Terminator Salvation Review
By Gaetano Prestia
Terminator Salvation is the official game of the movie of the same name, even though it’s set several years before the film actually takes places. The movie has been heavily criticized for its lack of character development and emotion and while this title is also lacking in those departments, it has some enjoyable aspects that save it from mediocrity. It’s just a real shame that you can finish the game in pretty much the same amount of time it will take you to watch the actual film.
Terminator Salvation has you controlling a Christian Bale-less John Connor as he leads a small contingent of Resistance fighters through the ruins of Los Angeles. The game is set before the film, so John isn’t even remotely near being full-blown leader of the human cause just yet - he is still taking orders and is still fighting under someone else. For most of the 4-hour game, you’ll be moving through heavily linear environments, shooting your way through flying Terminators and heavy Skynet tanks as you try to rescue a group of soldiers who are stranded deep within Skynet territory.
The story itself is pretty barebones and doesn’t really evolve as the game progresses, which is disappointing. You’ll come across several different characters, including a few from the actual film, but chances are you won’t even care about them. Where the story really falls flat is that it doesn’t have any of the emotional relationships that have become so accustomed to Terminator films. In The Terminator we had the relationship between a scared woman and a wounded soldier. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, it was the relationship between a fatherless boy and an emotionless machine. In Terminator 3, the writers tried to make us care about the love story between Katherine Brewser and John Connor, but they failed. But hey, at least they tried. However, with the Terminator Salvation game, there is none of that. It’s pretty much just a shoot-em’ up action title with a basic story. That’s not “Terminator” at all. In a generation where narrative is so important, GRIN has failed to come up with a story that we can care about.
This also effects how the story is told through the cut scenes. It’s obvious that the developer was working within a tough time frame, as some of the cut scenes are lacking significantly. You’ll hear the characters scream something out and you’ll get a quick glimpse of what they’re pointing to, but then suddenly the sequence is over and the gameplay begins. There is one such moment at the start of the game where you’re trying to take down a HK. When you defeat it, one of John’s allies scream out that it’s come crashing down, but you don’t actually see that happen. If John can’t see it, how the hell can they? We just have to assume that it crashed, because there isn’t any dramatic cut scene to let us know.
Thankfully, some of the gameplay elements make up for the lacking story and characters. GRIN seems to have taken inspiration from Gears of War, implementing a run-and-cover gameplay system. As you move through the environments and come across Terminators, you’ll be able to move into cover and tactically shoot down enemies in an all-out combat zone. The game isn’t terribly difficult, but even on the easiest difficulty you’ll have to use your AI controlled friends to take down some of the heavier enemies.
You won’t come across many different Terminators – there are small flying “wasp” machines, small tanks and the bulky T-600s – but the franchise is still well represented. Some machines are harder to take down than others and while the friendly AI isn’t overly intelligent, hanging around your friends and using them as covering fire is a useful tactic when taking on a hoard of near-invincible T-600s.
There are a few weapons at your disposable, from a basic semi-automatic rifle, to a machine gun or a rocket launcher, and each have their own level of damaging effect. A major gripe is that sometimes ammunition is just too available. You will walk into an environment and see full weapons and rounds of ammunition spread all throughout the area, making it practically impossible to run out of ammo. This is disappointing, because the T-600s can be pretty hard to take down, but if you’re packing a grenade launcher and rocket launcher, you don't need to worry because you can just hit them a couple of times and be on your way. Still, the weapon handling is implemented well. The aiming system isn’t perfect but works well for the most part and you can change weapons in the heat of battle by holding the B button and moving the analog stick to the desired weapon.
The most impressive thing about the gameplay is that you actually need to flank most of the Terminators. It’s not a run-and-gun shooter by any means, as you actually have to use your AI allies to take down most of the heavier and packing machines. Some of the battles are actually crafted really well, because the environments offer plenty of different covering options. There is one area in particular where you can run into a car park and take down the machines from the side, while your friends take cover down below and shoot them from the front. GRIN has done a great job of creating the feeling of a deserted and ruined city and turning it into a battlefield.
The enemy AI is surprisingly impressive, especially the T-600s, as most machines will hunt you down and move straight at you at a blistering pace. If you move into an area slowly and take cover quickly, you’ll notice the Terminators are surveying the area for movement. As soon as they notice you, they move towards you, moving in and out of cover as they make their way to you. There are some areas that are quite intense, particular towards the end of the game, as you come up against 20 or so Terminators in a small, confined space.
It’s just a shame that all of this is over in about 4-hours. There really isn’t any excuse whatsoever for making a game this short. Even if there is a co-op mode, which is fun for the most part, there is hardly any replayability value here whatsoever. There isn’t even online co-op. We understand that they had to make the game by a certain time to counter the release of the film, but if you’re charging full price for a title but only providing a limited time of quality gaming time, it’s hard to justify a purchase.
The presentation of Terminator Salvation, from the graphics to the voice-acting and soundtrack, is fairly average. The cut scenes and voice-acting bring the presentation down the most. The city of Los Angeles looks really good in some instances and there are some nice lighting effects. Green bushes infect the city, giving the game a bright yet depressing feel to it as they weave their way over buildings and burnt-out cars.
The Final Verdict
Terminator Salvation is different from most movie-games in that it actually has some really enjoyable gameplay elements. The enemy AI is really tough even on the easiest difficulty and you’ll get some enjoyment out of some of the stages. However, the game is only 4-hours long and has a horrendously executed story. The cut scenes are laughably bad and the terrible voice-acting doesn’t help the cause. It might please die-hard fans of the movie and franchise, but considering its length and poor story, Terminator Salvation is hard to recommend.
Gameplay
7.5/10
There are some really cool elements there and the cover system is actually implemented really well. The enemy AI is tough and the friendly AI does a decent job of helping you in the battlefield.
Graphics
7.0/10
Some nice environments and lighting effects with decent character design. The ruined city of Los Angeles looks good.
Sound
5.5/10
The Terminator theme plays constantly throughout (which isn’t a bad thing). The voice-actors do a terrible job with little to no emotion.
Value
2.0/10
4-hour game with easy achievements and no online co-op, only split-screen.
Overall
5.5/10