Terminator Salvation - The Videogame

true                                  <object height="380" width="425"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /> <param name="src" value="/video.swf?video=/videos/converted/1243456105J5EoHrZOCl.flv" /> <param name="name" value="video" /> <param name="align" value="middle" /><embed src="/video.swf?video=/videos/converted/1243456105J5EoHrZOCl.flv" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="380" width="425"></embed> </object>                                                                                 Check out the video review. Movie tie-ins have a long history of being disappointments. Dating back to E.T. on the Atari (and the supposed landfill full of unpurchased copies of the game), it's become general knowledge that games based on films are usually of extremely poor quality. Even this generation we've had Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Wall-E, all of which were based on good movies, all of which sucked. A few titles have broken that mold, including the recently released <a href="/game/x_men_origins_wolverine">X-Men Origins: Wolverine</a>, but the rule generally stands. With the Hollywood release of the most recent Terminator movie, so came the announcement of Terminator Salvation the video game. After GRIN's pseudo-success in making Wanted: Weapons of Fate slightly better than the average movie tie-in, the scene seemed ripe for the company to at least repeat the same with the Terminator franchise, and to prove for the second time this year that movie tie-ins don't need to be failures. Is it worth joining the resistance, or should gamers resist picking it up altogether? Players assume the role of John Connor, one of the leaders of the resistance, in events that serve as a prequel to the film bearing the same name. Fans of the film will quickly realize that this John Connor isn't actually voiced by Christian Bale, nor does he share any likeness to the character. While Common and Moon Bloodgood both signed on to have their likenesses and voices in the game, Christian Bale declined. As a result, the John Connor in the game looks more like Mass Effect's Commander Shepard than he does Christian Bale. To compensate, GRIN enlisted Rose McGowan to voice a new character, Angie Salter, which seems to be a fair trade-off.  <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1241569683Cssp47PAkd.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1241569683Cssp47PAkd.jpg" height="348" alt="" width="620" /></a> But that's not important - it might actually work to the game's benefit. In an effort to avoid the usual issues associated with movie tie-ins, GRIN attempted to pull the game away from the film as much as possible. The year is 2016, twelve years after "Judgment Day," when robotic forces led by the computer system Skynet began a war against mankind that wiped out most of the population. While it's in our future, it's actually two years before the events in the movie, meaning the developers didn't need to loosely adapt the film's scenes to work for a video game. Because of this choice, the game's story is fairly easy to follow, but also a bit simplistic. It finds itself struggling to find relevance or any importance, and with the exception of Connor recruiting Barnes midway through the game, nothing really happens, and there are many missed opportunities to further bridge the twelve year gap between films. After receiving a distress call from a team lead by David Weston, the ever vigilant Connor goes off mission, refusing to condemn another human to his death. With Blair Williams, controlled by either the computer or a second player, Connor begins a several day journey into the Skynet compound where Weston's squad is holding out. Online multiplayer was apparently planned, but cut, meaning the only way to play with friends is by sitting next to them and using split-screen. It's the best way to play, but still doesn't save the game from its many problems. Terminator Salvation's nine missions can be completed in just under four hours, and that time isn't terribly engrossing. Those few hours are spent fighting extremely repetitive battles against only a small handful of enemies, broken up by the occasional on-rails segment. <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1241569648S25KlhphzZ.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1241569648S25KlhphzZ.jpg" height="348" alt="" width="620" /></a> Nothing about the game stands out as being entirely fun, and the same battles that take place in the first mission are repeated dozens of times by the last, with only a slight increase in difficulty. Anyone who has played Gears of War will recognize the basic mechanics, which involve attempting to flank enemies while running between cover. The game's cover system is much more fluid than Gears' and more closely mirrors the one found in Wanted: Weapons of Fate, with a few minor tweaks for the better. When behind cover, pressing forward brings up an indicator showing the different directions Connor can move, and by tapping a button the character seamlessly vaults to the location, speeding up gameplay. Although this is a good idea in theory, it doesn't seem to always work, and there are many times where cover can't be taken behind objects, seemingly without reason. Apparently Skynet hasn't grasped the concept of creating armor to cover their soldier's rears, and most of them can be taken down fairly easily with a few well-aimed shots to the back. This means each fight plays out the same way, as Connor tries to work his way behind an enemy to shoot it in the back until it explodes. Luckily, teammate AI is usually fairly adequate, and distracting the enemies so the other squad members can take down the opponent is a valid strategy. This mechanic becomes overplayed quickly, making the game's short campaign drag on. <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1241569789TIZ0JV0Dcf.jpg"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/gamervision_production/1241569789TIZ0JV0Dcf.jpg" height="348" alt="" width="620" /></a> Nevertheless, Terminator Salvation is a fine looking game, with fairly good scripting and voice acting despite a weak plot. It's a shame the game was on a tight schedue, because there are plenty of things GRIN could have done to improve the gameplay. While it's advertised proudly on the back of the box that the game features destructible environments, the changes are never more than cosmetic, amounting to little more than concrete chipping off of pillars. Being able to collapse parts of destroyed buildings onto enemies makes more sense and would better tie it into the movie, but never becomes anything more than a dream. Beside the short length, there's really nothing terribly wrong with Terminator Salvation. It has some glitches from time to time, the gameplay isn't even remotely varied, and there's simply nothing to make the game worth paying attention to. The repetitive missions and lack of any replayability can make the few short hours spent in 2016 barely tolerable, and don't justify any more than a rental from anyone. While it's far from the worst movie tie-in this generation, it does little to change the stigma, and is best left untouched on store shelves. <img src="/contributed/1239819862Bhc2x2btRr.jpg" height="125" alt="" width="245" /> <a href="http://www.gamerankings.com/"><img src="/contributed/12049090913D6uenyIJz.jpg" height="42" alt="" width="111" /></a><a href="http://www.metacritic.com/games"><img src="/contributed/1204909164Gepk74pXtB.jpg" height="51" alt="" width="154" /></a> review

2009-05-27T16:13:53-04:00

8969

3617

8804

2009-06-03T06:25:13-04:00

2009-05-27T16:13:53-04:00

12097

5.5

terminator_salvation_xbox_360 published Video Review: Come With Me If You Want Mediocrity Terminator Salvation - The Videogame - Xbox 360

2009-06-03T06:25:13-04:00

328