T3: Rise of the Machines
Even the title of “Governator” couldn’t save this game
Tags: T3: Rise of the Machines Categories: GBA Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jan 1st, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| T3: Rise of the Machines (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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By now, I’m sure you’re tired of reading Terminator reviews that reference Schwarzenegger’s current position of governor of California, but being that I currently live in that state, I simply couldn’t help it. The star of this ridiculously bad game is now the governor of my State. Here’s hoping it’s not some kind of sign. Oh, and that remark couldn’t possibly have surprised you. A game based on one of the “Big summer movies”, bad? How did that happen? Well, let me tell you.
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The Game Boy Advance version of Terminator 3 has you playing the role of Ah-nuld’s T-800 character, following the events in and surrounding the story. The game takes the form of an isometric third-person shooter, with players blasting through hordes of robotic enemies, playing through repetitive, linear levels accomplishing inventive goals like “Shoot something” and “Get the key”. Occasionally, you’ll make use of “Terminator Vision”, which works exactly like the “Radar Sense” from the Daredevil GBA game, revealing hidden things in the environment, which can be interesting at times.
In your battles, you’ll ultimately attempt to achieve the goal of protecting John Connor from yet another time-travelling attempt on his life. You’ll have to be tough, though. The odds are stacked against you. The gameplay is too.
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Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines has some of the worst hit detection I’ve ever seen in a game. Firing a bullet that actually hits the enemy is a challenge in and of itself, as you have to be lined up just right in order for it to connect. The controls are miserable too, and in addition to being extremely stiff, have a problem with moving and firing at the same time. Oh, you can do it, but you have to be moving first, and you’d better not stop shooting, or you’ll be stuck in place when you start again.
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The default gun you begin the game with has a painfully slow fire rate, and coupled with the problems of hit detection and aiming, you’l find yourself either taking a few hits to shoot down your opponents once you find a position that lines up with them, or running around like an idiot to avoid gunfire while getting a shot off every now and then, which makes battles with even the weakest opponents last far too long. What’s worse, while you can only fire in eight directions, your enemies seem capable of firing bullets in any direction. The game tries to give the player a little freedom of movement by allowing them to hit the L button to switch between Run, Walk (Which is just like Run but a lot slower), and Strafe mode, which has the T-800 facing completely random directions as he walks. Obviously, with Run mode being the only useful one of the three, this feature is worthless.
The game’s poor control doesn’t stop there, either. Throughout the game, you’ll have two attacks at your disposal at any given time: a gun (The A button) and an explosive or punch attack (B button). You’ll get many variations to switch between, and with your default gun so ridiculously bad, you’ll find this very necessary. However, the way you switch weapons couldn’t be more cumbersome. To do this, you must hold down the R button, and press right to select your gun or left to select your secondary weapon. Then, while still holding down R, press up and down to shuffle through the selections one at a time. All this happens while the battle rages around you, leaving you defenseless while you try and switch your punch to a grenade.
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Needless to say, every facet of the control combines to make the game very frustrating, and it’s not saved by the graphics or sound, either. While the sound settles for being mostly mediocre, the graphics are embarassing, with boring, grungy levels and stiff-looking characters contrasted by cartoony looking gunshots and explosions. The T-800 looks particularly bad, hardly recognizable as Schwarzenegger, and with absolutely terrible animation. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines for Game Boy Advance easily dethrones Enter the Matrix for the title of “Most embarassingly crappy-looking ladder shimmy ever”.
I suppose people like us who appreciate good videogames should be thankful Arnold’s got a job as governor now. It should keep him busy enough that he won’t be able to appear in another crappy game like this.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
| + "Terminator-vision" kinda' cool | 3.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Horrible controls - Horrible hit detection - Horrible graphis |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| The movie's DVD extras make a better videogame than this does. | |
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Tags: T3: Rise of the Machines
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jan 1st, 2004 and is filed under GBA Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
