We all very familiar with the Terminator movie series which launched the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger and caused millions of us to try our own version of Arnie’s accent and one-liners at home.
It’s thanks to the success of these movies that spin-off games were cranked out in the multitude, so much so that there’s far too many of them to go through every single one. That’s why we’ve put together a small collection of what we consider to be some of the best ones to try out if you have an emulator handy.
1: T2: The Arcade Cabinet Game (also released on consoles)
Launched in 1991 by Midway this brilliant cabinet game was the epitome of light-gun shooters. Set in the post-apocalyptic future it had two players controlling two large guns as they blasted away approaching Terminators.
It was your standard, run-of-the-mill rail shooter which came with high production value and has been touted by many in the gaming community as the precursor to the multiplier light-gun game since it was the first of its kind to incorporate more than one gun per cabinet.
2: The Terminator (DOS)
Launched in 1990 this was a rather ambitious move by Bethesda. Before they became popular for their hit titles like Skyrim or the Fallout series, they first cut their teeth with the DOS version of a Terminator game.
Set in LA, this title blended a unique variant of 2D and 3D elements across a six-mile wide city. Players were tasked with either defending Sarah Connor or playing in the perspective of the Terminator as you tried to hunt her down.
With a unique mechanic that allowed you to scan people and other objects in the environment, this game was ahead of its time.
3: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
This game is perhaps the only Terminator game to have sustained a three console port, with a Gameboy, NES and SNES version popping up.
Launched in 1992, each one had varying degrees of graphics but involved the same gameplay elements and story as players were tasked with guiding Arnie’s T-800 to victory in this 2D side-scroller.
4: The Terminator: SkyNET
The second outing of Bethesda into the Terminator franchise this FPS incorporated the new (at the time) Quake engine and put you in the shoes of a Terminator as you blasted your way through the metallic ranks of the SkyNet horde.
It was also the first Terminator game to incorporate a multiplayer mode which allows players to play as either humans or the unstoppable Cyborgs.
5: Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Another outing by Bethesda, launched on Xbox and PS2 in 2003, this game was widely panned by critics. However it’s since gathered quite a cult following as one of the ‘so bad it’s good’ kind of games.
Players were put in the shoes of Arnie’s iconic T-800 as they followed the storyline from the third Terminator movie. The aim of the game is to stop the T-X from killing John Connor and prevent the human race from rebelling in the future. This game doesn’t fit to Bingo sites fans tastes as it requires long sessions of finger destroying button-mashing with unforgiving quick-time-events that can often result in destroyed controllers and holes in walls.
So that’s our top five Terminator games, it’s a small collection of the absolutely massive library of games which now sport the title. If you’re going to try out a Terminator game, you’d be better off starting with one of our recommendations first to ease you into it.
We will do an ultimate definitive top ten in the future once we see what the new Terminator: Genisys game has to offer next year.
Tell us your favorite games, the mighty T3: The Redemption? maybe Future Shock? Comment below to show your support for your favorite Terminator games and we’ll count up the votes.