Matrix Online
Warner Brothers, it seems, is not without a sense of irony
Warner Brothers have announced that work is underway on an online role-playing game based on The Matrix. A massively multiplayer computer simulation of a movie about a massively multiplayer computer simulation designed to enslave people. Delicious, isn't it? The game will be able to support tens of thousands of players in a single virtual world, somewhat short of the "real" Matrix's six billion, and will take advantage of the latest 3D hardware courtesy of the LithTech Discovery engine, rather than plugging directly into your spinal column. "The Matrix is a perfect property on which to base a massively multiplayer online game", according to Warner's Kevin Tsujihara. "This project will combine the online entertainment resources and expertise of Warner Bros. and AOL Time Warner with one of the most cutting-edge game developers in the world." And who might that be, I hear you ask. None other than .. er .. Monolith actually. Much as we enjoyed No One Lives Forever, we're not quite sure we'd describe them as cutting-edge. Still, this gives the company a chance to show off what they can do with their new massively multiplayer game engine, and they couldn't have wished for a better debut project. "We know fans of the franchise are extremely dedicated and loyal and we intend to do everything we can to remain true to The Matrix, while providing them with the ultimate online gaming experience", Monolith frontman Jason Hall is reported as saying. To be honest though, just how appropriate is The Matrix as the basis for a massively multiplayer game? After all, the Matrix is supposed to be a perfect simulation of real life, which makes a simulation of the simulation pretty pointless really. You can't have any bullet time effects in a multiplayer game due to synching issues, and we couldn't see tens of thousands of players all running around being Neo-like superheroes working very well either for that matter. No doubt more details will emerge soon and we'll find out whether this is The Sims Online with mirror shades or a genuinely interesting game, but for now we're a little sceptical about the whole thing. At this early stage there's no word on when the Matrix Online game will be released. It's also not clear what this means for Infogrames, who recently parted with a large sum of cash to pick up Enter The Matrix developers Shiny, a deal which included supposedly exclusive worldwide rights to develop games based on the Matrix sequels. Whoops... Related Feature - LithTech Online