Terminator Salvation Review (PS3, Xbox 360) By Sayed Islam Published: 06/11/09 PrintEmail
In an effort to coincide with the release of the big budget blockbuster film, video game developer GRIN wanted to capitalize on this golden opportunity with the release of Terminator Salvation. Nine out of ten times, video games inspired by films make an unbearable and banal experience. Regrettably, Terminator Salvation falls into the majority of the crowd. The storyline revolves around the same protagonist (John Conner) seen in previous Terminator movies, and it chronicles his battles while he was a novice. This tale transpires in the year 2016, and the events happen in between the events of Terminator 3 and the actual movie itself Terminator Salvation. Mr. Connor is on a reconnaissance mission to discern and rescue his cronies from the nefarious faction called Skynet. He is caught in the midst of a raucous war against the machines. That is it; that is the entire plot. As a matter of fact, the entire story does almost nothing to draw you into the Terminator mystique.
At its core, the gameplay is a dreadful third person shooter. There is a combination of both third person shooting and rail shooting. The rail shooting segments take place in vehicles like cars and motorized bikes. Gamers can easily cruise right through this nine chapter game in one day. Along the way, there are frivolous in game cut scenes that add little to the overarching atmosphere. This is further exacerbated by the unwatchable load times. Albeit there is a split screen cooperative multiplayer mode, the lack of an online cooperative mode is a glaring omission. What kind of ludicrousness is this? If that was not awful enough, then brace yourself for more. The computer ally artificial intelligence is lackluster, and that is just being generous. Since the machines are able to swarm you from multiple directions with ease at such an alarming rate, you would think your comrade would be at least somewhat astute. Instead, your computer buddy will incessantly fire inaccurately. Undoubtedly, this will lead to you performing all of the heavy lifting because your partner is dead weight. Without a doubt, the best aspect of the gameplay is the unique cover schematic. Rather than having a prototypical cover system that allows you to plant your back against the wall and remain stagnant, Connor can instinctively move from cover to cover. There is a radial dial than comes on the screen, and you can select from a variety of options. Each selection will lead to a different piece of cover on the battlefield. Weapons are nothing out of the ordinary. Assault rifles, rocket propelled grenades, pipe bombs, grenades, and shotguns are all part of the equation. Foes range from machinelike crabs or spiders to aircrafts.
The visuals have its fair share of pros and cons; the machines never look as menacing as the terminators in the films. Even their intimidating red eyes are uninspiring. Two characters that do reprise their roles from the film are Moon Bloodgood (plays the role of Blair Williams) and Common (plays the role of Barnes). While Common and Bloodgood appear strikingly similar to their real life counterparts, John Connor looks like a poorly pixilated figure. There is no resemblance to Christian Bale; nonetheless, I have no gripes with Blair Williams accentuating her cleavage during conversations. Also, some of the animations are stiff (especially the ground machines in particular). However, the machines are not stiff in the sense that they are robotic. They are stiff in the sense that they seem to be sliding rather than moving, and some of the characters are as emotionless as the machines.
The audio is also problematic. Christian Bale does not lend his voice to portray John Conner. Nevertheless, some relatively unknown person plays Connor. Sound effects are average, yet there is the notorious Terminator theme song from the movies.
Overall, Terminator Salvation is yet another unsuccessful attempt at a developer trying to be beneficiaries of a movie. It is best to terminate this game with an advantageously thrown pipe bomb.
Art direction 4 The visuals have its fair share of pros and cons; the machines never look as menacing as the terminators in the films. Even their intimidating red eyes are uninspiring. Two characters that do reprise their roles from the film are Moon Bloodgood (plays the role of Blair Williams) and Common (plays the role of Barnes). While Common and Bloodgood appear strikingly similar to their real life counterparts, John Connor looks like a poorly pixilated figure. There is no resemblance to Christian Bale; nonetheless, I have no gripes with Blair Williams accentuating her cleavage during conversations. Also, some of the animations are stiff (especially the ground machines in particular). However, the machines are not stiff in the sense that they are robotic. They are stiff in the sense that they seem to be sliding rather than moving, and some of the characters are as emotionless as the machines. Audio 6 The audio is also problematic. Christian Bale does not lend his voice to portray John Conner. Nevertheless, some relatively unknown person plays Connor. Sound effects are average, yet there is the notorious Terminator theme song from the movies. Gameplay 5 At its core, the gameplay is a dreadful third person shooter. Presentation 5 The entire story does almost nothing to draw you into the Terminator mystique. Replay Value 5 Albeit there is a split screen cooperative multiplayer mode, the lack of an online cooperative mode is a glaring omission. What kind of ludicrousness is this? Final verdict 5 out of 10
In an effort to coincide with the release of the big budget blockbuster film, video game developer GRIN wanted to capitalize on this golden opportunity with the release of Terminator Salvation. Nine out of ten times, video games inspired by films make an unbearable and banal experience. Regrettably, Terminator Salvation falls into the majority of the crowd. The storyline revolves around the same protagonist (John Conner) seen in previous Terminator movies, and it chronicles his battles while he was a novice. This tale transpires in the year 2016, and the events happen in between the events of Terminator 3 and the actual movie itself Terminator Salvation. Mr. Connor is on a reconnaissance mission to discern and rescue his cronies from the nefarious faction called Skynet. He is caught in the midst of a raucous war against the machines. That is it; that is the entire plot. As a matter of fact, the entire story does almost nothing to draw you into the Terminator mystique. 
