Terminator 2: Judgment Day

The Good
The best thing in the game is probably that it's based on the blockbuster Arnie flick and shares some of it's genius to a certain degree. Everybody knows the plot of this classic so there's no point in re-telling it, you play everybody's favorite Terminator, the T-800 (aka Arnold) as he tries to save John Connor from the T-1000 terminator that's after him. The gameplay alternates between one-on-one beat 'em up fighting sequences between you and the T-1000 based on some of the movie locations, and a couple of top-down driving/shooting sequences that mimick the movie's chase scenes with a series of puzzle-like bonus stages thrown in the middle that have you repairing Arnie's face and arm for extra points and health.

The use of the source material is rather good and the game is filled with movie-sanctioned looks and sounds from the clanging "Terminator 2" metal plates in the begining to a collection of small but serviceable cutscenes ripped right out off the movie.... well, that's about it!

The Bad
As far as movie-licensed rip-offs go T2 got really shafted here. This has got to be one of the lamest movie-based games ever released, with the possible exception of MIB's pathetic excuse for a game. As mentioned above the game is merely a collection of different mini-sequences with your knowledge of the movie's plot as the only glue holding everything together, a clear sign of the "let's cash in quick with the T-mania" spirit behind this game.

The gameplay sequences are dull and forgettable, the one-on-one fight sequences are slow and stiff and provide as much fun as driving nails through your nose. The top-down chase sequences are actually nicer as you have to contend with more in the way of challenges, for instance in the first one you have two energy bars, one for Arnie that gets depleted everytime you crash, and another for John which gets depleted by the hits from the chasing T-1000, so you have to be constantly looking out for both things. Actually a rather smart way to bring back to life the spectacular chases from the film, but unfortunately they are too short and simple, a problem faced by the entire package that ends up confirming everyone's suspicions about the nature behind this rip off.

The Bottom Line
Arnie deserved better for sure. If you want your share of T2-related gaming goodness stick to the arcade shooting game, much more amusing, challenging and detailed in it's reformulation of the movie's action sequences.

Only for collectors of everything that's Ah-nold related.