Terminator 3: The Redemption Screenshots   The Final Say! Gameplay 7.9 Graphics 8.5 Sound 8.0 Value 7.1 Terminator 3: The Redemption  - reviewed by Tory Favro  Review Date: September 2004 Review Score 7.8/10 Not Based on an Average  Distributed By: Atari

"Finally a decent Terminator game!" You know what? I reckon there hasn't been a good game in the Terminator series since they did that first person shooter title back in about 96. I can't remember who put it out, but it was a hell of a lot of fun and a genuinely good game. Well Arnie's back after a lot of disappointment and surprisingly he does kick considerable arse. It's the alternate view to the movie of sorts and also taking you behind the scenes at the reprogramming of the T800 (Arnie) in the future before he's sent back to protect the present day John Connor. For those of you who didn't watch the movie (and shame on you), *SPOILER ALERT* Arnie is caught by the resistance in the future and sent back to present day once again to protect John Connor from from the new model T Series killer from the future. She's cunning ruthless and made of a special alloy that is virtually indestructible. Not to mention the fact that she looks damn hot ;). Basically the story line gets you controlling Arnie and making your way through an entertaining although fairly linear game. Graphically this game impresses with some realistic looking terminators and a great looking character model of Arnie and the TX model. The first thing you'll notice is that the T800 takes damage immediately with the most noticeable effect being that his face and clothing get partially blown away to reveal the glowing red eye and other damage that you've seen him take during the movie. Speaking of damage, when the T800 is hit he loses power (health) and can get more by approaching devices that are spewing out raw current for a quick recharge. During the game there is a chance to upgrade the T800 as you go along to enhance his vision types etc. For the most part, these enhancements are purely cosmetic and you can get through the game with minimal utilisation of these extra goodies. What we have here is a fun shoot em up combined with the T800's targeting abilities which I do have to say are very nice. There are a number of driving parts to the game as well and even though you can maneuver the vehicle a fair bit, you are still essentially on rails. This is true to the on foot part of the game as well with most of the action keeping you in a 'tunnel' and the big fella unable to go back in some parts over obstacles he should easily be able to negotiate. That's videogames though! For those of you who wish to get more out of the game, remember you can pilot any vehicle including Skynet ones which makes for some fun experiences indeed. Players should enjoy the opportunity to revisit key parts of the movie here with T800 protecting John Conner throughout. The T800 is a little bit lumbersome to move about as you could imagine with an exoskeleton like that, and the feel is pretty damn authentic, I'll give them that. He does move around really well and the targeting reticule that you use to aim is pretty easy to control and a big forgiving too. There are two modes of fire and you can even get Arnie to wisecrack a little bit by pushing the L2 button on the controller. Voice acting is well done and considering the fact that its not actually the governor, I was very impressed. There isn't much in this game to test the grey matter and really you couldn't expect there to be. You play the role of a walking killing machine that is virtually indestructible and has a great aim with a weapon, what more could you ask for? Some are going to be annoyed though with the total lack of puzzles to solve.

Despite this, you'll find that T3 Redemption is going to be a hard game to beat, I had to constantly go back and repeat levels when I screwed up and yes despite the fact that I said that you play the part of an indestructible killing machine, you can simply run out of power or time on an objective and be forced to relive the whole experience. The replay element of the game has a real arcade feel to it, however it's in this way that the game plays as well as it does, I believe.

Audio throughout the title is fitting and in the mood of the movies. Music does the trick nicely and weapons have that satisfying grunt that players will be hoping for. There are sequences of footage from the Terminator 3 movie that can be accessed at special parts of the game and that are just played during others. The downside to this is that they are pretty badly compressed when compared to the great job the programmers have done with textures and framerates throughout the game never seeming to lose a beat. If they had opened up the fantastic looking maps a bit more for exploration, I would have been really pleased as you are going to be stunned at the level of detail of LA, especially if you have seen the movie. It looks just as it did and then some, amazing work guys!

This is a game that is going to impress fans of the movies and provide a casual distraction for those who want a gaming sensation over an intense weekend of playing it. Unfortunately once you have finished it, there is not much reason to go back and play it again so the longevity of the title is a bit hurt by this. There is a fun little co-op mode where you and a mate can help the resistance by shooting things down for Arnie and Co. however other than that I think you'll find that once it's over, it's over.

It's nice to see a game that is very true to the film and this is a real credit to the team as sometimes game adaptations from the movies suck to be quite blunt about it. This game certainly doesn't and although seeming to miss a bit of the heart of the movies will be a lot of fun for all who play. Good stuff.

- Tory Favro