Enter the Matrix is an 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment, published by Atari, and released for Xbox, PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, and GameCube. The game’s story picks up just before The Matrix Reloaded and runs parallel to that of the film.

Campaign: If you’re looking for a good Matrix experience this is a really good game to invest yourself in. We follow Niobe and Ghost during the events of the Matrix Reloaded and it’s actually a pretty interesting story as they interact with some of the main and supporting characters from the series. Admittedly, the story isn’t as compelling as it could’ve been though it does a decent job of connecting the game to the film.

Players take control of supporting characters Niobe, the Captain of the rebel fleet ship the Logos, and Ghost, the Logos’ first mate and weapons expert. These two were actually pretty interesting characters and the game does a great job of fleshing out the characters and addressing some points that the films didn’t. Really the biggest issue I have with the damn campaign is how linear it is. Between the two characters there should’ve been more open ended objectives that feel meaningful. Things are happening but you never really get a full sense of what. (3 out of 5)

Gameplay: Players control Niobe or Ghost, both characters play exactly the same in terms of their fighting style and movement. However, the biggest differences become prominent during the vehicular levels, where Niobe pilots the cars or the Logos and Ghost controls the gunplay to fend off incoming enemies. The controls are reliable. One of the best aspects of the game is the “Bullet Time” effect, which allows players to slow down time, allowing players to perform unique martial arts moves, dodging bullets, and even performing special moves such as farther jumps, cartwheels and backflips (I use to just run slow mo so I could do backflips for some reason), and running along walls.

Gameplay does tend to get a little repetitive at times. Most of the time you’re running, fighting, and shooting opponents. There are some segments that change the gameplay up such as the car chase level but it feels like it truly lacks innovation. The game itself honestly would’ve benefited from an open world especially since games like Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City were already released. Also, the game is known for being quite buggy. There are some sequences where the frame rate drops no matter the console. The AI can be complete dumbasses most of the time. (2 out of 5)

Graphics: The developers did a great job of the design. It does a great job of maintaining the green color scheme of the films. The design itself is decent although there are some models that appear blocky and don’t hold up. The animation feels off because of blocky design.

There’s also something for the die-hard fans of the series. To help add to the story developers have included scenes shot specifically for the game, using the same actors and locations in the film. Most of the sequences focus on Niobe and Ghost but we get some scenes with the other characters. There are also clips from the movie. (3 out of 5)

Score: The soundtrack is just magnificent easily taken straight from the films. It’s intense, it’s mathematical, it’s just great all around. The sound design is good. Guns have their own unique sounds. The voice performances are to be commeneded. Jada Pinkett-Smith and Anthony Wong are great as Niobe and Ghost. (4 out of 5)

Replay Value: Unfortunately, this is probably the weakest part of the game. Aside from playing the game as both characters, Enter the Matrix has virtually no replayability. Aside from the Versus Mode which you need to open using the “Hacking” option at the Main Menu. There’s no hidden content to look for, no exploration, no alternate modes, no customization, no branching paths. There’s literally no reason to go back and play this game outside of just liking to fight people in slow motion. (1 out of 5)

The Verdict: In the end, Enter the Matrix is one of those games that’s a fun addition to a movie but misses the mark as far as impacting the series. If you’re a die-hard fan of the films you’ll really enjoy what the game has to offer. However, the buggy gameplay, lacking graphics, linear campaign, lack of replayability, and lackluster story just holds the game back from being something amazing. Enter the Matrix gets 3 out of 5.