The Matrix Online

Last updated
The Matrix Online
The Matrix Online Coverart.png
Developer(s) Monolith Productions
Publisher(s) Sega
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Director(s) The Wachowskis
Producer(s) Joel Silver
Troy Skinner
Artist(s) Kevin Kilstrom
Writer(s) Paul Chadwick
Composer(s) Nathan Grigg
Engine Lithtech Discovery
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
  • NA: March 22, 2005
  • EU: April 15, 2005
Genre(s) Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s) Multiplayer

The Matrix Online (abbreviated as MxO) [1] was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) initially developed by Monolith Productions and later, a few months after launch, by Sony Online Entertainment. It was advertised as a continuation of the storyline of The Matrix films, as The Wachowskis, the franchise's creators, gave their blessing to the notion of gamers "inherit[ing] the storyline". [2] The game began closed beta-testing in June 2004 which was then opened for people who pre-ordered the game in November 2004. Warner Bros. and Sega released MxO on March 22, 2005 in the United States. It was released in Europe on April 15, 2005. In June, Warner Bros. sold the rights to the game to Sony Online Entertainment, and the game's development and operation was transferred to the latter on August 15, 2005. Sony Online Entertainment shut down operation of the game on July 31, 2009. [3]

Contents

Ubisoft backed out of an agreement to co-publish the game, not long after canceling plans for another MMORPG. Ubisoft and Warner Bros. stated that this did not have a negative impact on their relationship. At the time, doubts about the game circled within the industry, based on the lackluster reception of the second and third The Matrix films and an overcrowded MMORPG market. [4]

Gameplay

In The Matrix Online, the player assumes the role of a redpill, a human who was formerly trapped inside the Matrix and has since been freed and shown the truth of humanity's imprisonment. When creating a new character, the player is given the choice of taking a blue pill that will return them to their former life (quit the game) or a red pill, which will free their mind from the Matrix and allow them to take the body of a physical human and experience reality. Characters who are unaware of the fact that they are in the simulation are often referred to as "bluepills" because they have either taken the blue pill or have not been given the choice yet. People who are aware of the simulation (players) are referred to as "redpills" because they have taken the red pill (or, in very rare cases, when a character has self-substantiated out of the Matrix on their own). Following the choice between the two pills, the player is then taken through a basic tutorial of the game's mechanics, including mission interaction and the combat system. After the tutorial, they are then free to roam the Mega City (the large metropolis that the entire Matrix story is set in).

Combat

Combat in the game is divided into two separate parts: Free-fire and Interlock. Free-fire mode allows for large gun battles to take place, while Interlock is often broken down into bullet-time-affected martial arts moves and close-quarters gunfire.

There are three main classes in The Matrix Online: Coder, Hacker, and Operative. Coders create a special "simulacrum" that fights for them. Hackers manipulate the code of the Matrix to affect friends and enemies from a distance, either damaging them, downgrading their combat abilities, or healing them and upgrading their powers. Operatives are the common soldiers seen from the movies - Martial Artists, Gunmen, and the new Spy class, which revolves around stealth fighting and knife throwing. Magazines never seem to run out of bullets and knife throwers also have an unlimited supply.

In free-fire mode, operatives exchange damage with each other. Gunmen and Hackers are well-equipped for this, with their ranged attacks and abilities. Martial Artists must get close to their targets to be effective, and although a Spy's most dangerous abilities are initiated out of Interlock, they also pull their opponents into Interlock. Each attack or ability is used at timed intervals, based on the system of damage per second (D.P.S.). For example, the strongest rifle in the Matrix does 15 damage points per second and has a fire rate of 3.5 seconds, which, in free-fire, causes the rifle to have a base damage of 52.5, to be altered by the player's own stats. Opposed to such, a Hacker's stronger attack ability such as Logic Barrage 4.0 does 63 D.P.S., but with a short casting timer, does base damage of only 120-180 damage.

In Interlock or Close Combat, two players exchange damage in rounds. Each round lasts exactly four seconds. For each round, the two players' accuracies are pitted against each other's defenses, which are slightly affected by a random "luck" roll. There are three different outcomes to a round: hit-hit, hit-miss, or miss-miss. In hit-miss, one of the players will hit the other while dodging or blocking their attack. In miss-miss, both players will parry each other without doing damage. In hit-hit, one player will damage the other, only to be damaged themselves in a counterattack. When special abilities are used, however, there can be no hit-hit round, although the miss-miss round can still apply.

