Seventeen words. That's all that Arnold Schwarzenegger needed to utter in the first Terminator to become famous. The first two sentences in this paragraph total seventeen words. It just goes to show you that sometimes, less is more. Unfortunately, this is not true with the latest game set in the Terminator world, Terminator Salvation. In this case, less is less.
Terminator Salvation is based on the movie of the same name, though it is set a couple years before the events of the film. The story in the game is mediocre at best, detailing a rescue mission deep in the heart ofSkynet controlled territory. Christian Bales likeness was not used for the game, nor was his voice. This would hardly be an issue if the storytelling was good, but it isn't. Thecutscenes are unimaginative, with lots of screen tearing. There are far too many head scratching moments when plot events come out of nowhere. If you are looking for a nicebackstory detailing John Connor's ascension, it's not here.
What about the gameplay, then? Terminator Salvation is a third person cover-based shooter, in the style of Gears of War. In fact, there are many similarities between the two games. The shattered ruins of Los Angeles would fit right in as a Gears map. The cover system borrows from Gears as well, but features one innovation that I liked. A HUD allows you to quickly and easily switch to new cover. An icon pops up, you choose which direction you want to sneak over to, and that's it. The cover system itself is very solid and is one of the game's highlights.
Throughout the course of the on-foot sections of the game, you fight a handful of different enemies. Flying wasps are extremely annoying, and difficult to kill unless you have the shotgun. Spiders, highly armored and deadly, are extremely tough but have an exposed battery pack on the backside. Upright humanoid Terminators are the most difficult to defeat, wading through the carnage right toward you until destroyed. A handful of rubber-masked "skin job" Terminators round out the mix of opponents There is anocassional Hunter/Killer aircraft, particularly during on the rails vehicle levels, but the lack of variety in opponents is underwhelming.
On to the co-op, then. Terminator Salvation supports two player local splitscreen play. One person plays as John Connor, and the other is Blair, a female squadmate. A few computer controlled allies keep you headed in the right direction, but are not much help in a fight. Opportunities for teamwork are everywhere, and in this aspect, Terminator Salvation is enjoyable. Managing ammo and weapons between the two of you allows for some good interaction. One example is fighting the Spiders, which are literally everywhere. They are almost impervious to bullets from the front, requiring one of your short supply of rockets or pipe bombs. However, if one player can distract a Spider for a while, the other can sneak around and hit the exposed battery pack, conserving life and ammo. It doesn't always work smoothly, and the Spiders will ping-pong back and forth between targets, but it's still a good feeling when you take one down. If something goes wrong and a player dies, their partner can revive them at any time. Overall, the co-op feel is fairly strong.
Unfortunately, the whole Terminator Salvation experience is quite short. There are nine chapters, and the last half especially are extremely short. I would estimate that the first five missions took us maybe three hours, and that is with several restarts. The last four (unchallenging) chapters were cleared in record time, just over an hour, since we never died at all. The end battle is one of the most disappointing of any game, ever. An inexplicable plot twist disables all the Terminators, and you just have to walk out of the building. That is all: there's no timer or anything. It's like playingPac -man, but without the ghosts chasing you! There's no big bad boss at the end; the huge harvester you may have seen in the trailers makes only a brief appearance as a background object. Why they didn't bring it back for the final fight makes zero sense to me.
The brevity, odd plot points, and lack of online co-op all point to a rush job. There is the germ of a solid title here, but it is so underdeveloped that it is clear the game was pushed to shelves to coincide with the movie. If there had been more content, four-player co-op, and online support, the game might be a worthwhile purchase. Unless you are a hardcore fan of the Terminator franchise, I'd suggest renting only. Unlike Arnold's short but sweet performance in the first film, the Terminator Salvation game's length leaves you wanting much more.