Ok, so I just finished playing Path of Neo. Let me start by saying that I really did enjoy the Matrix trilogy. The first movie blew me away, and the second and third were entertaining enough to add to my top 10 desert island movie list.

What made this game so much fun was both the opportunity to expand on the Matrix universe and embellish the movies. Enter the Matrix was the reason I bought an xbox in the first place, and the first video game I seriously invested in playing since the Atari 2600. I was suitably impressed by both the graphics and content of the game, even though hardcore gamers panned that title in every forum and magazine out there.

Similarly, Path of Neo hasn’t been getting many good reviews at all. Most of the forums I lurked in for help and tips had comments like “You’re such a frackin’ n00b, this game is 2 eazy on Hard.” etc. etc.

While some of the levels got a little tedious at times (when you complete 90% of a level only to die and have to do the whole thing, SEVERAL times… you start to question your sanity). But as a software developer myself, I understand that there’s not always time for testing 100%, often you’re up against the clock, and what seems like an awesome feature on paper can sometimes turn into your own personal cross when it comes time to developing.

Excuses aside, there was a lot of stuff in this game that was simply astounding. First up was the way the game charts the entire trilogy. You play as Neo, and start out with basic training levels, then Morpheus takes you into the Matrix for your first missions. In scenes in the movie where the camera cuts from one story thread to another, you follow Neo completely, which means that while in the film Neo might duck through a doorway and the camera follows Niobe or Trinity, you get to go with Neo and see where he went, and what he was doing.

The game is interspersed with remix clips from the films, as well as game cinematics (ie. CG game characters rendered in realtime on your console). The expanded areas of the Merovingian’s Castle in Path of Neo, like Enter the Matrix, look simply incredible.

You get to wander around his gothic castle, fighting werewolves and vampires, including the dudes that jump onto the ceiling and engage in a gunfight while upside down.

Overall, this game was great fun. Playing anything for an extended period of time is bound to make your head spin, and more than once I got up from a 4 or 5 hour session a little dizzy with a headache, but that’s probably more just a testament to how immersive this game can be.

My only disappointment was the ending, which was just plain lame. Not to ruin it for anyone out there, but there’s this little animatic where the Wachowski Brothers come out and tell you that rather than following the ending of the film, where Neo sacrifices himself, they decided that wouldn’t translate well as a video game, so instead you square up against a giant Agent Smith. No kidding. This thing is like King Kong, and the only way to kill it - here’s where it was really disappointing - is by following a sequence of button clicks. You basically wait until he throws a punch at you in slow motion (because he’s so big), and dodge out of the way. After 3 or 4 swings, he yells in frustration and an indicator comes up to tell you to press the A/GREEN button. You do that, and it goes through this preset animation of the big Smith getting hit. You simply have to wait for this cycle to go through like 5 or 6 times and then he “dies” and you win the game.

Yes, it’s as lame as it sounds.

However, the rest of the game is entertaining enough, and so damn good looking in parts, that if you liked the Matrix to start with, you’ll enjoy the game as a whole. The expanded universe really makes you appreciate how much thought and detail went into creating the Matrix stories, and while the films might have left you wanting, Enter the Matrix and Path of Neo fill you in.

Here’s a walkthrough, with screenshots. Follow the white rabbit.