Post by JC on Nov 6, 2004 2:06:07 GMT
I first got a glimpse of this game when I recieved t3 rise of machines for my ps2 and even though I really disliked the game T3: ROTM I loved the little demo of the redemption game... but alas as what happens with most demos is that they end up nothing like the final product and are terrible.
so not seeing any reviews for it or any advertising I went into my local gamestation browsing and found it on the gamecube brand new for £20. since I was bored I thought. ah why not. and I got it. just expecting a cheap game to keep my jollys high until xmas I wasnt expecting much given the past history of atari's games and the attrocious T3 movie tie-ins... so in the disk went and I fired it up...
OMG!!!!
the opening FMV sets the scene perfectly. its very well done, the colouring is spot on and the music fits the action flawlessly. it shows the events just before the TX goes back in time and the events shortly after the T850 kills john in the future. it then has one hell of an opening sequence where the base is under attack. you get yourself a gun and are ordered to take out a flying HK. then you get a res evil 3rd person view which takes some getting used to but its playable.
and then you leave the base and begin the game... WOW is all I can say.
the enviroment is evel level based, your at one end the onbjective is at the other (kind like sonic adventure 2) and you can use a combnation of weapons and physical attacks to take out other terminators and special moves to, but a great feature is the interactive environment. you can pull up street signs and use them as weapons as well as scaffolding and other ruins to hit the enemies with. and you can even use defeated terminators as weapons!
generally with most post apocalypic games the visuals are dull and grey is the colour of choice. well its sorta true in this one, the future levels are very dark and grey but every so often something happens like the sun will break through the black nuclear dust clouds. but once it gets to the present day levels the colouring would rival some games designed to be driving games only.
Now why did I just say driving games? well imagine the gameplay of driver meeting GTA3 set in the Terminator 3 world. you can be on foot but in order to progress you'll need to hotwire or hijack other cars and stuff. theres tons of car like things around so far ive driven one of those gun things in the third film (with the machine guns) but with laser rifles. a tech com truck with rpg and machine gun, a helicopter wth minigun (like in t2) and even one of those huge gian HK tank thinks from Terminator 1 and 2. theres tons more also that are just awsome.
One of the great features about this game is that as you take damage arnold also takes damage as it goes on, even if you collect life (in the form of electrical charges) he still keeps the damage and will suffer more. untill he is the actuall endoskelleton wearing bits of leftover clothing, whats more great is that your look is carried over into the fmv's and cut scenes also!
Levels are challenging and you will have to think rather then go in guns blazing. but this doesnt make it a mindless shooter or slow paced puzzle game. the driving sections are fast and frantic with enemies comming at you from all over the place whereas the none driving sections are great as the emeies come out of nowhere (like in the films) and hand to hand combat works unlike other attempts to combine hand to hand combat with driving games (thinks driver 3)
this game is great, its so much fun and if your a fan of the films is a must, the plot follows t3 as best it can but also adds in some of the scenes they cut from the film including the unshot scene where the terminator gets sent back to the future (you know the tunnel in t3 where the TX sticks to the wall? well that is the original time machine that skynet uses!) and has to find a way back to the present day to save connor and kate as they try to enter crystal peak base. and it has some movie fmvs which are ok but not perfect.
as great as this game is it has a few gripes... mainly the driving sections.
ok its no gran tourismo, well its no gta drivng, but its not terrible you can live with it it just can be annoying on turning.
Controlls are ok, but they can be improved or maybe its just the hideious gamecubes pad design?
the atuo lock works however it can get very confused on mutliple target situations for instance I have to target the engines of the big plane thing but the auto lock tagrets the road....
the combo fighting system is a bit buggy, its a case of button base and prey you get the desired effect.
for some reason there only ever seems to be 3 different enemies per level. the t900 endos, a flying ship and a laser tank thing... then the next level has a t900 endo a flying ship and something else. and a boss fight at the end. this isnt dreadful but its a shame we cant drive more than one ground unit per level.
