Matrix Online, The - PC

Geeks. It’s hard to tell what they love more. Millions flocked to all three films in the Internet and Leather Trenchcoat-Glamourising Matrix trilogy. But untold amounts of them log on to massively multiplayer online RPGs, developing their characters in the artificial and mystifying worlds of EverQuest, Star Wars Galaxies and World of Warcraft. In perhaps a somewhat predictable development, they no longer have to choose between watching science fiction empowering the humble computer hacker and pouring hours of their lives into developing the skills of their character in MMORPGs. The Matrix trilogy operated on the premise that the lives of people on earth are an illusion, a digital world which robotic overlords use to blind us to our servitude to them. In perhaps the most startlingly ironic video game license usage ever, players can now voluntarily immerse themselves in an ersatz and meaningless virtual world, in SEGA’s The Matrix Online.

Set in the exciting world of the Warner Brothers movie, The Matrix Online throws players into an urban sprawl featuring nightclubs, subways, alleys and skyscrapers. But all is not as it seems. Beneath the surface, a battle is being fought for the freedom of humanity itself.

Players will have access to amazing weaponry and high martial arts skills just like in the movies. The bullet time effects made famous by the film are featured here, intelligently generated by the game’s engine at moments of high drama. The plot, picking up from where the movies left off, is penned by none other than the film’s creators. New missions are issued on a monthly basis, and as their character progresses, players are able to swap skills, or ‘information’ with each other. Skills can be swapped in and out like a trading card game which lends a unique edge to character development in this MMORPG – which despite it’s courting of the ‘nerd market’, seems polished, well-developed and a enjoyable sideshow for MMORPG playing fans of the world of the films. more