Agent Dormer
Dirty Drinking Smoker
On The Matrix movies and games:
Movies and video games are two entertaining mediums that share many of the same qualities. They both enthrall the viewer/player with music, atmosphere, characters, and extensive visuals. Both video games and movies are constantly going to new heights, especially in the area of special effects. Often times video games are said to be very similar to movies from the standpoint of the journey you take the characters on, going through all the elements of the plot, but in a video game you actually get to control what happens to a certain degree. A popular way for companies to make money in this day and age is to take a successful movie and turn it into a video game. One such example of this is The Matrix films and the video game Enter The Matrix. I will be examining the differences, similarities, and all of the different types of connections that are found between the game and the movie.
I always found the concept of The Matrix to be impressive, that the world we were living in is just some computer program. It really makes you think. The first film was amazing from all aspects; the special effects, the ideas, and so on and so forth. The following two films decreased in quality and were basically just a display of mind-blowing special effects which almost get to the point of nausea. Then, I believe it was somewhere in between the release of the second and third Matrix film that I heard they were releasing a game based on the movies. My initial reaction was one of utter excitement. After letting this thought boil over in my mind for a few moments, the thoughts of doubt started pouring in. I looked at this from an objective point of view....
Basically what you find in Enter The Matrix is an extreme attempt to make money, even though it does keep the player very entertained. The game explores different scenes and scenarios that are setup in the movie. The game was even written by The Wachowski Brothers who also wrote the movie. So what happens here is that the game becomes an almost integral part to making the films connect. It drags on a story that is already being dragged on. In the game there are specially filmed scenes that are in none of the movies, but included only in the game because it relates to the story integrated by the game. It is a clever move when you think about it, just as was making the following two films. It puts you in a place where you say to yourself, I cant believe they are really making this! yet at the same time you find it so hard to resist watching the films and playing the games.
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As with the sequels to the original Matrix, Enter The Matrix was an economical ploy that actually ended up having some substance to it, unlike the second and third films in the trilogy. You get the same feeling, the same basic characters, the same concepts, the same effects of everything found in the movie in an original story that branches off from the film. I feel that Enter The Matrix was a successful adaptation from film to game for the most part. You get to indulge in all of the joys of the Matrix and experience all of the thrills and chills too. The game is visually stunning and true hardcore fans of the films will really enjoy the extra footage included in the games that is not shown in the films. I like how I found the video game to be more exciting and suspenseful than both of the sequels. It shows that some games can much more powerful than the films that accompany them.