The Matrix: Path of Neo

While the moves dazzle (slick-looking weapon strips, lightning-fast kicks to the face, dodging--and even stopping--bullets), the game does a poor job of showing you how to link these superhuman abilities together.

Sure it wasn't perfect but at least it was fun and playable and easy on the eyes. I have to admit I did miss playing as Neo, which only makes it that much more painful to be the bearer of bad news.

A mixed bag from beginning to end. [Dec 2005, p.161]

A craptastic game. But if you're a fan of the movies you'll still enjoy it to some degree even though the idiots over at Shiny decided not to put the freeway scene from Reloaded in the game.

To cap the experience off, the brothers Wachowski have rewritten the ending of the last film to better fit the game medium-or, as most gamers will say, they completely lost their minds. All that the new ending accomplishes, complete with its annoying final boss, is the complete and utter end to any relevancy that the Matrix saga once had in popular culture.

The whole thing, however, ends up pretty much over within a matter of hours. And then will The Matrix have you? Probably not.

It's the best Matrix game to date, but Matrix games still have a way to go.

Path of Neo is a chaotic but pretty good brawler worth the time for those who still think fondly of the Matrix series.

A turbulent ride between decent action, half-baked graphics and camera, and occasionally clunky, but undeniably authentic presentation.

The controls are a bit hit and miss. For the most part they seem responsive, but there are a few platform style levels that will have you trying to snap your controller in two with frustration.

Like the movies, the game is more style than substance, something that needs to be corrected for any future sequels.

It's a fun beat-em up and a heck of a game. It has more hits than misses and is a definite rental for anyone looking to kill a weekend.

It's worth putting up with the game's frustrating failures for the chance to defeat 100 Agent Smiths. [Jan 2006, p.68]

In theory, it's great, in execution, it falls short mostly from the lack of impact imparted by the fighting. [Dec 2005, p.64]

One last thing I have to touch upon is the ending of the game, which happens right after you play the final battle in the movie, it's just so completely ludicrous, I'm at a loss for words trying to describe it.

Although Path of Neo is an improvement from Enter the Matrix, it should have been much better than it turned out. I have a feeling this is going to be one of the final nails in the once lucrative and respectable Matrix franchise.

Expanding upon Neo's story could have been a compelling opportunity for any Matrix fan out there; unfortunately the haphazard approach to the design and storyline are likely to offend the fans the most, leaving a mildly enjoyable beat-em-up at exactly that.

It's worth mentioning that the ending of the game is different from the ending of the movie, but arguably not for the better.