The Matrix: Path of Neo
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| The Matrix: Path of Neo | |
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| Developer(s) | Shiny Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Atari |
| Designer(s) | David Perry |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 2005 (NA) |
| Genre(s) | Action: Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) BBFC: 15 |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC |
The Matrix: Path of Neo is the third video game based on the Matrix series and the second developed by Shiny Entertainment. Players control the character Neo, participating in scenes from the films. It was released on November 8, 2005 in North America.
In Shiny Entertainment's first licensed Matrix game, Enter The Matrix, only sideline characters were playable. It did not feature the series' main protagonist Neo, and due to its nature as an extension of the films' storyline, had few recreations of scenes in the film trilogy. David Perry, president of Shiny Entertainment Inc., has stated that Path of Neo is "basically the game the gamers wanted first time around... The Neo Game!"[1]
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[edit] Story
A total of fifty levels allow the player to participate in many of the major action scenes from the films. Most of these sequences, picked by the movie directors themselves,[2] are taken from the first film in the series.
At the start of the game, the player is hacker Thomas Anderson, and does not possess any of the powers that the character will later discover as Neo. As the game continues, players learn new skills and techniques, equipping Neo for the final showdown with Agent Smith. These additional skills may be learned both in training levels and in the main game. Many of these skills are used by Neo in the trilogy, including the bullet dodge, bullet stop, and flight. A number of weapons are available in the game, consisting of both melee weapons (including various types of swords, staffs, and escrimas) and firearms (assault rifle, submachine gun, pistol etc).
The game also allows the player to meet many of the characters in the films, including Trinity, Morpheus and the Merovingian, amongst others.
A lot of film footage is included in the game, and is shown to the player at certain milestones. This footage is not only clips from the original Matrix trilogy, but also from other sources, including the Animatrix and the previous Matrix game, Enter the Matrix.
The game also features a brand-new ending, because the Wachowski brothers felt the ending of The Matrix Revolutions would be a "lame" ending for a video game. Rather than an alternate ending to the Matrix storyline, the game's ending is more of a humorous non-sequitur similar to those found in Shiny's previous games. Immediately before the final boss, the game is interrupted by the Wachowski Brothers (represented with 8-bit style sprites,) who explain their reasoning behind deviating from the movie's ending, replacing it with a fight against a giant "Megasmith." Following the battle, the game ends with a final clip from the movie, with We Are The Champions added as the background music
[edit] Levels
- Ever Had a Dream, Neo? - dream sequence in which you determine difficulty level of the game depending on your performance
- They're Coming for You, Neo -
- He's Heading for the Street° - illustrates what would have occurred if Neo had continued to flee from authorities and agents
- Kung Fu Training° - teaches basics of hand-to-hand combat
- Sword Training°
- Winter Training°
- Aerial Training°
- Weapon Training° - teaches basics and techniques of firearms
- Dojo Training - Neo vs. Morpheus battle, afterward instead of the Jump Program loading, Neo is taken to a room where he must reach the exit before Morpheus
- Deja vu "It's a Trap!"
- Storming the Drain° - illustrates what happens to the crew after they escape the trap set by the agents
- Lobby Shooting Spree
- Rooftop Assault "Dodge This"
- Helicopter Rescue
- Subway Showdown
- Stuck in the Loop°
- The Chase "I Need an Exit!"
- He is the One
- Red Pill Rescue°
- The Captains' Meeting
- Captains Rescue°
- Sereaph's Apology
- The Burly Brawl
- The Frenchman
- Distorted Dimensions°
- Downside Up°
- The Witch°
- Tuned Out
- Ministry of Smiths°
- Taking the Floor°
- Mr. Anderson, Welcome Back
- Aerial Battle
- This is My World
All levels have been extended or altered from the movies' scenes to allow for more gameplay. ° indicates levels that are comepletely new to the Matrix films.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Neo
The One. Protagonist, and the character the player controls throughout the game.
[edit] Morpheus
Captain of the ship, the Nebuchadnezzar, he aids Neo at various points throughout the game.
