Terminator 3: Redemption

Why do developers mess up a licence like this?

First off, this one isn't too bad. But that doesn't mean it's good either. Graphics, 3.5. Level design is pretty good, but they don't have a lot of polish and look kind of dated. Character models for anyone but Arnie are fair, but the battle damage layers for Arnie are pretty good. Explosive effects are ok and enemies have a small metallic glint to them. There is only a hint of framerate slowdown here and there when there's a lot going on onscreen. Sound, 3.0. I guess they got Arnold to say a few lines here and there, but a sound-a-like does most of the work. The frequent one-liners from the T-850 model 101 you're playing as could have been left out, they pop up in the oddest places and sound corny. Weapon sounds fall flat and explosions are nothing exciting. And you rarely hear the music in between all the level background effects and weapons fire. Control, 3.5. The double analog stick control is fairly similar to a first person shooter but never feel natural when playing. Targeting an enemy is helped with a simple lock-on feature but gets to be annoying when you're trying to lock on a mission critical target and something pops up in front of it. And you can't run and shoot at the same time for some reason. Vehicle controls work pretty well though, takes a while to get use to driving and shooting at the same time. Gameplay, 3.5. You'll probably get frustrated often, it might take you a dozen tries to get past every level till you figure out exactly how to get through them. Although it's probably a good thing the difficulty is set high or it might be a short game. Enemy AI is the equivilent of a stone wall, they just march right at ya or sit still while you blast away at them. The mix of third-person shooter, driving, and rail shooter adds some nice variety though. And it is set to the movie, but very loosely, there are quite a few Skynet minions. All in all, not too bad of a game for an arcade style blastfest. Worth a rent.