When taking or dealing damage, one player's damage influences are pitted against another player's resistance influences of the same damage type (i.e. a gunman's ballistic damage versus an opponent's ballistic resistance). Higher resistance versus lower damage means that the defending player will not take as much damage.

When attacking or defending against attacks, one player's accuracy influences are pitted against another's defense influences of the same attack type.

There is no turn-based combat in the Matrix Online. All combat takes place in "real-time", and large-scale battles are often decided by the sheer numbers of forces of one side versus others. Amassing a large number of players to control the battlefield is affectionately dubbed "zerging".

Items that characters drop in the game world can be picked up, granting powers to the player that lugs them around. These are called "luggables".

Classes

The Matrix Online has a unique class system. Players can load abilities they have either purchased or produced (by the Coder class, known in-game as coding) at Hardlines, provided they have enough memory and the abilities that precede the loading one. These abilities can then be switched out at a Hardline at a moment's notice. This leads to a very flexible class system, without players being stuck in one class.

The three main archetypes are Hacker, Coder, and Operative. They are similar to the classes Mage, Crafter, and Fighter in other MMORPGs. These classes then branch out into sub-classes, with Coder, for example, is divided into Programmer (out of a battle item and ability maker) and Code Shaper (creates simulacrums to fight with, similarities to a necromancer/summoner in other MMOG's). The game has a total of 21 end-game classes with an additional two stubs.

Missions and organizations

After an initial set of introductory missions, players can join one of three organizations working in the Matrix, each with a different set of goals, beliefs, and methods: Zion, the Machines, and the Merovingian.

In order to receive increasingly critical and sensitive missions, players are expected to run missions for their chosen organization, which will increase their standing with their chosen organization but will also lower it with the other two.

Zion/Nirvana:

Zion is the last remaining human city on Earth, hidden deep underground and is concerned chiefly with protecting its citizens from the Machines who see those who have "awakened" as a threat to those still connected to the Matrix. Those who choose to work for Zion usually enlist in the Zion Military and see this as the best way to protect the ideals of freedom.

Machines:

The main motivation for choosing to side with the Machines is that this organization is seen as the most conducive towards maintaining the status-quo of the Matrix and protecting the lives of those still connected to it, i.e., bluepills. However, there are also those who feel that the only way to improve relations between man and machine is to work with them as closely as possible and see joining this organization as the best way to do so.

Merovingian:

Those who work for the Merovingian are in a unique position in that they need not concern themselves with the traditional hostilities between Zion and the Machines, preferring instead to act only when the situation would prove advantageous for themselves or the organization as a whole. However, this organization has also been chosen by some players as it is the only one out of the three that fights to protect the Exiles who reside within the Matrix.

Sub-organizations:

Players cannot run missions for these organizations although in storyline terms they are now quite separate from their original "parent" organization, even receiving their own Live Events:

Members of EPN are devoted to what they deem "Neo's legacy". This mostly involves giving all human beings the opportunity to question the true nature of their "reality", the Matrix, and to have the choice of the red or blue pill. Very much against the Machines, and Cypherites in particular, there are some more fundamentalist schools of thought within this organization who believe that the only solution to humanity's problems is to free the entire human population from the Matrix. They are led by The Kid with his old friend, Shimada - who also acts as their mission controller.

Usually seen as the more extreme elements of the Machine organization, Cypherites follow in the footsteps of Cypher, wanting to be reinserted into the Matrix as bluepills so that they may be blissfully unaware of the true nature of the Matrix as a computer program. The name of their hovercraft, Blue Dreamer, reflects this philosophy. They are currently led by Cryptos and his second-in-command, the Zion traitor, Veil. During the time that Cryptos was revealed to be a Machine Program inhabiting a redpill's body, Veil assumed control of the organization.

Following Chapter 11.3, the Cypherites and EPN were effectively withdrawn as playable organizations within the game. Existing factions that were granted their respective "EPN/CYPH" tags in their faction names continued to hold said tags unless they disbanded or reformed, but no new splinter org tags were granted. In addition, no further Live Events occurred for these organizations.

