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One of the coolest games I've ever played...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 50 / 60
Date: April 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ok, my love for this game began with the movies. All of the movies were excellent. A lot of people didn't like the last 2, and they're welcome to their opinion, but you can't fault a movie for not doing what YOU thought it should do. Look at the story and concepts that the creators were trying to get across. Did it do that well? From the interviews I've seen of the Wachowski brothers, I would have to say yes.

That being said, the games continue the storyline in a more interactive capacity with the Matrix online. The concepts presented in this game are awesome. I'd like to present the top few coolest things I like about the Matrix Online (MxO)

1. Interlock Combat System - Ok, the combat system of MxO is incredibly cool. Akin to the old pen and paper RPG's, there are a few standard attacks. Speed, Power, Grab and Block. However, the animations for the fighting are just superb. From punching the crud out of people to grabbing the back of their head and driving your knee through their forehead, to using a firearm in close combat, the results of the interlock system are just phenominal. It's almost like Ultra Advanced Paper, Rock Scissors in its simplicity, but there are so many more options. You can choose your basic Self-Defense style. Later, I can choose Karate, Aikido, or Kung-Fu as my style. I can also easily perform special moves like Hindering Shot, or Cheap Shot. The system is awesome in its simplicity, and I never tire of pounding my enemies, and nothing compares to the random occurence of bullet time during combat!

2. Unlimited Ability Choices - In a lot of RPG's (both computer and pen/paper) you pick a class, and then you are stuck with that class' abilities. In MxO, this is not the case. Anyone can do anything. Now, your attributes dictate how GOOD you are at some of these things, but any ability can be learned by any character. You just have to create or purchase the ability code (everything in the Matrix is code...more on that later), and you have the ability. You can load it up when you enter the matrix and use it as you need to. This kind of unlimited character type is a very cool way of doing things!

3. Clothing Options and Variety - I'm a guy, but even I have to admit that the amount of clothing styles are huge! Within the first night of playing, I had gotten enough money to purchase a nice Magenta Duster/Pants outfit that made my character just look tight. There are so many types of clothes, I'm not sure that I'll have time to see them all, let alone wear most of them. Gender-specific clothes are a good idea, but I get sick of picking up female clothes all the time off of male bodies. :) However, the sheer variety of clothes is truly amazing.

4. Coders - The Coder abilities range from viral attacks to actual item creation within the Matrix itself. When I'm fighing gang members, I pick up a lot of these things called code fragments. Now, I don't have the ability yet, but a coder can take those fragments and create useful items such as guns, clothing, items, etc. The coder can then give away or sell these items. Now, in order to do this, the coder must have the "recipe" for the item. He can do this by deconstructing items in the Matrix into their individual code fragments, and such. The coder can also repair any items created in the matrix from breaking down normally. I love the implementation of item creation in the matrix.

These are just a few of the awesome things about this game. Yes, you have to have a nice system, but I rarely see a game that runs well on the minimum requirements. Yes, there is some amount of lag, but I've talked with friends playing FFXI as well as World of Warcraft, and they report lag as well. Deal with it and enjoy the masterpiece that is Matrix Online!

Finally, the storyline cannot be ignored. From time to time (Once a Month is the current schedule), the Monolith Live Events Team will be putting on a story event, and the players will be able to take place in it. From conversing with Morpheus himself to fighting for the Merovingian, the ongoing story will continue to unfold with you at the forefront. Definitely a deal maker for me, and I know others share my beliefs, but they're to busy playing MxO to post a review!!

ADDITION:
I would have to agree with the person who said you choose between looking good or fighting well. At the moment, my character looks like a complete dork, because I've had to put on all kinds or random, mismatched clothing that gives me sweet bonuses.

This does not detract from play, in my opinion, but if they added a feature to modify clothing to give bonuses, for a hefty $Information fee, that would definitely add. Still one of the coolest games I've played.

Some potential; but not ready for prime time

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 29 / 36
Date: May 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The movies were decent and had a compelling storyline. Nice that we have a game that picks up the pieces and moves forward.

Some negatives:

The Matrix Online does have potential; but it starts off in a bad way. The minimum specs outright lie to the consumer.

1. In my opinion, the only excuse to post untruths on minimum specs is to hoodwink fellow gamers into buying product. The game is near unplayable with the listed 512meg minimum, so, if you do not have a gig of RAM, it may be prudent to delay purchase.

