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Anti-Aliased: So long, and thanks for all the woah
It's a depressing news day for me today. As we've reported earlier, Sony Online Entertainment has finally made the decision to pull the plug on The Matrix Online, a decision that makes absolutely perfect sense given the dire straights the game has been in for the past few years.MxO was always "the little game that could" in regards to the community outlook. Even with horribly broken systems, a grind worthy of an Asian MMO, and periods where I literally sat around doing nothing, there was some odd charm about the game. Perhaps it was the setting, or maybe it was the really cool combat system (yes, it too was broken, but those animations were sweet), but I think it was the storyline.Let's have a look back the history of Matrix Online and some of the stories no one ever heard about.
Anti-Aliased: So long, and thanks for all the woah pt. 2
My personal favorite moment? Past attending a few of the Merovingian's parties (being a faction leader in the organization certainly qualifies you for the guest list), it had to have been investigating into the street magician, Cryptos. Cryptos appeared in the Mega City with a bang, placing "Cryptos coffins" all over the city as he popped out of them at certain intervals to speak riddles to players. As I attended one of the coffins for its speech, the clacking of heels turned my attention over my shoulder, my camera falling onto Niobe walking down the street towards me.She commented that she was surprised that I actually found my way down a street without falling over in a drunken stupor, while I smirked and laughed. Soon afterwards, a whole vanguard of Zionist players showed up, backing up Niobe with guns -- lots of guns."Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right here, *Lady* Return." She mocked. That would be when I pulled out the three best words in the Merovingian organization arsenal."You owe me. I helped you in the church at the funeral. You cannot neglect your debt, Niobe," I replied with a strong smile. She acted taken aback and motioned to the others behind her. The players all lowered their guns and shot me angry looks, to which I shrugged happily and laughed.In no other game could social combat be as effective as physical combat. You didn't always have to shoot your way out of a situation if you knew the right people... or just paid enough of them.An MMO not all about combat? Lies!Certainly the combat of MxO was awesome. You had great martial arts combat, you had insane wire-fu moves, and you even had bullet time. (It would basically slow down on your screen just long enough to show you some great action, then it would speed up again to match up with the action that had gone on while you were slowed down.)But some of the real charm of the game came in the fact that puzzles were hidden inside of it. Billboards, the newspaper, and even specially constructed events started by a simple forum post or a simple tell from a character lead into stories told in live action.The game had elements of collaborative puzzle solving, social tension started by organizational warfare, and a driving sense of community that no other game that I've played since has come close to having. People were there to really interact with the world, not just hit level 50 and grind their faces on endgame.Hopes for the futureIt's sad to see this game go, but I have the strong personal opinion that this game did not die because it embraced different styles of gameplay. It died because it stopped embracing them.What MxO was offering players no other game offered. If there had been more polish to the static content and the developers would have stayed on their path of dynamic storytelling, I think this game would certainly would have continued on with a loyal fanbase because it would have offered gameplay that no other mainstream MMO to date has embraced.And, with any luck, perhaps we'll see another attempt at this universe in the future. Look at what we have with two Star Wars MMOs coming out. The potential is still there for a great Matrix Online game.With all of this though, thank you developers for all of your work, and thank you Sony Online Entertainment for keeping it up as long as you did. While I may not agree with all of the decisions surrounding the game, the effort was still there to keep the game alive for as long as it was.Everything that has a beginning has an end. Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who hates aimless hate. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.
