Some cool details on the ambitious new ''Matrix'' videogame (1 Viewer)

[Howie A]

Here is some cool info I found on Entertainment Weekly

http://www.ew.com/ew/report/0,6115,417991~7,00.html

Neo Realism


Details on the ambitious new ''Matrix'' videogame -- An hour of extra footage, including the film's cast, was shot exclusively for the big-budget ''Enter the Matrix,'' due May 15 by Geoff Keighley




'ENTER' FIGHTING The ''Matrix'' game follows two of the movie's secondary characters in a story line the film also touches on


The rabbit hole apparently goes deeper than we first thought. Since watching the credits roll on 1999's ''The Matrix,'' sci-fi and action buffs have been impatiently awaiting the release of that blockbuster's two sequels -- ''The Matrix Reloaded'' and ''The Matrix Revolutions'' -- both due later this year. And it turns out that Andy and Larry Wachowski, the fraternal writer-director team behind the lucrative franchise, have been harboring a deep secret. ''They've made two and a half sequels,'' divulges veteran game designer Dave Perry. That unexpected half sequel turns out to be an hour of 35mm film footage shot exclusively for the videogame ''Enter the Matrix,'' due May 15 on all major game systems. The videogame's filmic element -- starring the movie cast and shot on the Australian movie set -- marks an important step forward in the burgeoning creative relationship between Hollywood and the game industry. The game also boasts a Hollywood-size price tag: a rumored budget of $20 million, roughly four times the average cost of developing a PS2 title.

Edited due to comments from an unhappy reader.
Look down..

The rest of the article can be viewed at the link above.
Sorry if this caused any problems...?

 

[Morgan Jolley]

You're not supposed to post whole text from outside sources. Snippets of particular interest are OK, but not the whole thing.

Anywho, it looks good. I'm anticipating it.

 

[Rob Varto]

Great read! I can't wait for this game - I desperatley hope Shiny pulls it off. It always seems that the higher the anticipation, the lower the results are. Enter the Matrix sounds like a "can't miss" though.

 

[BrianB]

There's a big article about it in today's New York Times too. Available on the NYT website.

 

[DeanWalsh]

I saw some footage of the game on E! ...Jada-Pinkett Smith was playing the game and it looked great, it was already running a solid 60fps and the animation and fighting system was very fluid... and another plus the combat sound effects are identical to the movie. The screens hadn't done anything to excite me, but seeing it in motion I can't wait to play it, looks great fun!
btw Jada was kicking ass! She did a focus move and her onscreen likeness kicked off the wall to bust a guy in the head!

 

[Mark Evans]

Part of me goes "Yay, Matrix game!" while another part of me goes "Argh, movie tie-in game!". We'll see, Shiny can do some quality product if they want, so here's hoping things turn out as good as players deserve .

I could do without filling up another landfill with movie-based game packages .

 

[BertFalasco]

I love this innovative idea of a movie "tie-in" because certain scenes are set up and vice verca and you're on different tracks from which other things have/are/will happen.

 

[NickSo]

Im having super high expectations for this game... That screen looks pretty nice, lets hope it lives up to its hype

 

[Adam Nixon]

I'm completely underwhelmed by this game. For $20 mil, you'd think they would at least develop a killer graphics engine. It seems like most of what we're getting for that budget is FMV sequences. Even IGN made a statement that this was a game being developed for the "casual" gamer with VERY easy fighting controls and little depth. It will certainly sell millions, but that isn't any indication of its gameplay.

 

[Jeff_Standley]

I cant wait to play this game. It looks to be pretty promising.

 

[Howie A]

I think Rob said it best.

I desperately hope Shiny pulls it off. It always seems that the higher the anticipation, the lower the results are.

In resent history this has been true for me at least.
I have been let down by a few games that I was hoping for a great outcome and they just did not cut it for one reason or an other.. For instance look at all the hype that surrounded that Bruce Lee game before it was out. Then it was sooo bad. I know I was hoping for at kick a$s game and never got it...

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Adam-

The graphics might not be ultra-amazing, but Shiny's not exactly the biggest developer, and they have to get the game out by the time the second movie comes out. The main goal has always been to advance the storyline and be fun.

 

[BrianB]

The main goal has always been to advance the storyline and be fun.

I'd say the critical goal for Infogrames is to sell as many copies of the game as possible.



[these are my own personal opinions, I don't speak for my employer, yada yada yada]

 

[Adam Nixon]

Granted, they might not be a large developer, but with that kind of budget there just isn't a reasonable excuse. I'm guessing that $17-18 million of that went to the original film clips used in the game. I'm not a "graphics whore" by any means, but a red flag goes up as soon as developer touts a huge budget and only mentions the cutscenes instead of the gameplay.

However, I could be completely wrong and it could be good, but I know I wasn't the only one who thought that the first screenshots looked like a PS1 game.:frowning:

 

[DaveF]

The first of the year, Newsweek had a cover article about The Matrix. According comments from the Wachowski brothers, the game should provide additional story information that complements the next two movies. So much so, that they said someone who had played the game would get more out of the movies than someone who hadn't.

The game intrigues me, but I doubt my computer will be able to handle it.

 

[Dave F]

The PS2 graphics fail to impress, but the Xbox version looks mighty nice (graphics-wise).

-Dave

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Lots of very cool stuff can be found at the game's official site .

Between this one and the Star Wars game (which comes out a week earlier), it looks like my Xbox is going to be overheating this May...

 

[Brian-W]

but a red flag goes up as soon as developer touts a huge budget and only mentions the cutscenes instead of the gameplay.

The article touts the budget, not the developer. It's been the press lately discussing the perceived budget, not the publisher or developer.

Additionally, this game is NOT Reloaded as a videogame. The game story parallels the movie, with certain sections intersecting with each other. See the movie, and you'll enjoy it. Play the game and see the movie, you'll get a much deeper and clearer picture of the story and Matrix universe. You'll understand why things are happening in teh movie vs. just accepting them as they happen.

And X-Box owners will be in for a real treat, but I don't want to say yet...

 

[JoshF]

The PS2 graphics fail to impress, but the Xbox version looks mighty nice (graphics-wise).

Where did you see shots from different platforms? Everywhere I look they're all from the PS2.

 

[Adam Nixon]

Where did you see shots from different platforms? Everywhere I look they're all from the PS2.

The PC version has also been used for many articles. It looks a lot better. Hopefully, the X-box version will resemble it.