Developer: Probe Software Publisher: Virgin Interactive Released: 1992 Genre: Action
You would think the Terminator license would be host to a legion of kick ass run and gun video games. Yet somehow even though multiple developers tried their hand the majority of the Terminator games have been terrible. While Terminator 2 fared better the original just can’t catch a break. From the NES to the Game Gear nearly every title based on the first movie is bad. The Genesis version is no different. It has its good points but ultimately feels like an incomplete game. Stick with Contra.
Despite that damning first paragraph I was not joking about its few strong points. The first you will notice is the animation. Virgin games and their partners really excelled during the 16-bit era in this area and Terminator is no different. It is not quite rotoscoped but it approaches that fidelity at times. Every action that Kyle Reese takes has many frames, from throwing grenades to pulling his shotgun out of his coat to let off some shots. There are a few that are not as good such as his climbing animations but otherwise it is a treat to see him in action. Sadly the same level of attention is not lavished on the enemies; with so few of them you would expect them to go to town but no dice.
Those same elaborate animations get in the way of gameplay. Every action is slow, from pulling out your gun to fire to jumping. Oddly though Kyle practically slides down ladders. It will make you wish all of your actions had that same pace. The slick animation may be realistic but I wish all of Kyle’s movements had the same briskness. Honestly the game does not get off to a good start. As Kyle Reese you start the game with an infinite supply of grenades and limited bombs. Grenades are tossed overhead style and you spend most of the first level using them. Trying to kill anything without getting hit is a futile exercise but the game at least takes that in to account. If you can tolerate the endless run of Terminators and find the machine gun it becomes better. But not by much.
The game follows the events of the film to a degree (more on that in a second). Kyle Reese starts in the future and must infiltrate a reactor and destroy it to create a diversion long enough to travel into the past. Once in the past you must evade the Terminator in the bar, cops, and gang bangers on your way to meeting Sarah Connor. Your fateful meeting is cut short when the police arrive and toss you both in jail. All hell breaks loose as the Terminator is hot on your trail, leaving you to brave the chaos and rescue Sarah. The finale takes place at Cyberdyne’s factory, where you must evade the Terminator long enough to trick him into a compactor. It sounds thrilling doesn’t it?
Then the game ends. The Terminator is an incredibly short title with only four levels. There is nothing wrong with short games so long as they feel complete. But in this case Terminator feels as though half of the game is missing. For a game that follows the movie so closely it leaves out a great many potential set pieces. Once you learn to work around its control quirks the game can be fun as it does a good job of recreating the best moments of the movie in game form. But it is possible to blast through it in ten minutes or so. It reeks of a rush job which sucks. Seeing the more complete Sega CD version bares that out.
Terminator is not particularly so much as it is frustrating. The slow animations lead to many a cheap hit. These cheap hits come so frequently that every third or fourth enemy drops health items that nearly refill your life bar in one shot. This says that someone recognized the problem but did the bare minimum to fix it. After the first stage every level features enemies such as cops and the Terminator himself who is invincible. After a few seconds they get back up which is incredibly annoying. Even worse enemies respawn almost immediately if you move a few inches. Like I said, you get health packs constantly but it is still annoying. The game may only be ten minutes long but it will probably be the most aggravating ten minutes of your life.
In Closing
The Terminator has its flaws but could have been decent. But with its lacking content it is easily skippable. If you really feel the need to relive the Terminator in game form buy the Sega CD version. The existence of that title makes this one obsolete.
