Pros: Interesting story line, bullet time is sweet!
Cons: controls are awful, graphics a bit sketchy
The Bottom Line: Rent it to try bullet time...otherwise you will probably be wasting your money. Just wait for the new Matrix game coming out in May,2003
Controls
I start with the controls be cause they are just so awful. Instead of following the standard of every other action game, Rockstar decided to be different. Strafing is done with the left analog stick and turning is done with the right. This wouldn't be so bad except that moving forward/backward is still done with the left stick and looking up or down is done with the right analog stick. This may not sound bad from my description, but once playing, you will realize the negative effect this has on your gaming experience.
Story Line
Great story line. To not give it away I will not go into much detail. Very well thought out and it seems more like a really long movie except the player is more involved. The many cut scenes are how this effect is given, but I will actually complain that this makes gameplay choppy. To me it seems like every door you open, there is a cut scene. Every hallway you run down, there is a cut scene. Of course I am exaggerating, but it gets very annoying.
Soundtrack
Very good voices. It's obvious real work went into the sound quality of the game. Gunshots are very realistic sounding, but the siren in the tutorial level will permanently ring through your ears. They might have gone overboard with that part. Tunes in the game are semi-haunting but you'll find you can think of them whenever you want after you have played the game for a few hours. Some very nice touches.
Bullet time
...is where the game really shines. Despite horrible control configuration, diving in slow motion is the best thing I have done in any recent action game. However cool it is, mastering it is still pretty hard. The first few times in bullet time, you won't hit anywhere near your target. Hint: move the analog stick slow, its still moving in real time.
Graphics
Graphics are not that bad. Although the Xbox and Computer versions are much more crisp. On those versions you can actually dodge bullets because you can actually see them. Unlike this, however, on Playstation 2 your lucky if you can see all of the men firing at you.
Overall
I would tell you to rent this game first to make sure you like it before buying it, but now that the price is down around $15-20 your better off just buying it unless you can rent it cheaply. Not the best game, but it is worth trying bullet time.
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