short and expensive ... but it has its (few) good moments

User Rating: 6 | Terminator Salvation PC
By natasha8384 | Review Date:
If you are a fan of the Terminator games, then by all means get it or rent it, but be aware of that this game is extremely short. Others may skip this game guilt-free altogether (till the price gets much lower). I'm not sure if this is some kind of a trend with Warner Bros. (owner) and GRIN (developer) to publish very short games and to max the price. They also published together Wanted: Weapons of Fate that was also very short and fully priced game. Since already talking about the Wanted WoF, Terminator Salvation tries to play exactly the same as Wanted. However, the mechanics in Wanted, while very similar, are better executed. Terminator, for most part, runs smoothly on GRIN's Diesel engine with better than average results. One noticeable thing is that the environments are very detailed and rendered nicely. The gameplay is OK, but somewhat repetitive and too many times interrupted by numerous cutscenes. It seems we have the usual outcome when the developer/publisher tries to maximize profits and minimize on work (cheap multiplatforming) -- this game probably plays better on consoles, but it looks better on a (newer) PC. One look at the game's video settings will clearly tell you this is a sloppy porting job with minimalistic options for a PC user (brightness and rez only). In short:

Positive:
- graphics: 8.5/10 (some cutscenes don't look good at all)
- sound: 8/10 (I expected just a touch better music score)
- gameplay: 6.5/10 (it's OK, but frequently interrupted by cutscenes and somewhat repetitive)
- combat environments: 9/10 (nicely detailed and varied)
- game mechanics: 7/10 (nice take-cover mechanism, but no crouch, no jump)
- story: movie-based
- action/shooting: non-stop (feels somewhat rushed)
- AI: not bad -- appropriately responds to your movements
- replayability: depends on you, but there is a split-screen co-op feature, so that may enhance some of re-playability potential for some people

Negative:
- reported technical problem during install (install fails; it seems that the retail DVD version is implicated)
- somewhat repetitive corridor-like action in multiple parts
- no manual saves or quick saves
- very console-ish feel, including the typically non-precise, large round reticule designed as a workaround for the imprecision of console controllers
- weapons look nice, but the freakishly big reticule kills any desire to engage in precision shooting on PC
- very expensive at $50 considering the short length (minimalistic content)
- the game setup options definitively geared towards consoles -- e.g., video options has miserable offering of only resolution and brightness
- bizarre reticule float that is hard to control regardless of the mouse sensitivity setting (same as GRIN did in Wanted WoF)
- gameplay frequently and unnecessarily interrupted with cutscenes/cinematics (especially in the beginning)
- length: surprisingly short (maybe 4 - 5 hours depending on your style of play)

To conclude: This game has its few great moments that I haven't mentioned enough and for a Terminator fan this is a must have. The biggest obstacle for recommending this game to others is the cost-to-length/content ratio that is extremely poor. An objective price for this much content would be around $20. The gameplay and mechanics are OK, but for sure it won't make you go WOW. Yet on the positive side, the presentation is very good, but the developer/publisher failed to involve the player into it in a meaningful way. The story itself is good, but again there is a failure in identifying yourself with John Connor during the gameplay -- the cause for all these unfulfilled potential components is most likely a rushed job. Maybe the right wording is that when playing you feel more like a bystander than like the main actor. Personally, I enjoyed the game but it's sad when you consider how much wasted potential (or how much better this game could have been). The game price is a killjoy for right now, so maybe waiting is not a bad idea. Overall score: 5.8/10 (1 point taken away for extremely short content and high price combo).
[rev. 05/27/09]

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