Game: Terminator Salvation
Jun. 11, 2009
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Published by:
Equity Games Production, Inc.
Developed by:
GRIN
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Available on:
Playstation 3, Xbox 360
INTRO:
I admit it! I really dug the new Terminator movie. I went in with absolutely
no expectations, and ended up being thoroughly entertained. With that said,
here we are again with another movie tie-in staring us in the face.
Movie tie-ins are usually only okay if you’re lucky (as evidenced by
Wolverine, my last review), and well, you’ll just have to keep reading.
The company line for this bad boy goes a little like this: in
Terminator: Salvation, you are John Connor, a soldier in this
post-apocalyptic world, and it's up to you to lead your squad of loyal
fighters in a desperate battle for survival against the superior forces of
Skynet and its deadly Terminators. Use the environment and objects in it to
provide cover and protection as the T-600 and T-7T shoot relentlessly at you
and your squad from all angles and the lethal Aerostat blasts you from
above. We’ll see about that.
GAMEPLAY:
I can’t come rushing out of the gate singing many praises here, folks. This
game is a pretty lame third person run-n-gun sort of game that just reeks of
being unfinished and isn’t very fun. The whole thing is linear- too linear
in fact, as you’ll often find yourself bumbling around walking into
invisible walls that guide you along. You move, you duck, you shoot, and you
do it again and again and again.
You shoot robots, and when you do, you better get behind cover or you’re dead
(and to be fair, the HUD for the cover system was done really well). Or, you
could just let your squad shoot them (if they could hit anything, ever).
The enemies aren’t very varied; in fact you’ll find yourself squinting to
see differences between some of them. There are about four. You shoot stuff, you
watch a little cutscene, you repeat. And on top of this, loading takes forever,
unacceptable.
The only thing I thought was overly fun about this game was the rail shooting
moments where you’re blazing down a highway blowing stuff up. It breaks up the
monotony. The biggest sin committed by this game is the fact that you could beat
it in about 4 or 5 hours or sooner if you’re better than me (and you are).
Gameplay: 5/10
GRAPHICS:
This game isn’t very pretty; in fact it looks downright poor. You could
mistake it for a PS2 port during some levels. Textures are muddy and
terrible, characters are bland and even the explosions lack any real punch.
Graphics: 5.5/10
AUDIO:
The sound is the best this game has to offer, but it still isn’t very good. The
sound effects are good and the music is decent enough. The voice acting is awful
and forced and just the worst. It’s always a bad sign when no actors will jump
on board.
Audio: 6/10
FINAL VERDICT:
This game is mediocre in almost every way, and that’s being kind. The whole
thing feels rushed, unpolished and unfinished. The biggest crime is that you
could pay full price for what takes you an afternoon to beat. If you can
borrow this from a friend, maybe you’ll want to get to it. If not, stay
away. Insert stupid Arnold reference here.
Final Score: 5/10
