Not even Christian Bale’s presence could’ve saved this video game adaptation of the popular film franchise. That’s right; Christian Bale – the star of the summer blockbuster – isn’t even in said video game title. What else went wrong? Let’s take a deeper look at another poor video game based on the Terminator series, titled Terminator Salvation. John Connor is even more devoid of life as he’s been replaced by a voice-actor who doesn’t a candle to Christian Bale’s representation of the haunted character. Reportedly, Bale refused to lend his likeness and voice to the game, and he was rightful in doing so since the adaptation isn’t anywhere to the level of quality that is found in the first two films of the franchise. Sure, Rose McGowan, Moon Bloodgood, and rapper Common lend their voices, but what good is a game when you can’t play with the lead character from the film?
Among the largest faults is that Terminator Salvation lasts only a few short hours. Not to argue that short games have no replay value, but Terminator Salvation gives you no reason to go back through the action title. After four to five hours, the game will be completed and there’s no plea from the title to play through it again unless you want a friend to jump in with you or for the easy achievements. Yes, friends are able to play cooperatively with you through your short journey through a grim look at the future of mankind. The catch is that your friends can only assist you on your warpath to eliminate Skynet via split-screen only. There’s no online cooperative mode to speak of, so you best find a competent friend to play with from your very own living room. Set two years before the recent film release, Terminator Salvation puts you in the shoes of John Connor, the prophetic savior of mankind. Connor must go rogue to save his captured buddies from the vile robots as his resistance crew won’t stretch their necks out to save a few when they have the thoughts of the many on their mind.
Riddled with bad cut-scenes and clichéd dialogue, Terminator Salvation has a storyline that will give you a headache trying to figure out why the creators made it so simple and straightforward. For the combat, don’t expect to be wowed by intense boss fights or climatic moments. Sure, the cover system is proficient and properly works, but this isn’t enough to save the title. Majority of the time, you have to find the weak spot of an enemy and expose it as much as you can. Even with the enemy AI ramped up to give you an enthralling ride, this won’t keep the player coming back for more since the storyline and replay value falls short of anything noteworthy. Heck, playing by yourself is a pain at times due to the shallow nature of your allies’ AI – they are often sitting ducks begging to be shot at. Wrapping up this miniature review for a miniature game, Terminator Salvation is only worth a weekend rental if you have a few friends coming over to play cooperative with. If that isn’t the case, then it’s best to avoid putting down your greenbacks on such a short title with little to no replay value.
