The Matrix Online
| The Matrix Online | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Monolith Productions |
| Publisher(s) |
Sega Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |
| Director(s) | The Wachowskis |
| Writer(s) | Paul Chadwick |
| Engine | Lithtech Discovery |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Massively multiplayer online role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
| Aggregate score | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | 69/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | C+ |
| CGW |   |
| Eurogamer | 5/10 |
| Game Informer | 7.5/10 |
| GamePro |  |
| GameSpot | 7.3/10 |
| GameSpy | |
| GameZone | 7.5/10 |
| IGN | 7.6/10 |
| PC Gamer (US) | 80% |
| Detroit Free Press | |
| Maxim | 6/10 |
The Matrix Online (officially abbreviated as MxO) 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 billed as an official continuation of the storyline of the The Matrix films, as The Wachowskis, the franchise's creators, gave their blessing to the notion of gamers "inherit[ing] the storyline". 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 officially released MxO on March 22, 2005 in the United States. It was released in Europe on April 15, 2005. In June 2005 it was announced that Warner Bros. sold the rights to the game to Sony Online Entertainment, and the game's development and operation was transitioned to the latter on August 15, 2005. Sony Online Entertainment shut down operation of the game on July 31, 2009.
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 later two The Matrix films and an overcrowded MMORPG market.
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 minds 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).
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