Product Reviews

After several games that put you in control of bit-part characters, The Matrix: Path of Neo puts you in control of The One, as you follow the events in all three Matrix films.

All the major events in the film are there. Like the first film, you start off trying to escape from agents who've come to your office. The game diverts a little, as you manage to escape in this version. This isn't a problem, though; many games need filling out from their movie counterparts to make the levels feel interesting enough to play.

Next, you're trained

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in your abilities and weapons. This takes much longer than in the film, but it adds excitement to the game. We also liked the way the first Kung Fu training mission takes place in the same underground bunker as used in Enter the Dragon.

Fighting requires a combination of the mouse and keyboard, but it's easy to pick up. Within minutes, you'll be pulling off impressive combinations of moves against scores of opponents. However, it is quite easy to get overwhelmed. Some of the fights are a mess of bodies filling the screen. It can also be a bit tricky getting used to the special functions, such as running up walls, and we spent a lot time mistiming jumps and falling to the floor.

It doesn't help that the graphics aren't that good. They're functional, but they look a couple of years out of date and lack the level of detail we'd expect from a modern title. The cut scenes are quite confusing and you can't skip them.

Still, there's much to like. The frantic action combined with the ability to play the best parts of the films makes up for a lot. This might just get you excited about The Matrix all over again