[edit] Agent Smith (later, merely "Smith")
Program (later exile). Main Antagonist. Neo's arch-nemesis.
[edit] Trinity
Neo's love interest. First Mate on the Nebuchadnezzar. Brings Neo back to life right before he becomes The One.
[edit] Apoc and Switch
Red pills. Apoc and Switch are helpful fighters who always try to kill.
[edit] The Merovingian
Exile. Rules over a personal empire of exiles.
[edit] Head Bouncer/Doberman Leader
Exile. Head Bouncer at Club Hel, a nightclub owned by the Merovingian. Leads the Dobermen.
[edit] Head of Security
Exile. The head of security at the Merovingian's chateau. First encountered walking upside down on the ceiling in the gun-room of Club Hel, before disappearing (he is also encountered in the dream at the beginning of the game).
[edit] Rogue Witch
Exile. First encountered being tortured in the dungeons beneath the Merovingian's chateau. Frequently aids Neo throughout the distorted dimensions within the chateau.
[edit] Vamp Prime
Exile. Leader of the vamp and doberman exiles found in Downside Up within the Merovingian's chateau.
[edit] Witch leader
Exile. The Merovingian's "champion", whose power equals even Neo's. Or so he believed, however being proved wrong after Neo kills her in "The Witch" level.
[edit] Agents
Programs. The original Agents are later replaced by upgraded versions.
- Original Agents : Agent Smith (leader), Agent Brown, Agent Jones. Agent White appears in "The Security Guard" level.
- Upgraded Agents : Agent Johnson (leader), Agent Jackson, Agent Thompson.
[edit] Abilities
Focus (Bullet time mode)
Slow time down to perform stronger fighting moves, move quicker, see bullet trails.
Bullet Dodge
Dodge Bullets. (until focus runs out) Unlocked in "Rooftop assault 'Dodge this'" Level. Must be standing still to perform.
Bullet Stop (Replaces Bullet Dodge)
Stop bullets and hurl them back at enemies. (can only hurl bullets back at enemies when standing still.) Unlocked in "He is the One" level.
Code Vision
See the Matrix in its Code form. Unlocked in "Captain's Meeting" Level. This allows you to see enemies and items through walls, and also to see how much an NPC's health has deteriorated.
Antigravity Jump
Jump Higher. Unlocked in "The Security Guard" Red Pill Rescue Mission.
[edit] References
There are several references to the movies and other Matrix video games. For example, in the "Taking the floor" map, there is a sign above the first door the keymaker tries to open... the sign says "Temet Nosce" or "Know Thyself" as the Oracle told Neo in the first movie.
[edit] Soundtrack
The game makes very little use of the soundtrack from the movie. (It uses a small part of the soundtrack composed by Don Davis and Erik Lundborg). So includes several original tracks instead, featuring Juno Reactor, Junkie XL and The Crystal Method. It also includes licensed tracks from: Dark New Day and Filter. The soundtrack was to be released in January 2006. However the release was delayed until March 2006. Most recently, tracks from Path of Neo have been extracted thorugh many means, as a replacement for this soundtrack. Notably, the extracted tracks were mixed differently (because the files the tracks are stored in stores each part of each track as a "sample" for the game to use in a certain situation) and there were a lot more tracks in these extractions.