Continuing story

Another of The Matrix Online's defining and differentiating aspects was its inclusion and emphasis on what was called "The Continuing Story". This is to say the game itself is the official continuation of the universe, story and characters established in The Matrix series of fictional works including the film trilogy, The Animatrix short films, the Enter the Matrix video game and a series of officially written and produced Matrix comic books.

This continuation was written by comic book writer Paul Chadwick. It was also confirmed as having seen verification and input from Matrix creators The Wachowskis through the end of Chapter 9.[ citation needed ]

Progression of the storyline

The story progressed in real time, with a planned schedule in effect that included the following:

Chapter organization

The Matrix Online used a system of organization akin to that of software versioning to keep track of its chronological progression. Each "Critical" mission and development is given its own unique tag within this system.

For example: Chapter 1, sub-chapter 2, week 3 would be represented as 1.2.3.

It has been stated by MxO developer Rarebit, that this numbering system was meant purely for chronological measuring and game design (for the various rewards associated with completing past critical missions in a system called The Mission Archive). The chapters and sub-chapters are not intended as self-contained units. Rather, they are each equally relevant to the unfolding of the story as a whole.

LESIG program

The LESIG (Live Event Special Interest Group) was originally devised under Monolith's operation of the game to give developers insight into the player sentiment around live events, with the creation of a live events program, including the development of in-game event tools and server-specific event teams made of community members, as a long term goal. [5]

However, when The Matrix Online moved to Sony Online Entertainment, the program underwent a radical change in direction as part of similar changes to the other story telling devices, most importantly, the scale and frequency of live events following the departure of a dedicated Live Events Team.

The group were given the new task of playing minor supporting roles (known as organization liaison officers) during future live events or even more permanent characters to enhance interaction between players, essentially replacing the paid staff of the LET with volunteer players.

Closing

In June 2009, Sony Online Entertainment stopped serving The Matrix Online due to low subscription numbers. The service was officially shut down on August 1, 2009. At the time, it had fewer than 500 active players. [6]

The days leading up to the closing, as well as the end of the servers themselves, were chronicled on the gaming website Giant Bomb in a video series titled "Not Like This", a reference to a line in the first of the Matrix films. [7]

After the closing, the website remained operational for a limited period of time. Visitors were greeted with an invitation to peruse the official memory book, which had been posted as a parting gift to the fans. [8] The book included a summary of the storyline and various nostalgic items.

Reception

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>EverQuest</i> 1999 video game

EverQuest is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for Windows. It was released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999 in North America, and by Ubisoft in Europe in April 2000. A dedicated version for Mac OS X was released in June 2003, which operated for ten years before being shut down in November 2013. In June 2000, Verant Interactive was absorbed into Sony Online Entertainment, who took over full development and publishing duties of the title. Later, in February 2015, SOE's parent corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment, sold the studio to investment company Columbus Nova and it was rebranded as Daybreak Game Company, which continues to develop and publish EverQuest.

A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.

<i>Anarchy Online</i> Multiplayer online role-playing game

Anarchy Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) published and developed by Norwegian video game development company Funcom. Released in June 2001, the game was the first in the genre to include a science-fiction setting, dynamic quests, instancing, free trials, and in-game advertising. The game's ongoing storyline revolves around the fictional desert planet Rubi-Ka, wherein a valuable mineral known as Notum is found. Players assume the role of a new colonist to Rubi-Ka. With no specific objective to win Anarchy Online, the player advances the game through the improvement of a character's skills over time. After more than 20 years, Anarchy Online has become one of the oldest surviving games in the genre.

Neo (<i>The Matrix</i>) The Matrix character

Neo is a fictional character and the protagonist of The Matrix franchise, created by the Wachowskis. He was portrayed as a cybercriminal and computer programmer by Keanu Reeves in the films, as well as having a cameo in The Animatrix short film Kid's Story. Andrew Bowen provided Neo's voice in The Matrix: Path of Neo. In 2021, Reeves reprised his role in The Matrix Resurrections with what Vulture calls "his signature John Wick look".

