The Outsider

Enter the Matrix wasn��t so bad. That��s right. You heard me. Say what you will about the glitches, boring level design, and craptastic minigames, but some of its ��focus�� moves rank among the most stylish and satisfying moments in action-gaming history. There. I said it.

In my experience, the best moments in gaming are often the result of some new move or game mechanic that no one else had thought of. Or, as in The Matrix, the combining of established moves into something new. When it happens, you know you��re seeing something original and that the team behind the game had at least one good, new idea.

Certainly one of the most thrilling moments you can have in a PS2 racer is discovering the ��Zone Zoom�� feature in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. For the uninitiated, Zone Zoom is like firing the Human Torch out the front of your car and riding his ass up the road, pausing as you go to find the cops and roadblocks. Trust me, the first time you use it to avoid the spike strip and cut over to the jump, you��ll know the gaming gods are smiling. Someone tell me, why did EA leave this feature out of Need for Speed Underground? For shame.

The most thrilling PS2 racer is Midnight Club II, but what distinguishes it from other games for me is the ability to control weight transfer. After firing your nitrous and shooting off a jump, the moment arrives when it really feels like you��re going 200 mph. In midair, as you begin to pitch over, you can adjust your car��s position, preventing what could be a disastrous and time-consuming crash.

Sometimes, the moment occurs when a sequel offers a new way to enjoy an already great formula. While playing Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, I had a total joygasm when I discovered the charge boots and realized I could zoom all over hell��s half-acre in half the time. I literally shouted ��@#&% yeah!�� Nice work, Insomniac.

In Splinter Cell, it happens when Sam Fisher shows us moves they apparently don��t teach where Solid Snake went to spy school. And in War of the Monsters, you feel it when you impale your foe with a radio tower or bring a building down on top of him by throwing a gas truck. Let��s see that in Mortal Kombat 6. (On second thought, let��s not.)

Original ideas are a rare feat on planet Earth. For me, the point of gaming��and life in general��is found in the moments I discover those ideas, and in what happens to my brain when I do. Here��s hoping I get my fix with StarCraft: Ghost, Gran Turismo 4, and Killzone.

Now, if you��ll excuse me, I have to try to write a song that doesn��t sound like the Beatles or the Stones.

Robin Wilson (rwginblossoms@aol.com) has written four top-40 singles with the Gin Blossoms. And they all sound pretty much like Tom Petty songs.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.