[edit] Tracklist
- The Matrix: Path Of Neo - Tobias Enhus
- Ever Had a Dream - Tobias Enhus feat. Juno Reactor
- Brother - Dark New Day
- Kung Fu Training -Tobias Enhus feat. Rob Bennett
- Winter Training - Tobias Enhus feat. Photek
- Axe Army - Tobias Enhus feat. Marcus Brown
- Storming the Drain - Tobias Enhus feat. Meat Beat Manifesto and H. Scott Salinas
- Dodge This - Tobias Enhus feat. Marcus Brown, Adam Schiff, H. Scott Salinas and Stephen Dewey
- Stuck in the Loop - Tobias Enhus feat. Amon Tobin
- Subway Showdown - Tobias Enhus feat. The Crystal Method
- Free Your Mind Up - The Crystal Method
- He is the One - Tobias Enhus feat. Thorsten Laewe
- The Key - Junkie XL
- Seraph's Apology - Tobias Enhus feat. Rob Bennett and A&J Productions
- Multiple Smiths - Tobias Enhus feat. Juno Reactor and Todd Haberman
- The Great Hall - Tobias Enhus feat. Junkie XL and François-Paul Aiche
- Tuned Out - Tobias Enhus feat. Marcus Brown
- Welcome Back - Tobias Enhus feat. Juno Reactor
- Megasmith - Tobias Enhus feat. Mark Kilian
- My Long Walk to Jail - Filter
[edit] Trivia
- During the level "Seraph's Apology" there is a brief fight between Neo and Seraph in a Theater. Playing behind them on the movie screen is the very same fight scene taken from The Matrix Reloaded that the level is based on. There is a heckler talking loudly about the on-screen action, and telling Neo and Seraph to get out of the way, as well as making comments that poke fun at the trilogy itself. The heckler also makes a reference to internet slang ("Give me a great big double-you, tee, eff!") Whether a goof or a joke, it is possible to kill the heckler by picking up a broom and throwing it into the seats. This can be verified because the heckler no longer talks and when the next cutscene appears, the camera shows an empty seat.
- The second scene of "Seraph's Apology" bears a strong resemblance to the final fight sequence in Iron Monkey. Yuen Woo-ping, the action choreographer for the Matrix films, directed this movie.
- When Trinity is about to shoot the Agent in the Rooftop level, she says We don't need this, however, in the movie, she says "Dodge this".
- When Smith recovers himself after being run over by the subway train, he attacks Neo until sending him through the wall. In the movie, Neo runs to the exit when Smith is fully recovered.
- All the versions of the Megasmith (media viewer picture, movie clip, during gameplay) had different styles of debris.
- After completing the game once, if you try to play it over, not all of the upgrades will be available.
- After the fight with Agent Smith in the subway, Agent Smith yells to Neo through the walls, "Mr. Anderson. I know you're in there. I can... smell you." In the first movie, Agent Smith mentions how he can't stand the smell of humans when interrogating Morpheus.
- The Burly Brawl fight plays out in a somewhat different manner. Neo must smash Smiths into buildings to cause them to fall. When all of the buildings fall, the other Smiths disappear, and Neo flies away.
- There are multiple jokes throughout the cutscenes that connect the levels. Example: Smith: "It's the smell." which is followed by: Neo: "Sewers."
- In the first level, the player is given the chance to see what would have happened if Neo continued his escape to the scaffolding.
- The level "The Key" takes place in Club Hel, The Merovingian's club.
- In the level "Taking the Floor," the "senators" all use the same model. A caricature of Jack Thompson.
- The level "Zion Archive" has a biped that shows that, at one point in development, there were intentions of having a level or cutscene involving the fight to save the docks. Additionally, there are bipeds that show that there was the intention of changing the looks of characters on certain days, such as St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, or Christmas.
- At one point in development, the cutscene between Bane and Neo in the real world was a playable level.
- Several levels in the game are taken from scenes of famous Hong Kong action movies. These include two restaurant fight levels (one from Drunken Master 2, and the other from Hard Boiled) and the second half of Neo's fight with Seraph (taken from the final fight in Iron Monkey).
- A definite goof in the game is found in the level "Ministry of Smiths". When the Keymaker opens the final door, it is possible to go through the door without Morpheus. This happens mostly when Morpheus is in the middle of a fighting combo. If done properly, the cutscene will show the Keymaker shutting the door with Morpheus still inside.
- Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) is the only person to reprise his movie character role in the game.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- The Matrix: Path of Neo at MobyGames
- About Matrix: Path of Neo
- Detailed Walkthroughs and images at GamePressure
- Reviews and pictures at IGN