2. The graphics are quite fuzzy and certainly not up to what most of us expect from today's marketplace.

3. Alpha and Beta issues bleed into the retail release, such as game balance and the game outright cheats at times. For instance, engaging same level NPC's who might attack with moves/powers/etc not available for another couple levels. Maxing out your avatar, only to be beaten in combat due to an NPC's ability to consistently cast higher rolls is disconcerting as well. Weapon effectiveness has barely any relation to real life.

4. Solo running can be pretty rough. After level 10 or so, 95% of the mission pulls begin in harsh territory where encounters with mobs several levels higher while you are in transit are quite likely.

5. bugs, bugs, bugs... At the moment, my favorite bug is combat freeze. During combat you get caught into a loop where nothing can be done from your end. The only hope is to die, reconstruct, and come back to again attempt to finish the mission. You say you just killed the last NPC? Then it's a total wash. Wasted time and no payoff. Incomplete missions because not all of the NPC's can be accounted for (found one on the roof of a building once, far from the area of engagement) are annoying. Bleed through from an avatar on another server use to make my day too.

6. For whatever reasons, the servers seemingly have a difficult time keeping up with a gamer's position. The servers think you are running into a wall, staunchion, building, etc.; but on your screen its more like an invisible wall. Hitting the up arrow a couple taps to roll forward sometimes updates your position to the servers.

7. The female avatars are often extraordinarily endowed. Oh wait, that's a good thing...I think?

On the positive side:

1. It's nice to be in a game without "magic" (although *hacking* is a kinda magic, I suppose.:)).

2. Never running out of ammunition is a plus for me.

3. Many of the clothing designs are quite nice. Definitely some talent went into it.

4. A lot of effort went into building diversifications, overpasses, streets, roads, etc..

5. The tie into AOL's messenger is very nice. You can exchange quips with friends while not being in the game.

6. No matter what game, if you are with friends, it's a good thing until everyone can agree what title to go to next.

Bottomline, The Matrix Online is abit of a change in pace. While running missions can get monotonous, "being" with friends makes all the difference for me and AOL's Instant Messenger brings more convenience towards that endeavor.

Hugs Around,

Odi

Kickass, but it does cost ya.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 23
Date: March 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I was in the Beta/Stress test for this title and it seriously has a lot of potential. Great fighting system, that sort resembles City of Heroes if you've played that. You can choose you character's field of expertise as you level up. The great thing though, is that you can change you expertise whenever you want(as long as you have the cash to do so), so if you get sick of Kung-fu, switch to Karate or Aikido, sick of hand to hand, switch to a virus sending hacker, or be an asset to your team by being a patcher/healer. Literally dozens of different moves for each that you earn as you level up.

Also worked in is a great chat system, allowing you to speak to those in your area, team, crew, or faction.

You can choose to join a faction and thereby choose your alliance, either with the Machines, the Zionists, or the Exiles, or you can simply work for all of them and go it alone.

Tons of great features make this a worthy way to spend the fifty bucks. HOWEVER, you of course will also have to pay a fifteen dollar a month subsription after the 30 day free trial. Of course that's pretty much the case with all MMPORPG's. So you make the call, That's 50 up front and about 180 a year in addition to that if you want to play it since obviously The Matrix ONLINE has no offline functionality.

Be ready to cancel your subscription

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 22 / 27
Date: May 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

At $29.99 the game is a good deal for a couple weeks of fun. In a top-of-the-line computer, the Matrix really does comes to life. You need lot of cars on the street (they actually obey traffic lights), people walking around oblivious to the illusion around them. A martial art fighting is nicely choreographed and very believable. The production value of Matrix Online has got to be one of the highest in gaming history.

The game is all dressed up but has nowhere to go, unfortunately. All the wonderful shops, restuarants, and clubs are just there without a purpose. You can't do anything in them other than to sit. The designers had failed miserably in making use of the environment and storyline. Missions, beyond the initial few, are boring and purposeless. The gameplay starts to sag as you level up, because of game imbalance--combat becomes you overpowering the enemy or he overpowering you. And the constant running from point A to point B feels more like a chore when the surrounding environment no longer impresses you.

The Matrix Online is also very buggy. It has actually become buggier three months since launch. The last "live event" was nothing but trouble. The game was unstable. The servers were unstable. Missions were bugged. As though to crown it all, the cut scene depicting the death of Morpheus suffered from major clipping bugs.

If you a big Matrix fan then you're enjoy this game despite its flaw--for a short while anyway. Just don't expect to be playing long term. After the first month you will likely want to cancel.

