Few video game skills are as memorable as Max Paynebullet time. This stunt brought the thrills of the 1999s. Matrix to video games, allowing players to slow down time and send Max flying during gunfights. This made Remedy's 2001 game an instant classic, which would go on to inspire similar mechanics in games like El Paso, elsewhere. But to this day I'm sure most people will tell you that no one did it like Max Payne since then.
I would agree with this, but my mind opened a few weeks ago. I got the idea to go back Enter the matrix2003 action game based on the film franchise on my PlayStation 2. I played it when it was released on the GameCube, but at the time I didn't think much of the notoriously buggy game. However, when I returned to it in 2025, I discovered a combat system that was incredibly ahead of its time – all thanks to its slow-motion power.
Coming at a time when games based on films did not have a stellar reputation, Enter the matrix tried to fight above his licensed weight class. The Wachowskis were heavily involved, creating over an hour of original footage for the project featuring actors from the films. The intention was not to make a cheap tie-in, but to create a real Matrix game. To achieve this, developer Shiny Entertainment will need to create the series' iconic action.
In practice, Enter the matrix sounded pretty similar Max Payne. It was a third-person shooter (with surprisingly smooth kung fu-style combat) where you could slow down time to enter bullet mode. This meant you could dive into the air to shoot enemies, dodge incoming bullets, or simply slow down for a cool kill. It was a new idea, but Max Payne By the time we started, the wind had already been knocked out of the sails.
But on the second playthrough, time free from context, Enter the matrixUsing the time bullet turned out to be much more difficult than I remembered. Using it doesn't just slow down the action; it gives you access to a completely different set of skills. In melee combat you get more powerful combos that allow you to move your enemy to the other side of the room. You don't just jump through the air, you twist and turn. You feel like Neo (even if you're not playing as him), breaking the laws of video game physics to destroy waves of guards.
The power of this system struck me in one ordinary moment. I found myself in the post office looking for the elevator door. I turned the corner and found him, but he was guarded by two men who started shooting at me. Instinctively, I turned on the bullet time, just to lessen the incoming hail of gunfire, and ran towards them, firing two Uzis. When I did this, I had to run past a wall, and my heroine used this to her advantage by smoothly jumping away from it and performing a double spin in the air while shooting. My enemies were dead by the time I landed. This was not a planned moment; that's how easy and cool it is Enter the matrix is.
Although his mistakes and shortcomings are as disappointing as always, Enter the matrix today feels ahead of its time. He understands that the appeal of time dilation in The Matrix films isn't just about slowing down normal action. This is a superpower that allows Neo to break reality. Some of the greatest combat skills in video games understand this too, be it BayonettaTime of the Witch or any number of Dynasty Warriors abilities that will allow you to wipe out an entire army in two seconds. Fantasies of great power make you feel like you are capable of incredible things. Enter the matrix gives you these moments like Halloween candy.
WITH modern Max Payne remake on the wayI'm curious to see if Remedy takes any notes from one of its contemporaries from that era. With any luck, we'll get a game inspired by a movie remade using inspiration from another game based on the same movie. Avoid this.
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