<i>Enter the Matrix</i> 2003 video game

Enter the Matrix is a 2003 action-adventure video game developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Infogrames under the Atari brand name. The first game based on The Matrix film series, its story is concurrent with that of the film The Matrix Reloaded and features over an hour of original footage, written and directed by the Wachowskis and starring the cast of the films, produced for the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agent Smith</span> Fictional character in The Matrix film series; antagonist

Agent Smith is a fictional character and the main antagonist of The Matrix franchise. The character was primarily portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the first trilogy of films and voiced by Christopher Corey Smith in The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005), with Ian Bliss and Gideon Emery playing his human form, Bane, in the films and Path of Neo respectively. He also makes a cameo in the anime film The Animatrix (2003), voiced by Matt McKenzie. Jonathan Groff and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portray Smith in The Matrix Resurrections (2021), the latter playing Morpheus in a dual role.

Morpheus (<i>The Matrix</i>) Fictional character in The Matrix

Morpheus is a fictional character in The Matrix franchise. He is portrayed by Laurence Fishburne in the first three films, and in the video game The Matrix: Path of Neo, where he was the only original actor to reprise his character's voice. In The Matrix Resurrections, an AI program based on him is portrayed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.

<i>Final Fantasy XI</i> 2002 video game

Final Fantasy XI, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Square and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installment of the Final Fantasy series. Designed and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, it was released in Japan on May 16, 2002, for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows-based personal computers in November of that year. The game was the first MMORPG to offer cross-platform play between PlayStation 2 and Windows. It was later released for the Xbox 360 in April 2006. All versions of the game require a monthly subscription to play.

<i>Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted</i> 2003 video game

Istaria: Chronicles of the Gifted is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by American studio Virtrium and originally released by developer Artifact Entertainment and publisher Atari as Horizons: Empire of Istaria. Tulga Games, LLC acquired the game and all related assets on January 25, 2005 and sold them to EI Interactive in July 2006. On July 18, 2007, Virtrium LLC (Vi) acquired the rights to the game.

Niobe (<i>The Matrix</i>) Fictional character in The Matrix

Niobe is a fictional character in The Matrix franchise. She is portrayed by Jada Pinkett Smith. She serves as a supporting character in the three sequels of the original film, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions and The Matrix Resurrections, and one of the protagonists of the video game Enter the Matrix. Niobe also appears in the MMORPG The Matrix Online. In the game, however, Niobe's character voicing is portrayed by Gina Torres, who portrayed the minor Zion character Cas in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.

<i>Vendetta Online</i> MMORPG by Guild Software launched in 2004

Vendetta Online is a twitch-based, science fiction massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Guild Software for the operating systems Android, Linux, Mac OS X, iOS, and Microsoft Windows. It uses the NAOS game engine, a fully real-time flight model and combat system, to offer first-person/third-person shooter-style player versus player and player versus environment battle action against the backdrop of a massively multiplayer universe. Vendetta Online shipped as a commercial MMORPG in November 2004 with a subscription-based business model, although it has been running continuously since April 2002. Vendetta Online is available to play across a wide array of platforms, including the Oculus Rift virtual reality display, allowing all users to directly interact in a single, contiguous galaxy. It is also notable for its twitch combat and fidelity to real physics.

<i>Vanguard: Saga of Heroes</i> 2007 video game

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was a high fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sigil Games Online and published by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE). The game was released on January 30, 2007 and initially sold around 242,000 copies, while the number of active subscriptions was estimated to be around 130,000, to drop in the next months to about 40,000. In May 2007, Sony Online Entertainment acquired key assets from Sigil Games Online, including all rights to Vanguard.

The history of massively multiplayer online games spans over thirty years and hundreds of massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) titles. The origin and influence on MMO games stems from MUDs, Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) and earlier social games.

In video games, a raid is a type of mission in Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) where a much larger number than usual of people specifically gather in an attempt to defeat either: (a) another number of people at player-vs-player (PVP), (b) a series of computer-controlled enemies in a player-vs-environment (PVE) battlefield, or (c) a very powerful boss (superboss). This type of objective usually occurs within an instance dungeon, a separate server instance from the other players in the game. A raid may be highly planned and coordinated or arise nearly spontaneously through word of mouth communications in- and out-of game.

<i>Cabal Online</i> 2005 video game

Cabal Online is a free-to-play, 3D massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by South Korean company ESTsoft. Different localizations of the game exist for various countries and regions. Although free-to-play, the game makes use of the freemium business model by implementing an "Item Shop", both in-game and via web, allowing players to purchase special premium coins using real currency, in order to acquire exclusive game enhancements and features, useful items and assorted vanity content.