There Are Still A Lot of Kinks

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: April 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This review comes from one who has played the game in both beta and every day since its release. I plan to continue playing it, but this review is going to be as objective as I can possibly make it (you'll notice I don't leap to giving it the extreme 1 star or 5 stars).

First of all, let's be honest. If you don't meet the recommended specs, I strongly suggest you not waste your time. While I haven't had a single problem, I've heard from MANY people that lag is a major issue. Dialup is also not recommended.

Even WITH a broadband connection and specs-meeting system, expect to be booted occasionally as part of MxO's exiting and unique collection of bugs.

Yes, bugs still abound in this game. The marketplace is often not accessible, missions sometimes cancel for no reason, and bullet time often occurs after your target is already dead (So you can watch them lay there motionless... in slow motion).

There are a few things, however, that MxO delivers in a way no other MMO out there has even grazed.

First of all, interlocked wire-fu combat is awesome. The complexity and volume of cool moves you can do, in all their wonderful throat-punching violence, are available to you. And when bullet-time DOES work, it's a truly "Holy Cow" moment to watch your RSI bend a guy's arm over his back, break it, and then flip him over with it, all in slow-motion. An excellent departure from your typical swat-at-things MMO combat style.

But the biggest draw for me is the ongoing story, as told by a development team of 35 members. If you join Zion, you will get to meet Niobe. And not as some automated NPC either. A real flesh-and-blood person will be playing her so she can give you orders, answer your questions, and tell you how awesome you are. Those who join the Merovingian can meet the Merovingian. Those who join the machines can meet... Agent Gray (woo?).

And these characters serve a role. They are constantly giving you something to do. Whereas other MMO's are concentrated almost entirely on leveling and PvP combat in certain designated arenas, MxO is constantly giving its members tasks as part of their role in the ongoing story. And what you do does matter in the outcome of events.

I wish that items were either not given stat-enhancements or that there was an in-game mechanic that could allow one to add or subtract stats from any item. You pretty much have to choose between looking good or fighting well, because being optimally accoutred means wearing black hose with purple sneakers and an orange skirt and a red jacket. Yuck.

This game is most comparable to City of Heroes in its interface and to Star Wars: Galaxies in its storytelling elements. Comparisons have been made to World of Warcraft but they have relatively little in common.

Right now the bugs are at a near-aggravating level. But that promises to change. The fun gameplay and exctiing story element doesn't.

MxO, forget EverCrack.....enter your new addiction!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: April 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

MxO, as Matrix OnLine is being called, simply is the Best Game you will ever play.

I preordered it on october '04. I must admit it, I had some doubts about how good this game could turn out. After all, the Trilogy has a somewhat disappointing ending. Therefore Matrix lose a lot of fans.Those doubts where completely wiped once I started playing.

The game starts as you being a Bluepill, just like Neo was before you get offered to choose to be a Redpill. Your trip begins waking up from the Matrix just like in the movie.
Character creation system is simple and fun. You can create your RSI (Residual Self Image) and give it some preset experience. For starters this will help, but make no difference. As you progress you will be able to modify this XP in any way you like.

MxO, gives you freedom. True freedom. Want to play solo? go ahead. Want to join a faction? no problem. Want to be part of a faction, and play solo time to time? cool.
It's not a requirement to be part of a faction to enjoy MxO. You are part of this world since the very first moment you jacked in. The Community is a big part of MxO success, too. Everybody is cool and good people always willing to help and have a great time. I already had the oportunity to make new friends all over the world, such as UK, US, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Australia, Japan, and so on..

As I said, you have lots of freedom.

On the contrary to other online games, you have no restrains on what you could be and what will be your especialization. You can choose from three main abilities. Hacker, Coder, Soldier. The beauty of it is that you are able to begin as any of them, or be all of them. That's just a matter of tastes. And how much Info(money) you have. You could have started as a Soldier and some Hacker abilities. Or a Coder with some Soldier abilities.

You can make any combination you want.

This is in fact my first MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game, uff got tired just typing that!!!). So I was very picky while choosing my first game in this category. I wanted a game worth playing and worth paying the montlhy fee.

Yes. MxO do require you to pay a 15 usd monthly fee plus the 49usd for the game itself.But there are some good reasons for that fee.

The Matrix Online is a huge project. It's not only a game.

It's the ongoing history that picks where the movie ended. You're truly a part of the Matrix world.
MxO has developed a history that will go on for a year and more.
This implies to hire a proffesional writer. Paul Chadwick, who created Concrete comics.
The history will develop throught completing missions, Developer events and Player events. Developers events include a live events team roleplaying as the main characters inside MxO. You would actually meet live characters like Morpheous, Merovingian, Niobe, Ghost, Seraph,and the rest of the cast.

