CJ Ravey takes the red pill.

Enter The Matrix on PS2, Xbox, GameCube and PC is, quite fittingly, all about perception. Whether you see licensed film games as a bad thing, whether you're a fan of the Matrix and whether you've seen the second film. Laudably, the game uses real life movie footage shot especially for the game which ties in with the second film. In a plot parallel to Neo's (aka Keanu Reeves) mission, two characters - Ghost and Niobe - must complete several missions, avoiding unstoppable agents and offing countless policemen. But it's OK, because it's a virtual world.

Essentially a third person shooter, Enter the Matrix starts slowly, with all too many cut scenes and loading screens. But give the game a chance and the stylistic fighting, bullet time and general Matrix style will endear itself to you.

Speaking of Bullet Time, the developers must have daily cursed the makers of Max Payne - a multi-format release which used the same slow-mo style to great effect. Robbed from the film it may have been, but Enter the Matrix gets it second hand. Where it excels though is the bullet time fighting, the running up walls - all things which differentiate it from Max Payne.

Like Max Payne, Enter the Matrix is also short. In fact, even shorter. Play the game on easy and it's finished within two evenings of solid play. Sure, you can play through again as the other character and up the difficulty, but it's still diddy. Another issue is the plot. It just won't make much sense without seeing the film (which is no problem as which Matrix fans won't see the film?) But you'll get more out of it if you play after seeing it. Without Keanu's 'whoa' style dude character wondering what on Earth is going on and injecting some comical point of view into the mystical talk (at least in the first film) you're left with lots of surreal semi-religious conversations you don't quite understand and take themselves fairly seriously. Then you shoot folk. Having said that, Ghost and Niobe do have a sense of humour (and your colleague Sparks provides light relief) but it's very dry.

The environments of the game are - unfortunately - modelled on the Matrix 'real world' in the film, so everything has a murky green tinge to it. Passable in a film, but somewhat oppressive in a video game. Oh, and the driving levels are weird. The car bounces along, with no movement from the driver, and handling is um... Interesting...

Ultimately Enter the Matrix is a fun game, and we games folk tend to get very excited when 'them there movie folk' play along. But a great synergy between a film and game product is something that excites business men and marketing departments, it won't always guarantee a good night of fun for a gamer. Fortunately the developers have shoved as much gameplay as it seems time and resources have allowed, into this short and snappy interactive Matrix experience.

There's some lovely touches too, like hacking extra things out of the game and various websites, and a chance to spar with Trinity, and it's all done with a love and reverence for The Matrix which will please fans.

So, how will you perceive the Matrix? It's the most dovetailed film tie-in there is, but as other games have - to a degree - been robbing the original source film's style and tricks for two years, it loses some of its punch (and Lord of the Rings Two Towers used film footage weaved in - albeit not specially made for the game). Perceived as a stand alone game it wouldn't turn that many heads, but you can't separate it from the license, it's been designed as an extension of the Matrix world and as such it's a unique and interesting step forward for the games industry and a must-have experience for Matrix fans.