Terminator: Salvation - Another Movie Tie-In Failure

Written by: Eric Stallsworth • Edited by: J. F. Amprimoz
Published Jun 26, 2009 • Related Guides: Gamers | Movie

While the movie itself is decent enough, the game by the same name is unfortunately what gamers have come to expect - an abysmal failure. Movie tie-in games have historically been bad with very few exceptions, and Terminator: Salvation is no exception.

Killing A Story
Rating

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It's been argued that the storyline in the movie is less than stellar. The game also lacks anything truly concrete or compelling in its storyline, making it even less appealing. The game starts out a couple years before the movie timeline. The whole Terminator series of movies have a defined apocalyptic feel to them, but this title just comes out as bland and uninteresting. There are a ton of cutscenes, which might be great for a movie but is terrible for a game. Gamers like to actually play games, not watch them.

Robot Hunting Gone Wrong
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After about five minutes of the game, you

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notice the repetive nature of enemies and their tactics. There are basically three ways to kill enemies, and its very quickly obvious which one is useful for which. There are some sequences with vehicles where you have tons of ammo, but they aren't as fun as they could be. You are too important to drive the vehicles, which is a wasted opportunity. Targetting using the vehicle weapon is completely useless, since you're stuck with constant adjustment of the reticle despite the fact that the weapon is physically stationary.

There are no hidden objectives, no secret finds, and ammo and weapons can be easily found thanks to their green outlines (which shine even through walls). Finally, you're able to run through the whole game in one very short sitting. Sure, you can replay it on a harder setting, but why bother. Oh, and let's not mention the multiplayer split screen nightmare you can attempt to play. Have we gone back in time to split screens or do the developers just not know how to adequately manage what every other FPS is doing?

Visuals and Sounds Of The Apocalypse
Rating

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The graphics in this game are a mixed bag. Some of it is decent enough, but then some areas leave you wanting to tone down the brightness. If you're looking for lots of choices in resolution, forget it. The character models aren't very impressive, merely taking their cues from previous FPS games evidently. There is also the occasional blurriness, as if the game is trying to show some form of chaotic vision. Since this is a brand new game on a major franchise, we should be expecting a lot more. Unfortunately, this title falls well short of being highly impressive in the graphics department.

As for sounds, there's not much to say. Sure, rockets use the general rocket sound found in most games. Explosions sound like explosions. Are they breathtaking or demanding of a surround sound system? Not really. If you're only sporting two cheap speakers without a sub-woofer, you're probably hearing everything okay.

Final Overview
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This game is a failure, in so many ways. The graphics and sounds are merely average, the storyline is not compelling, and the gameplay is absolutely horrendous. With the long (and successful) history of the movies, the expectation here is high and Terminator: Salvation just fails to achieve it. Unfortunately, gamers have long been used to this type of abuse from movie tie-ins and this one exactly fits that bill. Avoid purchasing this one (or even renting it) unless you're either a huge fan or a glutton for punishment.

Terminator: Salvation - Another Movie Tie-In Failure

Killing A StoryRating

Robot Hunting Gone WrongRating

Visuals and Sounds Of The ApocalypseRating

Final OverviewRating

Killing A Story
Rating

Robot Hunting Gone Wrong
Rating

Visuals and Sounds Of The Apocalypse
Rating

Final Overview
Rating