The Matrix Online Three-Year Anniversary Festivities

[GameBanshee News]

SOE has announced plans for "in-game events and parties" to celebrate the three-year anniversary of The Matrix Online.

THE MATRIX ONLINE CELEBRATES THREE YEARS OF PLUGGING IN

Players Can Celebrate with The Return of the Smith Virus, New Loot and a Party with Developers

WHAT:
The Matrix Online (MxO) celebrates its third anniversary with in-game events and parties, along with Game Update 59 set to debut in April.
Some in game features include:

The Return of the Smith Virus
- The ever-popular Smith Virus returns in this year’s anniversary as it seeks to infect all those in the Matrix.
- Players can approach a virologist near various city monuments who will present them with a ticket to begin a mission leading to the Oracle.
- Complete the mission from the Oracle and get “Smith’s End Brownie” which cures players of the Smith Virus infection. Players can even throw the brownie at infected people to cure them of the virus.
- Watch out for “Smithlings” but if one is encountered one, he might drop a “Smith Frag” for usage.

Don’t Forget About the Goodies
- Have an extra Smith Frag or Smith’s End Brownie? Take them to a virologist to get items available only during the anniversary! Don’t worry, once these special items are acquired they are then accessible year-round.
- Items available during the MxO Anniversary
o 20+ t-shirts with 12 new types this year
o Oracle Anniversary Cookies which provide additional healing from any damage you might incur from fighting those devious Smithlings or other foes.
o Smith Rage Pills that temporarily confer combat buffs similar to those received from the Smith Virus.
o Smith Firewall Candy – new this year! These candies award players temporary immunity against Smith Virus infections – a must for any brave operatives!

In-Game Party
o Party with developers, Rarebit, Walrus, Virrago, Moonlite, Brewko, 9mmfu and Dracomet and other players on Friday, March 21st from 3-5pm PST on the Syntax server in Camon Heights Park to chat and celebrate MxO’s 3rd birthday.

WHEN: The MxO Third Anniversary is scheduled to begin on March 20th and conclude on April 3rd

WHERE: TheMatrixOnline.com

There's also an article on WarCry discussing the milestone:

When the celebration is over, players have Update 59 to look forward to. First and foremost, the Smith Virus will be making another appearance in the game until April 3rd. Destroying a copy of Agent Smith will yield a "Smith fragment" that can be exchanged for a stylish in-game T-shirt. In Update 58, SOE added a new free-for-all PvP zone (or 'construct,' in MxO) for players to explore called Datamine. Update 59 will add a data tap luggable which will increase the amount of resources that players can harvest from data nodes in this zone. It's sure to make the zone that much more lucrative and the competition that much more fierce.

For MxO's playerbase, which is composed of hardcore fans from across the Matrix properties (the original trilogy, the Animatrix, and the official comics), the real reason to keep playing is the Continuing Story, which allows players to actively participate in the ongoing development of the Matrix universe. In Update 59, Chapter 10 of the Matrix story will begin. The overall arc has been written by Game Designer Ben Chamberlain (or "Rarebit" in-game) months in advance, but it's fleshed out by live events put on by the volunteer coalition of players called the Live Event Special Interest Group ("LESIG," for short).