The Matrix Online - Style over Substance
 Possibly
no movie ever has been so obviously up for conversion to
an online role-playing game as the Matrix series. At its
heart, the matrix IS an MMORPG; it's just that only the
redpills know they're playing. So it should be absolutely
impossible to screw it up too badly, right?
Atmospherically, Monolith have The Matrix Online just right.
It looks and feels like the movies. It's all dark, gritty
reality that's just a touch off: run-down slums, disturbingly
soulless up-market office buildings. Even the game's necessary
tools fit right in to the mythos: as soon as you create
your character, the game generates an AIM account for them,
and there's a built-in media player, because hey, if you
really were a redpill, those are things you'd want, right?
Instantaneous travel between hardlines (phone booths), uploading
skills, even 'dying', it's all there in the movies already.
 Character
creation is pretty good, and just different enough from
other games to be fresh without being horribly confusing.
Instead of a race, you choose a psychological 'archetype',
which determines your starting stats. Then you choose your
profession: operative (warrior), hacker (mage), or coder
(crafter). There seem to be a lot more operatives around
than anything else, but rather than a class-balance issue,
this seems to be simply because people find them more fun
to play. Everyone wants to be the kick-ass front-liners
from the movies. Likewise, while there's a fair amount of
control over what your character looks like, you'll still
find a lot of people who look suspiciously just like Trinity.
You start off working for Zion, who awakened you, but after
running a few missions, you get the option of working for
the Machines, or the more independent Exiles, instead. Your
allegiance makes very little difference to the gameplay.
TMO makes use of some of the more unusual innovations to
the genre from other games. There's a random mission generator
like in Anarchy Online that allows you to set parameters
for the type and length of mission you want to do, though
unlike AO, these aren't instanced. And like Guild Wars,
you select the skills you want to 'upload' from a broad
range, and you can change at any time. This flexibility
actually makes more sense in the Matrix universe than it
does in Guild Wars; here it's just a matter of changing
your programming. You can completely change your profession
just by uploading different skills, though each archetype
is naturally more suited to some things than others.
 Graphics
are excellent, aided by the lack of organic features in
any of the backgrounds. The only really wrenching thing
is Warner Bros. dubious but unsurprising decision to include
ads for their other movies in the backgrounds. It might
otherwise have been possibly to envisage a world where Keira
Knightly wasn't a star. Character models look good, and
move smoothly most of the time. And the combat sound effects
are great, just like in the movies. Impacts sound like they
really, really hurt.
Where TMO is really different is in its combat system.
It uses something called interlock in close combat You and
your opponent choose your tactics and special moves, then
the game runs the attacks simultaneously. If you kick someone
in the head, their head will snap back. The whole effect
is rather like a martial-arts movie, and can look great,
except that sometimes the swooping cinematic camera angles
can be an incredible pain in the butt, leaving you nauseous,
disorientated, and staring at a wall with your back to your
opponent. TMO throws in an element of luck, too, with a
virtual 'dice roll', so you're not always going to lose
to a higher-level opponent.
The game incorporates PvP, both in a consensual duel system,
and in a free-for-all area called the Archives. This goes
hand in hand with a community that seems relatively free
of brain-dead morons intent on aggravating other players.
The main complaints about the game seem to be simply that
it could have been much better. The 'loading area' you go
to when you die ironically takes forever to load. There
are occasional problems with clipping and odd collisions
in the interlock system. Some simple procedures just take
far too many clicks. It is frustrating, because you can
see how excellent the game could have been. While The Matrix
Online now features special events that supposedly develop
plot, there's still an odd feeling of emptiness and lack
of consequence to your actions as a player. Or maybe, that's
just part of the feel of the Matrix.
Overall Rating: 8.0/10
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