''The Terminator'' is a 1992 video game published for several Sega consoles, including the Sega Genesis, the Master System, and the portable

Game Gear The is an 8-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation handheld game console released by Sega on October 6, 1990, in Japan, in April 1991 throughout North America and Europe, and during 1992 in Australia. The Game Gear pri ...

. It is based on the 1984 film of the same name. The game was developed by

Probe Software Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game publisher from Long Island, active from 1987 until filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on September 1, 2004. Through a series of acquisitions between 1990 and 2002, Acclaim built itself a large portf ...

and published by

Virgin Games Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwoo ...

. ''The Terminator'' was praised for its graphics and sound, but criticized for its gameplay.

Gameplay

''The Terminator'' is a

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

game. It takes place across several levels, based on locations from the film. The player takes control of

Kyle Reese Kyle Reese is a fictional character in the ''Terminator'' franchise, who serves as the protagonist of the first film with a supporting role in other works. The character is portrayed by Michael Biehn in '' The Terminator'' (1984) and '' Termi ...

, a soldier fighting in the human resistance against Skynet and its machine army. In the first level, set in 2029, Kyle must infiltrate a Skynet facility while fighting various machines along the way. He eventually finds a time machine and travels to Los Angeles 1984 to protect Sarah Connor, who one day will give birth to the human resistance leader,

John Connor John Connor is a fictional character in the ''Terminator'' franchise. Created by writer and director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film ''The Terminator'' and first appears in its 1991 sequel '' Terminator 2: Jud ...

. At the end of each subsequent level, the player faces off against the

Terminator Terminator may refer to: Science and technology Genetics * Terminator (genetics), the end of a gene for transcription * Terminator technology, proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified plants by causing second generation s ...

, who has been sent from the future to kill Sarah. The player can use various weapons throughout the game, including grenades and shotguns. During the second level, the player traverses the streets of Los Angeles, encountering enemies such as punks and police officers; the latter cannot be killed. Kyle and Sarah are eventually taken into custody and must escape the police station after the Terminator launches an attack on it. The final level is a battle set in a factory, where the Terminator is crushed by machinery.

Development and release

''The Terminator'' was developed by

and published by

. The game's programmer, David Perry, wanted the player character to be a Terminator. However, the film's distributor, Orion Pictures, mandated that it instead be Kyle Reese, who dies at the end of the film. Orion also requested that there be only one Terminator, who would die only at the end of the game, as in the film. Perry described this as "tremendously frustrating" for players: "they had to play as a man who always dies, and they never get to kill the main enemy until the very end". To create the character movements, Perry and game producer Neil Young were recorded as they performed the moves. The footage was then digitized in black and white onto an Amiga computer. With the use of

Deluxe Paint Deluxe Paint, often referred to as ''DPaint'', is a bitmap graphics editor created by Dan Silva for Electronic Arts and published for the then-new Amiga 1000 in November 1985. A series of updated versions followed, some of which were ported ...

, the actors were separated from the backgrounds and colorized before being added into the game. In 2003, Perry said about the game: "That was a disaster, because I wasn't allowed to use anything significant from the movie itself. I asked if I could have Arnold Schwarzenegger in the game. No. How about

Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. She played Sarah Connor in the '' Terminator'' film series and Catherine Chandler in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–1990), for which she was nomina ...

, you know, Sarah Conner, the hero? No. How can you have a ''Terminator'' game without the two main characters?" The Genesis version was released in the U.S. in February 1992. The Genesis, Game Gear and Master System versions saw a U.K. release in August 1992. The Game Gear version would become available in the U.S. that October.

Reception

On the Genesis, ''The Terminator'' received praise for its sound and graphics, especially its digitized stills from the film. ''

Mega Mega or MEGA may refer to: Science * mega-, a metric prefix denoting 106 * Mega (number), a certain very large integer in Steinhaus–Moser notation * "mega-" a prefix meaning "large" that is used in taxonomy * Gravity assist, for ''Moon-Eart ...

'' praised the "lovely dark, moody scenery" and "excellent futuristic" soundtrack. Reviewers also praised the graphics and sounds of the Game Gear and Master System versions. Critics found the gameplay monotonous, and lacking in variety and

replay value Replay may refer to: * Replay (sports), a replayed match between two sport teams Technology * Game replay, a recording of a game session. * Instant replay, in motion pictures and television, a showing again of part of a film * Replay Professiona ...

. ''Game Zone'' wrote that it "looks great and plays well" but that it is "a bit weak" on gameplay. ''

Mean Machines ''Mean Machines'' was a multi-format video game journalism, video game magazine published between 1990 and 1992 in the United Kingdom. Origins In the late 1980s ''Computer and Video Games'' (''CVG'') was largely covering the outgoing generatio ...

'' called it a "potentially superb license ruined by complete lack of long-term appeal", while '' MegaTech'' called it a "disappointing interpretation of a great film". However, Martin Pond of ''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...

'' considered it a "competent interpretation" of the film. Some reviewers found the Genesis version too easy. Others considered the Game Gear and Master System versions too difficult.

References

External links

''The Terminator''
at MobyGames {{DEFAULTSORT:Terminator Sega video game Terminator (franchise) video games 1992 video games Game Gear games Master System games Platform games Sega Genesis games Shoot 'em ups Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Matt Furniss Video games set in Los Angeles