Terminator 3: The Redemption - GameCube

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Terminator 3: The Redemption (GameCube)
Also for: PS2, Xbox
Viewed: 3D Third-person, floating camera Genre:
Adventure
Shoot 'Em Up
Arcade origin:No
Developer: Paradigm Soft. Co.: Atari
Publishers: Atari (GB/US)
Released: 24 Sept 2004 (GB)
7 Sept 2004 (US)
Ratings: PEGI 16+
Accessories: Memory Card

Summary

We all know that video game tie-ins of blockbuster films are both popular and in plentiful supply. It's true that some games have a higher profile than others, and this is usually related to the marketing pull of the film it is based upon. So when Atari and acclaimed developer Paradigm unveiled Terminator 3: The Redemption, the second game based on the Terminator 3 story, it's not surprising that it was met with a degree of anticipation and expectation. It's here now, and it's just about as faithful to the big-screen offering as it can be.

Like the film, Redemption is very much an action-orientated affair that spreads itself across a variety of present day and futuristic timelines. Post-apocalyptic Los Angeles is the prime location, but there are a number of alternative future scenarios too. Playing as the one and only Schwarzenegger super-robot himself, players are faced with the mighty task of defending the human race from the SkyNet machine army.

A linear adventure, Redemption plays host to some 14 single-player missions - some combat-based, some character-based - that are played in a broad selection of faithful locales with sometimes near photorealistic detail. Played in the third-person and armed to the teeth, you'll come face-to-face with hordes of red-eyed Terminators, as well as a number of familiar airborne adversaries.

At the most basic level, you can simply shoot your enemies down and move on. But Redemption is more complex and interactive than it first appears. Affording players some remarkably interactive and involving environments, players can remove chips from redundant Terminators and use them as bombs, use dead Terminator torsos as shields, take command of unoccupied vehicles and pummel enemies with an array of in-game props.

For added longevity, there is a co-operative multi-player game that sees friends of the resistance protecting allies on the ground by annihilating SkyNet troops from the air - great fun. And to put the icing on the cake, Atari has also managed to incorporate more than 15 minutes of video footage taken directly from the 2004 hit film. All told, Redemption is worth a few hours of anyone's time.

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