The game will also use AIM. America Online Messenger to keep players in thouch between them and with characters from the movie that weren't able to get inside the Matrix, like Link.

Graphically, the game is amazing. MegaCity is truly alive with traffic and pedestrians. You can get inside every building which is crafted with amazing detail. There are different areas. Industrial. Residential. Commercial. International.
Every city area has it distinctive tone. I had read some reviews complainning about the city landscapes being monotone. Not true. You start as Level 2 redpill in Richland area. You need to explore a lot to truly apreciate the whole city. It has been designed to be as big and vast as to make any bluepill believe it is the real world.

But you need the horse power to play the game in all its glory. I tested the game in an Athlon64, 1GB dualchannel and geforce6800gt 256MB with all graphics options on using 128kbps ISDN.

One of the main features MxO introduces is its combat system, called Interlock. It has been designed so you can play using dial up or broadband connections. One of the main problems with other MMOs is that usually those that use broadband will always have and edge over those that doesn't. The one with the faster connection will always win. This doesn't happens with Interlock. Everybody has the same chances. Also, you will truly appreciate the combat ala Matrix style. Bullet time. Wire-Fu,..

There are some retractors of this combat style. But it's really efective, fun and addictive. Plus, there will be no exploiters for connection speed differences.

So as you can see. MxO has a lot of resources to inmerse yourself in the Matrix world. It's not simply another MMORPG. It's the continuation of matrix story.
It's up to you to wake up in the real world, or play anything else.

Still here and always getting better

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: September 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Some of the unique basics:

You can change your load at anytime (all you need is a hardline/phonebooth found throughout the Megacity). From kung Fu to Network Hacker to Rifle Expert to Utility Coder to Master Knive Thrower and more. You can be it all, just not all at once. Your memory is limited and the art of creating a good loadout is one of the deeper parts of the game.

You can change your stats at anytime (you have to do a mission to get another stat hack object). So even if you think you screwed up putting points into the wrong attribute, you can always fix, modify, tweak and otherwise forever pursue the perfect stat build.

Interlock is the most awesome combat system for emmulating the Wire Fu combat of the movies. It's simply riveting and hasn't lost it's shine yet.

My rating:

I give it a 5 stars for fun because I love it and still have fun jacking in after 18 months.... I give it 4 stars overall because it's still buggy, buggier than it should be, but still four stars because it is so less buggy than when WB first shoved it out the door to release in early 2005.

This game has progressed emensely since launch and through the transition to SOE. New content is being added regularly and bugs continue to be addressed at a steady pace (though much work to do still).

The early days of server crashing mammoth events are pretty much gone which is good and bad. The awesome spectacles are missed but many who likewise complained about the massive lag and inevitable server crashes as well as the long periods of stagnant time between storyline events have much less to complain about these days. Storyline events with main characters (played by the devs) are smaller and far more frequent with several to many occuring each week. Critical missions are spread out instead of all being released at once. The storyline presence is stronger and more visible in this format with events and critical missions working off each other.

The major combat revision (CR2) has greatly improved the combat system while keeping the awesome hand to hand graphics that so effectively captures the feel of the Matrix movies' combat style.

For the diehard Matrix fan this is an awesome game. The environment is spectactularly rich and requires competant hardware to make it shine. There is so much to explore and it's always surprising to me that the peeps who complain about nothing to do have explored so little. If you want to grind to the top level for PvP, it's a grind for sure. No matter what it's a grind. But the story and environment are so rich that forums and player based internet resources are a huge part of this game.

This game requires a good player. One who will figure out how things work and use it to their advantage. The stats, abilities and combat system are rather complex and require much study to be succesful. Players who are curious, figure things out and explore end up being more experienced, skilled and overall have a better understanding of how to be successful against the challenges of the game. There are many experienced players who are helpful both ingame and on the forums and are a big part of what makes the community great.

The game has three servers. One hostile and two non-hostile. If you like PvP the hostile server won't disappoint you. Once you reach level 16 (50 is max) you are hostile and anyone any level of an opposing organization (there are three orgs: Zion, Machine and Merovingian) can attack you any time, anywhere (except for a few circumstances like when you are in your loading area).

Eminently soloable yet it pays to be with a good faction when it comes to keeping up with the storyline and live events. The community is one of the best amongst all MMORPG's and is a huge reason this game has survived long enough to see the fruits of some very dedicated developers'labor.

