In 1999, Warner Brothers and the Wachowski Brothers made a film like no other. It told the story of a future in which humans were enslaved by technology gone mad. The film’s combination of special effects and martial arts were unlike anything ever seen before. At the end of the film, fans would eagerly anticipate what would happen next. For four straight years, fans have yearned for a sequel to the film, and gamers craved a video game tie-in which would allow the to take control of all the high velocity action shown in the films. Indeed, since the film was released, many games have incorporated the Matrix’s slow-motion action into their own gameplay.

By 2003, the Matrix was set to become the new millennium’s answer to Star Wars, taking its place as the primer Sci-fi franchise. Thus, for the film’s upcoming sequel, the Wachowskis knew they had to do it big. To that end, they recruited scores of anime artists, actors, CG graphics experts, and game developer Shiny entertainment (Earthworm Jim, Messiah, MDK). Not only would we be getting a sequel, but we’d also be getting the first video game, along other cool stuff. Not only would we see the next evolution of the franchise, but we’d also see a breakthrough in storytelling across different forms of medium Or at least it would have been had the Wachowskis and the people at Shiny entertainment had the slightest clue of how to do this properly.
[Read the rest of this entry…]

It’s a New Year, and one that looks exciting for geeks everywhere. To celebrate (and to make up for my tardiness), I’ve got a three-piece of new game related content. Along with the $20 GOTW and Lost Classics, we have the debut of our new section, Maximum Letdown. What is Maximum Letdown? Well you remember all the gaming classics from your youth? You know, the beloved Castlevanias, Contras, Zeldas, Street Fighter 2 Turbos, and the Final Fantasies that we love to reminisce about. Of course, there are other games from that era that we don’t like to talk about so much. Remember the CD-I Mario and Zelda games? How about the Adventures of Master Chu and Drunkard Hu (WHAT!?!?)? Do you remember when the Grand Theft Auto games had lousy play control? Or better yet, Wisdom Tree’s bible games? For every Gears of War, Halo, and Castlevania released, there are a thousand more Pixar/Disney/Nickelodeon/Cartoon Network shovelware carts destined for the bargain bin, if the even make it that far. Yeah, Maximum Letdown is gonna remind you of the darkside of gaming. We’re gonna dredge up some seriously bad memories. These are the games that either didn’t deliver on their promises, had that one fatal flaw that ruined it for gamers, didn’t do its license or predecessors proper justice, or was just plain awful. This won’t be done as frequently as a Lost Classics or $20 GOTW, but we’ll have a new one up at least twice a month. Speaking of Lost Classics and $20 GOTW, the former deals with a fighting game released at the dawn of the 32-bit era, and the latter is a game based on a fighting game. So without further ado, read on after the jump.

[Read the rest of this entry…]