Enter the Matrix

Enter the Matrix is an action-adventure by Shiny Entertainment, created in close collaboration with the makers of the Matrix film trilogy and set in parallel with the events of The Matrix Reloaded. The player takes on the role of one of two supporting characters known from the films, Ghost or Niobe, and follows a story that runs alongside the film and adds its own perspective on key events, including dozens of minutes of new footage shot specifically for the game with the trilogy's original cast.

The gameplay combines gunfights with a wide arsenal of weapons, a combat system inspired by martial arts, hacking minigames unlocking bonus content, and stealth passages where the player must avoid guards and security cameras instead of direct confrontation. On Xbox, the game benefited from better performance than the PlayStation 2 version when displaying larger locations and impressive slow-motion action sequences in the spirit of the iconic bullet-time film aesthetic that the film trilogy made famous. The music and sound design drew on the atmosphere of the source films and helped evoke the characteristic, darkly stylized, coldly metallic mood of the digital world of the Matrix as well as its harsh, industrial real-world counterpart.

Contemporary reviews were mixed - the game benefited from the film brand, an extensive weapon arsenal, and new footage with the lead actors, but suffered from clunkier controls, a problematic camera, and uneven pacing between action and stealth passages. Despite these criticisms, Enter the Matrix remains an interesting artifact of its time, showing how the film universe tried to extend its own storytelling into the gaming medium, and for Matrix fans it represents a remarkable, if imperfect, curiosity from the early part of the decade that offers a look at the story from a different angle than the films themselves.

Why play it: For Matrix fans who want to experience the story from the perspective of supporting characters in period footage shot directly with the film's actors, despite the clunkier controls and problematic camera.