Enter the Matrix (revisited)

February 20, 2003

In today's NYT, they run an article called "A Thin Line Between Film and Joystick," that is all about the new Matrix videogame, which I discussed earlier. In case you've forgotten, this game is a companion to the two upcoming movies. It will have additional plot and is based on a 244-page script penned by the Wachowski brothers. Oh, and a full hour of new film scenes.

This whole thing makes me very happy. It is great to see some strong writers (the brothers) work on a videogame because the story is often the weakest part of any game. The brothers, with game publisher Infogrames, have made a tie-in to a movie that isn't going to suck. Thankfully, this seems to be a growing trend. In the past, studios would license movies to game publishers and they would bank on the hype factor to sell games. This will only work a select few and will not work on die hard gamers.

Also, publications like the New York Times are beginning to discuss the blurring line between games and movies, which is great. Unfortunately, the piece isn't exactly very explorative, but this is a daily newspaper that is reporting and not synthesizing.

Once again, I am very excited to check out this game. Even without playing it and purely in theory, this game is revolutionary.

Advertisement