“I’ll be back” famous words from the most infamous cyborg in movie history, three films and several games later T3 : The Redemption is released. You play the role of Arnie, after being captured by the resistance and reprogrammed not to terminate. The game is based loosely around the third film but includes a lot of history from the previous two Terminator films. T3 : The Redemption is a third person shooter, where you can wander on foot, take control of vehicles, a multi level blaster that is set against the clock. After the previous incarnations of The Terminator games can Atari do any better?

Gameplay:

Christmas must be coming, another movie licensed game has been released, so here we have T3: The Redemption, a game loosely based on the last Terminator film but includes a nice medley of the three films. You play Arnie, the original Terminator who is captured reprogrammed and then sent on his merry way to save John Connor and blast anything that gets in his way. The official line is that you travel through the Terminator history and once again save mankind.

Although T3 initially starts as just another third person shooter, there are three different core styles of game play which are, third person action, driving and rail shooting. All of these styles are mixed together quite well and these are fairly well implemented although somewhat simplistically over the 14 levels on offer.

With the shooting everything you see approach employed so ruthlessly in this game, the game designers have included an automated targeting system which I am sure was a very good idea at the time but tends to remove a lot of the skill element of the game, turning shooting into more of a hold the trigger down and blast away kind of experience knowing you will hit anything and everything.

The controls are simple enough to grasp, with vehicle control a breeze and based on the Halo style of control, so aiming with one thumb and moving the vehicle with the other. The vehicle control is an on rails system rather than free roaming; you follow the path that has been laid down for you. Learning the combos available to Arnie is just a matter of memorization, however once mastered you will be able to tear through town as only Arnie can.

T3: The Redemption also includes a co-operative multiplayer mode in which players play the roles of soldiers’ part of a human resistance fending off SkyNet machines. This multiplayer mode is basically a handful of on-rails missions, but despite not being all that lengthy, this co-op mode is extremely entertaining for what it is.

Graphics:

The first thing that immediately strikes you about this game is simply the number of cut sequences you sit through before the game actually begins. I suppose with this being a movie tie in they need to get some moneys worth from the license. So after the cut scenes, it’s back to the third person shooter perspective. There are some neat graphical touches showing the amount of damage, this is clearly identifiable as Arnie gets some BIG holes blown into his clothes and himself. The environment you play in is very linear, as the game forces you along a pre- defined path to the end of the level, but the scenery along the way is well rendered, from a dirt road to the ruins of a city the game does a good job of pulling you into the world of the future.

The terminators that you encounter are portrayed well and are suitably robotic in their movement and animation. The vehicles positively fly across the environment even with a lot of laser fire and explosions going on there are no noticeable drops in frames.

Sound:

This game borrows heavily from the films for its sound; the orchestral atmosphere from the films is present which draws you nicely into the game. The in game effects are authentic and satisfying with things exploding in style when you destroy them. The added presence of Arnie and his voice over adds a cool feel to the game. Rather strangely Arnie has only done half of the dialogue for the game, winning the Electoral race for California appeared to have got in the way. To say that the actor who was hired to be a sound-alike for Arnie was below par is a huge understatement and this really does detract from the sound, as he really sounds nothing like Arnie and this really does blemish the otherwise excellent audio aspect of the game.

Longevity:

The life span of this game is quite limited, with the linear progression of the game and the relatively low difficulty level caused by the auto targeting system. The game will last until the next movie tie in game is released or the next third person shooter, which should be around next Thursday. The linear plot and lack of free roaming on the 14 levels really does limit what could have been a good game, so another Terminator game that fails to live up its promise. The game has very limited longevity as the time needed to complete the game is relatively short at about 10- 15 hours, there is nothing in the game to keep you coming back to play again and again, once it is done it is done.

Round up:

Overall this game is above average stocking filler, ideal Christmas present from an Aunt, a nice Aunt who knows you have an Xbox but does not play one herself. T3 : The Redemption has some genuinely neat touches but is still a disappointment. The quality of the cut scenes compared to the in game graphics are poor and of varied quality. Considering the possibilities that there are for the Terminator franchise, Atari need to do better. How long will gamers continue to buy games because they are based on a film franchise? There is a lot of competition in this genre, although there is nothing fundamentally wrong with T3, there is nothing original about it that makes is stand out from the crowd.

In the end T3 manages to provide 14 levels of limited variety, although the levels are rather short they are quite enjoyable. This game is being released as a budget title, making it worth a look if you are a Terminator fan or after a third person shooter. Try this game first as a rental

Pros:

• Arnie
  
• Good graphics
  

  Cons:
  

  • Linear progression
    
  • Auto targeting system