Combat interaction is the best there is. Martial Arts Wire Fu and Guns make for awesome duels and PvP requires good teamwork and complimentary builds for good success.

The ingame radio feature is still one of the coolest things amongst MMO's. Ingame players DJ MxO dedicated broadcasts which enhance the community environment and provide a great resource for information during live events.

If you like exploring and being challenged as a soloer. If you like combat either PvE or PvP. If you like a hard sci fi edge instead of fantasy immersion. If you like the Matrix story. If you like a great community. If you like awesome graphics.

If all that, then this game is for you so what are you waiting for!

If you buy this game, I urge you to get acquainted with The Matrix Online forums, seek out a good faction and check out some websites like mxoarchive.net and mxoresource.com.

Discovering as much as you can about the storyline and the environment will enrich your involvement in the conitinuing story of The Matrix.

The Matrix Online has you...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: April 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've been a MxO community member since November '03, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. With that disclaimer in place, let me begin to tell you the most important aspect of the game, imo. The Story. Most folks watched the first film, and quite a few watched the rest of the Matrix movies...the story continues here, in Mxo. Not a static just talk to npc kind of story (though mission assignments do reflect spall parts of the larger puzzle) but actually interacting with the surviving characters from the films, and taking the story forward with the W brothers and Paul Chadwick at the helm. WB has a "Live Team" that actually play the main characters, so when you meet Morpheus or Niobe, it is a real person speaking to you, not some canned response from an autogenerated text box.

The recent events in the story development cause those with a shred of imagination to delve deeper into the story line, seeking clues and gathering with likeminded players to participate on more than a solo player can acheive...yes folks, grouping and forming an in-game faction is a very succesful way to participate in the story. If for nothing more than roleplaying with friends to the green-code background of the Mega-city.

System requirements are steep, as it says on the box.
While there are slowdowns on dialup, the interlock combat system of fighting takes that well in hand...no more lag death while fighting Exiles and other players...yes Virginia, there is PvP for those who choose to. Entire servers are dedicated to the PvP style of gameplay so many crave, but you are not forced, nor limited in your character development to only PvP play.

You will be required to buy the game, and pay a monthly fee.
It is currently PC only.

It is well worth your time to purchase, and take the Red Pill.
See you in-game.

Seraosha

MxO Excellent Game; Still Buggy

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: March 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I pre-ordered this game and played through the beta & stress test. One thing I must say I appreciated about the game was the tech support, they were very prompt and precise in resolving bug issues found. I've been playing the full version the last couple days and there's still bugs I've been finding. Once again the excellent support staff has stepped forward and I've seen 2 patches released already to fix the problems that've been found.

Just in case you thought it was all over in the Matrix Revolutions movie, think again. The truce isn't going to last for long, and Zion wants Neo's body returned. I'm really eager to find out the story line that's been prepared and participate in the all out war between the Machines & Zion.

If you're a Matrix fan, this might be for you. Otherwise....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: July 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you're a fan of the Matrix, you'll appreciate that this game is about as close as we can come to bringing the movie to life. Hundreds or thousands of people, all connected to the same virtual environment - in essence, "jacked in" to the Matrix.

Without going into enormous detail, let me just say that the world of the Matrix is huge and there are many, many different things to do and explore. The system of movement and (especially) combat is difficult at first, but after a period of adjustment, it becomes very easy to operate.

The best part is that you can participate in the continuation of the Matrix story. If you didn't find enough resolution at the end of the third movie, this is your chance to find out what happens next.

Now for the bad news. The MegaCity in the Matrix is rampant with street gangs. At first, ALL of them are tougher than you. This tends to restrict the areas you have access to. As you progress in the game, you earn experience points which will eventually raise your character to a higher level (you start at level 1 and max out at level 50). The higher your level, the tougher your character. This isn't really the bad news.

The bad news is the incredible amount of time it takes to raise your levels. They go quickly at first, but soon it takes several hours of committed gameplay to raise yourself even one level. That in itself wouldn't be such a problem, but you can't really participate in the major live events unless you attain a very high level.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

The game will be a rewarding experience to fans of the Matrix who won't mind the level of commitment required to progress in the game.

Those who don't care about the story of the Matrix are likely to become frustrated early on.

However, if you're curious about the game, it's only $30 and that comes with a free month of gameplay. A month is plenty of time to find out whether or not you're willing to pay $15 per month to continue.

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