Terminator 3: The Redemption

"The Governator Saves the Future - Again!"

Any experienced gamer is probably well aware that playing movie based games can be like traversing a minefield. More often than not, licensed games are mere shadows of the movies that inspired them. In addition, the content of these games is only connected to the movies by way of the characters present (look at any game based off a Disney movie).

Like every good movie game, Redemption doesn't just rehash the plot of the movie verbatim, it expands on the story. The game starts with in the future with the capture of the Terminator. Within the first five minutes players will learn that John Conner has been killed and the Terminator must go back to ensure he survives. Due to some ambiguity in the scene, it's unclear why saving Connor involves going back to 2003 instead of a few minutes ago, but it's an easily overlooked oddity. From there, the game details how the Terminator fights his way to a Skynet base and sends himself back in time along with the rest of the behind the scenes action that wasn't mentioned in the movie.

Playing as the Terminator isn't as ridiculously awesome as one would anticipate, and that can safely be attributed to two things. The first is that the game is comprised mainly of driving missions. As odd as it may sound, these actually mesh with the story quite well. For instance, one mission takes place at roughly the same time Conner is at the veterinarian's office in the movie. This sequence has the Terminator chasing the T-X down a desert roadway, trying to get ahead in order to keep the nasty fem-bot from taking out Connor.

The vehicle missions come in two varieties – rail based shooters and actual driving levels. The rail based shooter segments are very simplistic and typically only involve killing everything that comes into view before they kill you. These are typically action packed, but they aren't all that common which is a blessing given their overly repetitive nature.

Levels that hand the controls over to the player are quite a bit better. These missions have players driving a variety of vehicles such as motorcycles, cars and some futuristic rides. No matter what the vehicle is, it always has some sort of weapon to fight with, be it a mounted cannon on some of the future rides or just the Terminator sticking his arm out the window and wielding a shotgun. Surprisingly, aiming rarely becomes a problem even if the vehicle is bouncing around like a Chihuahua on speed. And seeing that driving is such an integral part of the game it's fortunate that the vehicles are easy to control.

The final type of mission (the rarest) is the on-foot missions. In these players control the Terminator directly while mowing down countless enemies with boring gunplay and basic melee combat. There really isn't much to say about these, other than they're boring and there aren't many of them.

Regardless of whether the mission takes place on foot or in a vehicle, the Terminator has one big ability at his disposal – Scan Vision. The trademark red robo-vision from the movies is here and it allows the Terminator to lay down the law by improving accuracy and providing vehicle data. However, it only lasts a few seconds at the maximum. It can be upgraded to allow for longer usage and improved accuracy by spending “terabytes” which are awarded upon completing a level.

There is one major thing that should be said about Redemption – it is brutally hard. Due to a combination of persistent enemies, no checkpoints and in some cases, time limits the game often becomes a test of patience. Players should expect to retry each and every level multiple times and in some extreme cases a level that should only take a few minutes can stretch to and beyond the hour mark. The easily frustrated would do well to avoid this game altogether.

When it comes to graphics, Redemption is only “so-so”. Levels that take place in the future are predictably ugly, probably because of that whole nuclear holocaust thing (and robots generally don't care for aesthetics anyway). Expect a bland color palette and flat textures. Levels that take place in the past are quite a bit better with a lot more variation on color and better textures. Character and car models are decent as well. However, it's probably best to keep in mind that this game came out around five years ago.

As far as audio goes, the only thing that even needs to be mentioned is the guy who voices the Terminator (no, it isn't Schwarzenegger). At times he does a passable imitation of the man, and others he comes off like the budget replacement that he is. Some people will quickly grow tired of the goofy one-liners, but I can't help but laugh every time I hear his voice.

THE VERDICT
As far as Terminator games go, a person could do far worse than this. While the vehicular approach is initially odd, the strange choice seems to have paid off. However, the sometimes insane difficulty will likely put off casual players meaning this is a title best enjoyed by those looking for a challenge.

HIGHS
- Smooth driving controls
- Expands on the movie

LOWS
- Merciless difficulty level
- No mid-mission checkpoints
- On-foot missions

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/09

Game Release: Terminator 3: The Redemption (US, 09/02/04)