First and foremost Terminator 3: The Redemption is easily one of the best Terminator games for a long time. It combines a blend of third-person action, driving and on-rail shooting, all in one game. While not standing out in any particular way, and having its own set of problems, Terminator 3: The Redemption is vastly superior to Rise of the Machines, which is good news if you’re a Terminator fan.
In the future, there will be robots
Terminator 3: The Redemption follows somewhat closely to the plot in the Terminator 3 film. The future is bleak; the year is 2032 and man-kind is at war with machines. In an attempt for the machines to gain control in the future war, they send an advance cybernetic warrior, the T-X to the past, to assassinate John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance against the machines. You play as the ultimate killing machine, model 101 T-850 Terminator, a machine captured by the human resistance and reprogrammed to go back in time and protect John Connor. Interesting enough, Terminator 3: The Redemption adds to the plot of the Terminator 3 movie storyline, no doubt to give the game more substance. Although some of these plot lines are rather unconvincing, it is a plus for those who have already seen the movie.
As stated, Terminator 3: The Redemption is essentially a hybrid of gaming genres. The third-person action scenes are no doubt the weakest in the game, but at the same time, not completely unsubstantial. Similarly to other third-person shooters you move with analog stick, while the other one is used to aim your weapon. Moving your Terminator around is quite slow and clunky, granted he is a machine, but you can’t even strafe and fire, leaving you a sitting duck. This isn’t a major problem however, as standing still and firing generally gets the job done, as you blast enemy T-900 and other perilous machines away. Close combat fighting is also enabled in these third-person sequences and by getting close to an enemy machine, you can punch, head butt, throw and blast them to pieces with a combination of buttons. This fighting system is very basic, and in just about all instances “button mashing” will allow you to defeat you foes in a one string combo.
The environment in the third-person sections has some nice interactivity. You can pick up sign posts and clobber your enemies before throwing it and impaling another one. Gun placements can also be found scattered about the place and when manned offer a great boost to firepower at your disposal.
It’s gaining on us
The driving sections of the game are found in just about all levels in Terminator 3: The Redemption. With something that makes up the core gameplay of the game, (the driving sequences are the most prominent throughout the game) you would hope it’s implemented properly. Thankfully the driving sections promote a great sense of speed and action. Most of the time you will be controlling the vehicle and firing with its weapons, which requires you to use both analog sticks at once, something which is hard to do at first, but as time goes on gets easier. The driving mechanics are quite simple; there are no crash physics or the like, (if you hit something you slow down or stop) and your limited to accelerating, braking and power sliding. A feature reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto will also appear, because if you get close enough to a another vehicle you can simply abandon the one your riding and leap onto the other one to take control. This allows some variety to the driving, and most vehicles handle differently or have different weapons so it makes it worthwhile to switch.
Many driving sections will have you chasing and struggling to keep up with a significant enemy vehicle. This puts an emphasis on speed, and fast paced action. While you can follow the main track in these racing sections, to succeed in catching your main enemy you will need to find shortcuts scattered about the place, which will cut time off the normal route. These segments can become frustratingly difficult however, as you have to play through them time after time to discover and memorize the shortcuts just so you can complete the level. Throughout the course of the game, there are other objectives to complete while driving and they vary from ramming a SWAT van to knock officers off, to power sliding around corners to throw the evil T-X off your car.
Asta la vista baby
The final genre squeezed into the game is on-rail shooting action. In these portions all you have to do, is point and shoot down anything that moves. This really only requires quick reflexes so people who obtain this skill will be set for these sections. During the game your Terminator can also use the famous red “scan vision” as seen in all Terminator movies. Conveniently for gameplay reasons, you can only use this vision for short periods of time, due to some malfunction that occurred when you where reprogrammed. This vision not only lets everything be seen more clearly, but allows you to do more damage, as the vision supposedly increases the Terminator’s accuracy.
Another key gameplay element evident in the game is the ability to earn “terabytes” as you play through levels to upgrade yourself. At the end of each level you will earn terabytes based on level-completion time, enemies killed, secrets found and so forth. These terabytes can then be used to upgrade your Terminator in such areas as scan mode length and scan mode damage.
Terminator 3: The Redemption includes an extra side game, which can be played by a single player or two players co-operatively. It is essentially the same as the on-rail shooter parts of the main game, except you take on a role of a human resistance fighter in the future, and eliminate targets on screen. While this mode helps add more content to the game it’s pretty basic and you tire from it fast, still it might bring some memories of the old Terminator 2: Arcade game, and gives something for you and a mate to do.
Future = Apoplectic War Zone
The game boasts some detailed visuals, especially the character models. The Terminator looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger just like on the big screen, same with the other character models representing each character as they did in the film. The parts of the game played in the future show an apoplectic war zone, with crumbled building, roads and rubble, and portray exactly the kind of terrible future humanity is headed for. Overall the graphics are surprisingly solid for most of the part, although you will not find the aesthetic detail of a high standard. The game also shows a lot of footage from the Terminator 3 film and incorporates it throughout the games storyline.
The sound is sufficient, and the sound of gunfire or your human comrades shouting is quite compelling. Arnold Schwarzenegger lends his voice for the script, so the Terminator sounds just like Arnold from the movies. As you play the game you can make the Terminator say “one-liners” at the press of a button and there is something satisfying about blowing something big up and saying “Terminated.”
Redemption
Terminator 3: The Redemption while nothing particularly special is definitely the best Terminator game for a long time. With its mix of genres, and great action sequences, Terminator 3: The Redemption is a game that should be checked out, especially if you’re a Terminator fan.
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