Review of Terminator: Salvation

Who knew that a 1980's movie about a killer robot sent back through time to kill a waitress would become a pop culture phenomenon, spawning three sequals, numerous catchphrases, action figures, novels, and of course, video games.However, the terminator universe has never really fared well in video game format, so how does the latest game hold up?Having a lot to live up to, it also has to deal with the ever present curse of being a game based on a film, which gives two strikes against it.However, despite the odds, Terminator Salvation manages to pull through, and while it is not a perfect game, it is surprisingly satisfying...depending on your tastes.

Taking place two years before the events of the film of the same name, Terminator Salvation follows John Conner, famed leader of the resistance...or at least, that's what he's supposed to be.At this point in time, Conner is still a common foot soldier who has yet to embrace his destiny, and is content to run around the wasteland that was Los Angeles, blasting away at killer robots.But one day, he gets a radio call from a few soldiers trapped behind Skynet lines, cut off and begging for help.Defying his superiors (and maybe common sense), Conner takes off through the Los Angeles wasteland to save his fellow Resistance fighters, and along the way, learning about the value of friendship, love, and peppering killer robots with high powered rockets.

Terminator Salvation is your standard third person shooter.You run around levels as John, armed with a variety of death dealing weaponry, while shooting at a multitude of homicidal robots who have nothing better to do in life then rip you to shreds (or punch you to death).Things get interesting though, thanks to Salvation's most innovative gameplay mechanic...cover.Though John is one tough cookie, even he can't take much damage from Skynet firepower, so standing out in the open while shooting at the opposition will end up with him lying on the ground with numerous bloody holes in his body.Thankfully, there's a simple way to avoid taking all that damage, and that's through the use of cover.As you travel through the post apocalyptic landscape, you'll find countless waist high obstacles to duck behind, whether it be cars, concrete pillars, oil drums, etc.While hidden behind these obstacles, you'll be safe from attack, as well as being able to move about to other forms of cover.Thankfully, this mechanic works very well.Want to move to another barrier?Simply creep to the edge of your current one, press the analog stick left or right, click a button when the semi-circle appears on screen, and you'll leap, slide, and otherwise slickly move from barrier to barrier.This system is well designed, easy to use, and is very easy to master.In no time at all you'll be flanking enemies, sliding around and firing off rounds, at times feeling like a real soldier, and feeling the flush of victory when you sucessfully defeat an enemy group.

Though you'll be spending most of your time fighting on foot, Salvation mixes things up a bit with the occasional on rail sequence, during which you'll be in a moving vehicle armed with a very big gun, tasked with blasting away at your robotic pursuers.While you never drive a vehicle during these sequences, it does offer a nice chance of pace and easily manages a great sense of speed.But whether on foot or on vehicle, Salvation never lacks in the action department, offering dozens of spectacular set pieces that rival, and even surpass, the action scenes from the film.In fact, we've never seen this much action in any of the films, and if you love action, shooting things, running, and riding in vehicles, then you'll have a blast with Salvation.

You'll be doing a lot of fighting and cover leaping throughout the game, but while it may be simple, you'll be doing it in some really slick environments.Easily Salvation's best aspect, the game is a graphical powerhouse, packing in huge, lavishly detailed post apocalyptic landscapes, ranging from plant infested suburbs, to crumbling skyscraper canyons, to wreckage lined freeways.Each aspect of the game is gorgeous and beautiful to look at, especially if you're a fan of the post apocalyptic look of crumbling buildings and general destruction.In fact, at some points, the graphics are so good that they match the level of photorealistic.The opening cinematic, for example, at times looks as though it was live action.The audio, while not quite matching the quality of the visuals, still does a good job.The voice acting of the cast is good all around, including a few actors from the film reprising their roles (Christian Bale not included), though the music occasionaly gets very repetitive, due to the same, short pieces repeated over and over.

But while Salvation works on the basic levels of fun, great graphics and an immersive world, it has a few things going against it.Primarily it's length.Salvation is a short game.A VERY short game.From start to finish, on medium difficulty, Salvation should take you no more then four to five hours to finish.That's an astonishingly short amount of time for a big budget game...heck, any game in general.Before you know it, the game is over and you're watching the credits roll by, wondering if that's really it.Sadly, it is, and unfortunatly, there's not really any rewards for your efforts.You do get some Playstation trophies and the ability to go back and play any level you want, but there are no cheat codes, no unlockable costumes or skins (I want to play as AHNOLD!) for you to earn.You get the main game, and that's it.

While the main game is fun, and I do like to go back and play it again, it will not be to everyone's taste, due to the game being, at heart, very simplistic.There's really no depth here...you spend the game running around, taking cover, flanking robots and shooting said robots until the game is finished.There are no items for you to pick up (except new guns and ammo), no interacting with the environment, and there are only four enemy types, hovering bots, spider bots, T-600's, Flying Hunter Killers, and the motorcycle bots seen in the film.Those are the only enemies you'll fight during the game, blasting them over and over again and again.Each bot is weak against a specific type of ammo, but that's it as far as gameplay depth goes.

Storywise, there isn't all that much to go on.The story is straightforward, with no twists or turns, and while it does show Conner slowly growing into a leader, most people will likely be disapointed at how thin the story is, especially when characters die and you don't feel anything for them.There are a few glitches to be found, such as robots occasionally getting stuck inside walls, the game occasionaly freezing, textures vanishing and replaced by textureless black surfaces, and at one point my teammates, who are supposed to be invincible (commonly standing point blank in front of a T-600 and getting blasted with mini gun rounds for minutes on end), were killed, which led me to run around a level all by my lonesome, while still hearing the characters talk, even though they were dead, and they respawned at the end of the level!Even more bizzare, at one point you're fighting two semi-disguised T-600's who have the ability to punch you to death through concrete barriers, making it impossible to take cover from them.I was also very disapointed in the lack of a final boss fight, which would have been awesome, especially had it been the giant harvester bot.

There is also another factor that must be taken into account, and that is the game's price.As of this writing, Salvation goes for an asking price of almost sixty dollars, which is far too high for a game this short and simplistic.With five hours of gameplay, you'd be paying about twelve dollars for each hour of gameplay, and that's far too much.Because of that, I cannot, in good faith, recommend this game for a purchuse.I would recommend waiting until the price drops to within the ten to twenty dollar range, as twenty is the maximum I would personally spend.

In the end, is Salvation worth a play? Some will no doubt find the very simple gameplay to be dull and repetitive, but I personally had no problem with it due to how challenging Salvation is.For while you do fight the same robots over and over again, it's never easy.You're often bombarded by multiple robots, and trying to take them all out can be a seriously challenging endevour, considering how easy it is to die.So while the basic gameplay mechanics never change, the game is never dull, nor is it a walk in the park.It has simple, yet effective gameplay that takes place in gorgeous environments, and allows you to shoot a nearly endless stream of killer robots with lots of guns.Like the B-movie franchise that spawned it, Salvation is essentially a B game at heart.It's flashy, action packed, and doesn't require a whole lot of brain power.Some will like that, and some won't.

While Salvation is not worth a buy until its price goes down, people who love the film franchise, enjoy the post apocalyptic genre and like simple, yet challenging gameplay will most likely enjoy Terminator Salvation.I easily recommend it is a rental, and as a buy...eventually.



Click Here to see more reviews about: Terminator: Salvation