With the Terminator Salvation movie fast approaching, games developers GRIN are about to release their videogame adaptation. Adaptations of movie material within the gaming world have been steadily increasing in quality recently, first with Riddick: Dark Athena and now with Wolverine Origins. Terminator Salvation hopes to emulate this success, bringing us the war ravaged environment of the future war, controlling John Conner in his battle against the machines.
The game actually takes place two years before the events of the movie, chronicling the events leading up to the film as Connor fights his way to the rank of leading officer in mankind's struggle against Skynet. The game acts as a great prequel to the film, showing how Conner comes to meet the characters he knows in the film, along with establishing himself as a leader of men.
The gameplay itself is geared towards tactical assault, revolving around outflanking and careful maneuvers, along with extensive use of cover. Many enemies that are nearly impenetrable from the front can sometimes be easily obliterated from behind, and this is accomplished by using mechanics such as sliding from cover to cover and using blind fire to draw attention. Inflicting a certain amount of damage against your cyborg enemies will reveal inner circuitry, which if targeted skilfully can deliver crippling or finishing blows. The wide variety of weapons available provide various tactical options, ranging from accurate sniper fire to destructive RPG missiles. The addition of multiplayer rounds off an impressive looking game.
The release of Terminator Salvation just before the film is an interesting and potentially hugely marketable move, but time will tell whether the game will stand alone as a great adaptation, or like many past attempts will fail to satisfy the consumers.
