Terminator

We sit down and review Terminator: Resistance. Another entry into the dark and foreboding future story. Here is our review of Terminator: Resistance

There has been another resurgence of the Terminator with a new film that hit screens not too long ago and also a new video game that also hit digital stores recently too. Both semi-linked to each other via the main lore of the franchise, but for now we are going to follow with the title that was made by Teyon and out there on the PC currently. A game we had the pleasure of sitting down and spending some time with and are now ready to unleash our thoughts on. Here is our review for Terminator: Resistance and if it should be treasured like T2 or trashed like Genisys…

Story

The year is 2028 and Judgement Day went down as it was supposed to back in the film that held the name. Humanity has been attacked and brought close to extinction and small cells of humanity are still standing up to the machine scourge out there. This is where we enter with Jacob Rivers. The sole survivor of a Resistance group out of Pasadena. He now needs to be up to the task to inform the higher-ups what happened and survive as he is now third on the termination list set forth by SkyNet. That is where all the whacky Terminator fun gets to kick off.

Hated

To kick things off here for Terminator: Resistance, one of the bigger gripes I have for the game here has to be the blandness of the story we have here. While it is not udder trash, it did not do much to keep me excited or interested and needing to know more. It all follows along the events of the first two films but it failed to add a substantial bit to the overall franchise. That is not the big selling point of Terminator: Resistance here, but it did little to have me care about completing events or missions besides completing the game. I am not sure what I was looking for here, but what we have just felt like a going through the motions kind of thing for the franchise that was have seen many times over already.

Another weird thing that seemed to happen in the game that was a bit jarring was the loading of enemies and other features in the game that did not blend in well. One of the shining examples I came across was one of the first times you have to sneak past a few Terminators in some halls. You are pretty much required to use the in-game goggles that can scan for them through the environment, but the NPCs don't spawn until almost the last moment and without much warning. Every time it happened in Terminator: Resistance, I found myself killed and needing to replay the section. Why even force these sections if the mechanics do not support it perfectly?

Building off that, when these sections loaded and worked correctly in Terminator, they worked so well to build the tension and fear the films did. The T-800s are the first of the machines that you are not able to kill and you need to play stealthy. Sadly, later on this functionality is removed by offering up a one-hit-kill option. Sure, you have to have a special weapon to do so that can be limited, but with the number of crafting items out there, I never found myself without. Why remove the biggest terror part of Terminator: Resistance when it worked so well? I guess I could just play without using them, but then I'm leaving mechanics on the table.

Loved

Right off the bat as it was just mentioned, I loved the few sections where Terminator: Resistance amped up the tension and terror that the T-800 was supposed to bring in the first instance. When it worked perfectly, I found myself holding my breath and moving slowly to make sure I did not get caught and terminated. It was a great shake-up after having the basic run-and-gun mechanics that was the basics of an FPS Terminator game. There was a great balance until the above bits happened and it was pretty much removed to advance the other mechanics of the game.

While the visuals of Terminator: Resistance are not the best out there, the team did an amazing job getting the future of this world set up and the level design laid out. There was nothing overly remarkable or outstanding, but never did I feel like I had no clue where to go or how to progress. Something that many other titles do not get done right and this was something I generally find a special hate for. In Terminator, it all worked and flowed just to move the set pieces and still keep the setting and feel without being forced. Read that as no random invisible walls or dumb layouts just because this is a video game.

Last up, there are a few mini-games mixed into Terminator: Resistance as one would expect for lock picking and hacking out there. Both of which were an extra bit of fun mixed in and a bit different than usual. The lock picking still a bit more of the pixel hunt where you need to turn two "pins" before forcing the door open. The hacking, is more like a Frogger style game. Both are another great break from the standard FPS and shooting down Terminators that are still the basics of it all. Again, not that it is a bad thing here. It is just a thing to know.

Overview

There is no doubt that Terminator: Resistance does not stand out as the next big FPS title to own. It also does not do much in the way of adding a huge story bit to the overall franchise. Take that into account here before diving into it all. The game is still good in general and offers up a fun interpretation of how the world would progress in this setting and is not something you will be bored with out of the gate. Just be sure to know that Terminator: Resistance is not going to be winning many of the big awards out there.

I give Terminator: Resistance 23 Upgrade Chips on the Upgrade Chip scale.

Terminator: Resistance was developed by Teyon and published by Reef Entertainment for the PC on November 15^th, 2019 and the PS4 and Xbox One on January 7^th, 2020. A PC copy of the game was provided by the publisher for reviewing purposes.