World of Warcraft (WoW), is set in a fictional universe, with its primary setting being the planet of Azeroth. The first expansion, The Burning Crusade, introduced a second planet, Outland. Wrath of the Lich King expanded upon Azeroth and added Northrend, the frigid northern continent of Azeroth, while the next expansion, and Cataclysm, drastically changed various other continents by destroying some and unveiling new ones. The next expansion, Mists of Pandaria, added Pandaria, the southern continent previously hidden behind a perennial mist cover. Warlords of Draenor introduced the planet of Draenor, a version of Outland in a different timeline before its partial destruction. The Legion expansion took adventurers to the Broken Isles, an island chain near the Maelstrom in the middle of the Great Sea, and the damaged planet Argus, the headquarters of the Burning Legion. The seventh expansion, Battle for Azeroth, added two new island continents to the center of Azeroth: Kul Tiras and Zandalar. The latest expansion, Shadowlands, introduced the eponymous Shadowlands, a realm composed of five major zones: Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, Revendreth, and the Maw.

<i>Rift</i> (video game) 2011 video game

Rift is a fantasy free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Trion Worlds. Rift takes place within the fantasy world of Telara. Two competing factions, composed of a selection of races and classes, battle each other and the enemies who emerge from dynamic "rifts". The game was released in March 2011. A port of the game, called Rift Mobile, was released for Android on January 25, 2012.

AdventureQuest Worlds is a browser-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released by Artix Entertainment in 2008.

<i>EverQuest</i> expansions Additional content for the MMORPG EverQuest

Thirty-one full expansions for the MMORPG EverQuest have been released. Initially, expansions were shipped in boxes to stores, but were later put for sale on digital marketplaces. The retail versions often come packaged with a bonus feature such as a creature that the player can put in their in-game house.

References

  1. ↑ Ocampo, Jason (2009-05-29). "The Matrix Online Shutting Down". IGN. Archived from the original on 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  2. ↑ Chadwick, Paul (11 April 2005). "The Matrix Online". Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Ocampo, Jason (29 May 2009). "The Matrix Online Shutting Down". Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
  4. ↑ Thorsen, Tor (25 February 2004). "Ubisoft jacks out of the Matrix Online". Gamespot. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  5. ↑ AetherNET Community Events Uplink Archived 2007-10-13 at the Wayback Machine .
  6. ↑ Gera, Emily (19 August 2013). "The Matrix Online had fewer than 500 active players before shutting down". Polygon . Vox Media. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "The Matrix Online videos - Giant Bomb". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
  8. ↑ "Sony releases Matrix Online Memory Book". 14 September 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "The Matrix Online for PC". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2018-06-23. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  10. 1 2 "The Matrix Online for PC Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  11. ↑ Sharkey, Scott (2005-04-13). "Matrix Online". 1UP.com . Archived from the original on 2015-06-06. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  12. ↑ Wolpaw, Erik (July–August 2005). "The Matrix Online" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . No. 253. pp. 80–82. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
  13. ↑ Gillen, Kieron (2005-04-15). "The Matrix Online". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  14. ↑ Miller, Matt (June 2005). "Matrix Online". Game Informer . No. 146. p. 134. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  15. ↑ Vicious Sid (2005-04-20). "The Matrix Online Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro . Archived from the original on 2005-04-21. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  16. ↑ Kasavin, Greg (2005-04-04). "The Matrix Online Review". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  17. ↑ Lopez, Miguel (2005-04-15). "GameSpy: The Matrix Online". GameSpy. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  18. ↑ Hopper, Steven (2005-04-16). "The Matrix Online - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  19. ↑ Butts, Steve (2005-04-15). "The Matrix Online". IGN . Archived from the original on 2014-02-24. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  20. ↑ "The Matrix Online". PC Gamer . June 2005.
  21. ↑ Newman, Heather (2005-04-17). "Recent video game releases ('The Matrix Online')". Detroit Free Press . Archived from the original on 2005-04-18. Retrieved 2014-02-18.
  22. ↑ Jones, Scott (2005-03-22). "The Matrix Online". Maxim . Archived from the original on 2014-03-06. Retrieved 2016-04-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.