Jim Skamarakas

I have been in the matrix for 6 months. 6 long months, with many many short game play sessions. I am not a dancer in game, I am not a hang out in game in a corner to chat with people over text about how cool they look int heir new outfits. I am a gamer. While I write this, my family is upstairs in bed, I am running the washer and the dryer, my laptop is running email and IM from work, and I have headphones on my head playing not only teamspeak, but dance music BUMPBUMPBUMPBUMP

Every toon I have made, every mission I go on - my toon is in The Matrix. The digital rain, the buildings, the attention to detail on a subway sign, the signs in windows. The fact that cars and trucks follow actual traffic patterns and give The Matrix its orderly fashion and cadence. MMO’s have progressed from your imagination to D and @ to stick skeletons then 3D worlds where you actually ran up a hill, then looked up and stared at the sky over Derath and said wow, just watch the days roll by and the clouds and sky change. Then we got the joy of pieces of a local RI newspaper blowing in the wind past a trash dumpster behind a building.

Now we have subway signs that are accurate, sings and building objects all over the place to interact with, and just stop and watch the world of The Matrix go about its business while you watch.

Initial toon creation - you are asked to pick your personality not what you want to be - this makes for better choices and encourages exploration fo skill trees. Every game should make the options at creation as few as possible to allow people to explore and build into their toon rather then create a persona in the dark welcome screen and find out later they made a mistake and picked blue eyes when they meant to have green, but its too late to go back since they are level 5 and that would take, OMG, another 32 minutes.

Combat - its up close and personal and its shooting. It never feels to me like I am fighting. Yes my toon is playing rock paper scissors with their opponent for the right combinations, but I never feel like I am making that sweep kick. I certaintly never cringe in pain any time I am near death. It just has not grabbed me.

So lets see, this is short, because I want to remain positive. I mentioned the look, the toon creation and combat.

There is grouping: the usual solo play, then teams, then form a guild,supergroup, PA or organization - here its a crew. You can play for sides: realms, corp, country, rebel, clans - here it is Matrix factions.

There is the normal chatting and such.

Look, if your major into The Matrix, then check it out. If your tried of all the sword and mages MMO’s, then check it out till Auto Assault ships. Or go play City of Heroes, they are bringing out arena PvP as a precursor to their City of Villians expansion. Will I be buying this game after it launches? Probably not, its just has not grabbed me and sucked me in.

If its for you, then by all means have a great time jacking in.

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Categories: gaming
Tags: gaming