The Terminator scores 7/10 in the verdict of The Games Market editorial team.
Once Upon a Time
The Terminator
by Simon Larocca·December 15, 2024
Non si can talk about Terminator without hearing in your head the rhythmic drumming of the film’s musical theme, as dark as it is compelling in its evocative crescendo.
Anyone who loves science fiction with urban elements and dystopian retrovisions knows very well how seminal James Cameron's film was, catalyzing the attention of enthusiasts, and therefore also of video game players.
Virgin Games seized the opportunity, so to speak, given that almost eight years passed after the theatrical release, by packaging for Sega Mega Drive (but not only) the pixel adaptation of the grand movie with Schwarzy.
Ed it is precisely the face of Arnold Schwarzenegger that stands out on the game’s home screen, with a prominent jaw and sunglasses with a purple reflection that betrays the cybernetic nature of his character, the game’s main enemy and who, as in the, or rather in the films, will do everything possible to eliminate the poor Sarah Connor.
La plot entirely mirrors the events narrated on film: in the future Skynet, the artificial intelligence that self-evolved following its creation by human hands, has taken control of the planet, turning machines into powerful and almost invulnerable human-flesh-killing soldiers: the cans, as those in the Resistance call them, a small band of men and women who manage to send back into the past a promising young soldier, namely Kyle Reese, to protect the one who will one day give birth to John Connor, the heroic leader of the rebels and whom Skynet wants to eliminate.
Come?
Ovviamente sending back in time a T-101, the deadliest Terminator in existence and that by killing Sarah Connor before she becomes pregnant will thus put an end to a war still in the balance.
Il gioco therefore sees us play the role of Reese, through a series of horizontally scrolling levels for most of the title, and it is needless to emphasize that we are talking about a full-fledged shooter: we will begin our adventure in the Los Angeles of the future, a 2029 that thirty years ago perhaps seemed very far away but which today gives us a bit of the shivers, and then transfer our hero to 1984.
I have always found the scenarios of the metropolis shredded by the cybernetic apocalypse much more inspired than those of the levels set in the past; however, the gameplay is quite fresh and the controls respond well thanks to the use of the famous "aerodynamic" joypad of the beloved Mega Drive, a truly wonderful machine.
The graphical rendering of the mecha tracked vehicles guided by Skynet is extremely accurate and so are their movements, just as airplanes and helicopters appear fluid and with a level of detail that still amazes me today.
The game "worlds" are not many, to tell the truth, and in fact perhaps its most obvious flaw would be precisely its longevity, if we were to analyze The Terminator through the eyes of a modern player. I emphasized "would be" not by chance: concepts like memory cards or saves in general were almost completely unknown in those years, consequently playing a video game on a home console mainly meant embarking on gameplay runs whose reason for being was contained in two distinct moments, namely when we turned on the console and when, unfortunately, we had to turn it off.
It goes without saying, then, that games like this were widely appreciated in this respect because they allowed players, after numerous sessions and countless deaths, to experience a priceless sense of satisfaction after being finished off.
O better, to stay on theme: finished.
7
Pro
For those who have loved and still love the saga, an unmissable must-have that will unlock a thousand memories
Urban sci-fi atmospheres permeate the entire game, brought to life by the Mega Drive graphics.
Facing a Terminator is always the right thing to do
Contro
A title that does not fully exploit the power of the Mega Drive and adds nothing more to the film’s plot, with levels that are not very original, although they are consistent with the movie.
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
Simon Larocca
Mi chiamo Simon Larocca, e sono un videogiocatore, collezionista e amante della cultura pop in tutte le sue forme. Vado al cinema ogni volta che posso, leggo da quando porto gli occhiali, quindi da sempre, e ho la passione per lo storytelling in tutte le sue forme, così dirompente da farla diventare una professione. Ma come direbbe Doc di Ritorno al Futuro, non ci sarebbe presente se non si guardasse al passato con rispetto e ammirazione, ed è il Simon bambino di più di trent’anni fa, anno più anno meno.
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