But the bottom line is that this is a great game, it is a big improvement over the official movie tie in and the terrible online shooter they made. however a problem is that with its release matching the release of GTA san andreas and a few other big games e.g. sega superstars, its going to be lost amongst them. but I implore you to get this game it is lots of fun for the ammount of money it is.
this review was on the gamecube version. but I understand it is multi format except for the pc, so you have no excuse!
so not seeing any reviews for it or any advertising I went into my local gamestation browsing and found it on the gamecube brand new for £20. since I was bored I thought. ah why not. and I got it. just expecting a cheap game to keep my jollys high until xmas I wasnt expecting much given the past history of atari's games and the attrocious T3 movie tie-ins... so in the disk went and I fired it up...
OMG!!!!
the opening FMV sets the scene perfectly. its very well done, the colouring is spot on and the music fits the action flawlessly. it shows the events just before the TX goes back in time and the events shortly after the T850 kills john in the future. it then has one hell of an opening sequence where the base is under attack. you get yourself a gun and are ordered to take out a flying HK. then you get a res evil 3rd person view which takes some getting used to but its playable.
and then you leave the base and begin the game... WOW is all I can say.
the enviroment is evel level based, your at one end the onbjective is at the other (kind like sonic adventure 2) and you can use a combnation of weapons and physical attacks to take out other terminators and special moves to, but a great feature is the interactive environment. you can pull up street signs and use them as weapons as well as scaffolding and other ruins to hit the enemies with. and you can even use defeated terminators as weapons!
generally with most post apocalypic games the visuals are dull and grey is the colour of choice. well its sorta true in this one, the future levels are very dark and grey but every so often something happens like the sun will break through the black nuclear dust clouds. but once it gets to the present day levels the colouring would rival some games designed to be driving games only.
Now why did I just say driving games? well imagine the gameplay of driver meeting GTA3 set in the Terminator 3 world. you can be on foot but in order to progress you'll need to hotwire or hijack other cars and stuff. theres tons of car like things around so far ive driven one of those gun things in the third film (with the machine guns) but with laser rifles. a tech com truck with rpg and machine gun, a helicopter wth minigun (like in t2) and even one of those huge gian HK tank thinks from Terminator 1 and 2. theres tons more also that are just awsome.
One of the great features about this game is that as you take damage arnold also takes damage as it goes on, even if you collect life (in the form of electrical charges) he still keeps the damage and will suffer more. untill he is the actuall endoskelleton wearing bits of leftover clothing, whats more great is that your look is carried over into the fmv's and cut scenes also!
Levels are challenging and you will have to think rather then go in guns blazing. but this doesnt make it a mindless shooter or slow paced puzzle game. the driving sections are fast and frantic with enemies comming at you from all over the place whereas the none driving sections are great as the emeies come out of nowhere (like in the films) and hand to hand combat works unlike other attempts to combine hand to hand combat with driving games (thinks driver 3)
this game is great, its so much fun and if your a fan of the films is a must, the plot follows t3 as best it can but also adds in some of the scenes they cut from the film including the unshot scene where the terminator gets sent back to the future (you know the tunnel in t3 where the TX sticks to the wall? well that is the original time machine that skynet uses!) and has to find a way back to the present day to save connor and kate as they try to enter crystal peak base. and it has some movie fmvs which are ok but not perfect.
as great as this game is it has a few gripes... mainly the driving sections.
ok its no gran tourismo, well its no gta drivng, but its not terrible you can live with it it just can be annoying on turning.
Controlls are ok, but they can be improved or maybe its just the hideious gamecubes pad design?
the atuo lock works however it can get very confused on mutliple target situations for instance I have to target the engines of the big plane thing but the auto lock tagrets the road....
the combo fighting system is a bit buggy, its a case of button base and prey you get the desired effect.
for some reason there only ever seems to be 3 different enemies per level. the t900 endos, a flying ship and a laser tank thing... then the next level has a t900 endo a flying ship and something else. and a boss fight at the end. this isnt dreadful but its a shame we cant drive more than one ground unit per level.
But the bottom line is that this is a great game, it is a big improvement over the official movie tie in and the terrible online shooter they made. however a problem is that with its release matching the release of GTA san andreas and a few other big games e.g. sega superstars, its going to be lost amongst them. but I implore you to get this game it is lots of fun for the ammount of money it is.
this review was on the gamecube version. but I understand it is multi format except for the pc, so you have no excuse!
