We’ve seen the ads. We’ve watched the teasers. We played the game and won… but was it a hollow victory?
It’s an okay game, the graphics are good (pretty swish in parts even) but it’s not just graphics you want in a game,- you want a challenge.
Most Terminator Fans will know that the original concept for the Terminator Salvation game was to be based around Blair Williams (Moon Bloodgood), her struggle as part of the Resistance; fighting against the machines and SkyNet to help save mankind from the doom of harvesting humans to flesh out the bones of the big metal beast.
And yet it’s not; for their troubles the game manufacturer behind Terminator Salvation got a BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) offer. They, despite previous intentions, got to make a game and an animated series (Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series) – woohoo!- for them at least. It just didn’t sit right with me though; swirling around in the pit of my stomach.
No, no pat on the back for you, you ate all the cookies when it should only have been one (skewed analogy for the treasures gained by the studio from both the game and the Machinima series). I didn’t want scraps pieced together because the best bits had to be spread out a tad.
I wanted to fight a Harvester in some kind of boss battle, I wanted danger and risk. I wanted hours upon hours of gameplay nicely spaced out by peeing and eating doughnuts. And why the f*ck not?
Terminator Salvation: The Game is Rushed but also Feels Incomplete
Like the movie, the game was not whole, it was simply a taster.
It was a smidge pricey upon its release, which now, looking back on it, was a tad smug and boastful. It took me around four hours to complete which just seemed to mock me with its lies, ie, “This is John Connor” but it really really wasn’t. Here and there I ran shooting things and getting irritated with Blair and that other woman – ‘Angie‘ (voiced by Rose McGowan). Then along came Barnes and… It simply didn’t get better.
There was no huge inconceivable mission to undertake, and you could feel it sucking happiness straight from your marrow as you strove to make the best of it. Money may be the source of all evil but someone somewhere out there is having a giggle-fit rolling around in some filthy moola right now.
SUMMARY:
You ever feel like you’ve only been given half of the sandwich you ordered?
For XBOX users this is easy gaming points, though with NO EXTRAS, NO UNLOCKABLES, NO PLAY AS A TERMINATOR, NO DEPTH. This is Gears of War with Terminators. End of.
Sorry Grin, we love the gameplay but hate the rush job. Bring us another Terminator game not endorsed as part of a movie release and make it bigger, longer, with more story, more heart and you may just get a great review….try harder next time eh?