Entertainment

Games: The Matrix Awakens showcases the awesome power of Epic's MetaHuman tech, while Sony has PS5 owners 'covered'...

The Matrix Awakens (PS5/Xbox)

By: Epic

COMPUTER-generated worlds starring Keanu Reeves are like buses – you wait ages for one, then two trundle along at the same time.

It's been 18 years since both Matrix sequels landed like rusty nails in the 1999 sci-fi classic's coffin. After the misfires of Reloaded and Revolutions, expectations are suitably low for The Matrix Resurrections, due to hit cinemas next Wednesday.

But it's not just on the silver screen where the most triumphant Wyld Stallyn and all-round awesome dude is encouraging fans to chomp down on some red pills again. Last week saw the release on consoles of The Matrix Awakens – a free showcase of how realistic the Unreal Engine 5 can look.

Kicking off with Keanu addressing the audience, asking "How do we know what's real?", the camera cuts back and forth to reveal a younger, Matrix-era Reeves and the penny drops – we're watching a digital actor.

Epic's MetaHuman technology is incredible – easily a match for Hollywood's finest – as it whisks players into a Mega City car chase, with Trinity and Neo trading bullets and winking asides at how this is all a lesson in evil marketing.

Players can blast cars and helicopters crawling with agents in a high-end piece of on-rails action that's light years ahead of anything you've seen before. You'd be fooled for thinking it's all pre-rendered eye-candy with little interaction, but the sequence ends by dropping players into a free-roaming city using the same engine – and it's glorious.

The density of detail both up close and from a distance is staggering as you explore a city larger than downtown Los Angeles, stuffed with 45,000 cars to commandeer and 35,000 simulated pedestrians.

Gameplay is slight, though, in what's essentially a graphical showcase, pumping out enough movie-quality visuals to make Grand Theft Auto look like Teletext. All that tech still can't get a decent performance out of Keanu who, God love him, is still as wooden as a pirate's leg – but as a marquee for what's possible on the new breed of consoles, Matrix Awakens is a grand sign of things to come.

:: Sony's got you covered

IN WHAT looks like part one of 'Build your own PS5 in 99 exciting issues', Sony are soon to start selling a range of spare covers for their in-demand console.

With some simple gruntwork, the faceplate on your PS5 can be removed, and after aggressively shutting down companies flogging unofficial versions online, Sony will next year offer the real-deal in a variety of ritzy hues.

Fashionistas can cover their console's modesty in Midnight Black, Cosmic Red, Nova Pink, Starlight Blue and, yes, Galactic Purple. Barring the colour, they're identical to Sony's original design, complete with ridiculous Cadillac fins.

Compatible with both physical and digital versions of the PS5, the swanky husks will be available from January 2022, and while official pricing hasn't been announced, rumours abound that Sony's 'cover charge' will be an eye-watering £50.

Anyone who's still got the original PlayStation or even an old Nintendo console will know the PS5's basic off-white is doomed to turn a nice urine-yellow over time, meaning black is sure to prove popular with fans used to Sony's classic colour scheme. Now if only they'd roll out some more consoles to buy alongside them...