piece of information that you must get, problem is, the post office is closing, so you'll need to run in and fight your way to it.
The first thing that this game mostly relies on hand-to-hand combat rather than gun play. You will need guns in some areas but since this is the first level, you won't be needing anything yet. You can use a variety of kicks, chops, throws, and more when fighting guards. There's even bullet time. It all sounds rather pleasant but it really isn't. While the fighting is cool at first, it gets stale after a while, and you'll end up mashing buttons. Also, most enemies are very cannon fodder. The ones you encounter in the first few levels don't pose much of a threat, even if they're armed with guns. They can be defeated rather easily, and it gets repetitive because enemies are everywhere. It's even easier when you use a gun, they all die within a few hits making things easier than they should be.
What makes the game even easier is the fact that your health bar regenerates far too quickly. You could be fighting a large group of enemies, then decide to walk around a corner and hide for about a few mere seconds, and then return to fighting as if they never even harmed you. What's even weirder is that your focus meter takes a lot longer to replenish than your health bar. There's almost no real reason to even use bullet time, because basic enemies take enough damage from a single combo. The only times you'll even use it is when you're up against armed SWAT members, and when fighting against Agent Smith in the cargo plane. Other than that, it remains unused.
The graphics are quite average at best. Levels look bland and character models look terrible. However, when using bullet time, the effects look pretty decent, especially when firing bullets. A very jarring problem is when a cut scene plays, you can barely here anything the characters are saying, which is strange considering how loud the game play is. This is a very stupid mistake that should of been looked at. The game controls fine. It's easy to simply pick up and play, and it doesn't feel unresponsive. The same can't be said about the driving however. While playing as Naiobi, you have to drive a car around the city to reach a certain area. Problem is, the handling of the car is poor, and you'll be sliding around the road most of the time, crashing into everything. What's worse is that, when playing as Ghost, you don't actually drive the car. You act as a gun man, shooting cops out of the car window. Sounds decent on paper, until you realize the AI can't drive either.
Gun play is a very fun part of the game. You pick up a wide range of firearms as you go through each level. Guns such as sub machine guns, pistols, assault rifles, snipers and more can be used against enemies. While the enemies can be killed fairly easily, it's enjoyable to shoot everything up. Also, when done right, the combat feels fun too. Performing abilities such as disarming and throwing are very effective and great to use. While the in-game cut scenes aren't good, the actual cut scenes from the film look fantastic. They do a good job of explaining the back story, and even helps people who have no idea about the story actually get into it. The voice acting is a mixed bag however. While I didn't have any major problems with it, it didn't seem like any one could be bothered when talking. You couldn't really call it a holly wood performance, but then again it wasn't exactly terrible, just underwhelming.
The sound track is perhaps the best thing about the game. All the songs I have listened to fit the theme well, and provide a good beat to go with it. You'll probably never get tired of listening to the tracks.
Enter the Matrix isn't a bad game by any means, but its flaws such as so-so graphics, boring levels, easy enemies, fiddly driving mechanics and the fact that you don't even play as Neo (he isn't even seen in-game) lets it down. Everything else such as the soundtrack, combat and controls don't do enough to justify a full price purchase. Give it a few weeks rental, and if you're happy with it, buy it for a discount price.