Terminator: Salvation

As is normally the way with video games taken from their movie counterparts, they are generally rushed into production and frankly very poor. Simply created to make a quick buck from the movies release.
Upon starting Terminator: Salvation things look good. The menu screens are nice and shiny with pictures of the Terminator assembly line and those glowing red eyes that are so infamous now.
Then you start the game, which is where it all goes wrong. The game itself feels incredibly rushed, which it is, it had to meet the release date of the film which of course couldn't be altered. The game play is very much of the 'open sandbox' variety (GTA etc...) whereby you control your character 3rd person and run around with a control system that always feels rough around the edges. We normally forgive this because there is so much variety in games like this, different paths, different enemies around every corner etc.... Unfortunately in this game there aren't different paths, there aren't different enemies around every corner and everything is incredibly linear to the point that you just wonder why on earth they bothered adding in all of the detail of the rest of the city, just to annoy you?? One of those 'you can see another street, another building, another way around, but you can't take it because theres an invisible wall in the way' jobs.
The control scheme is one of those where you always find it hard to get out of the way of incomming fire because you're too busy trying to get unstuck from the corner of the nearest peice of scenery. It is not very intuitive and frankly makes the game feel incredibly tedious and just hard work.
The graphics are not that good. This is supposed to be next gen game based on a future full of technology....that is trying to kill you. In the films (so far) all the machines have been a shimering silver, all nice and shiny. Not in this game. They look more like a matt grey, every one of them. The charcter models aren't too bad, they do look life like and move fluidly, but frankly we expect this anyway. It shouldn't be something that I should have to point out.
The physics are frankly rubbish, no flying debris, no damage to surrounding scenery or objects...just rubbish. The machines themselves do that little thing where when you've destroyed them they just fall down and collapse where they are, then suddenly their bodies seem to dematerialise leaving two or three peices of metal behind! If I've just killed the best killing machine known to man I want to damn well see it lying there and watch it's eyes slowly stop glowing!
Voice acting isn't too bad, as I'm sure we all know Christian Bale didn't lend his voice or likeness to the game. So you won't be controlling the offical John Connor I'm afraid. Probably a good move by Christian actually given how bad the game truly is.
The game itself is just tedious and monotinous. The enemies are not scary or daunting even if they have already killed you plenty of times. They just feel so unthreatening and frankly poorly designed and created (by the game developers I mean). The actual Terminators do not move like machines, just like normal human beings...wheres that classic tensed up, taught, rigid look...???
The world that you play in doesn't really appear to be a post appoclyptic world at all, not a patch on Fallout 3. The game has a series of annoying cut-scenes that constantly interrupt the flow of the game and serve no point at all. The load screen is the same all the way through and will drive you INSANE!
The game is rushed and poorly put together at best. It's a massive disappointment and a real taint on the Terminator franchise. I almost wish that they hadn't bothered.
Honestly, if you really want to see if I'm telling you the truth then whatever you do do not buy the game, rent it and find out for yourself if you must.

There's lots of hate circulating for this game and while i can understand that this game has its problems, after playing through it twice, its also easy to see why its fun.
The graphics and sound aren't bad just standard, nothing spectauclar but functional.
This game really picks up in the larger scale battles, which if fought right provide a good sense of excitement, the cover system on the whole is actually pretty cool.
To conclude i must mention the flaws and glitches in this game; however they are mostly ironed out by the fact that you're fighting terminators and skynet as john connor, that makes it all worth it.
In the end a flawed but fun adventure.
Sam

Why oh why do game manufactuers insist on making games based on a film and then put no thought into how the game will play?

I was looking forward to this game, the build up and hype for the forthcoming film and what I had seen of the game persuaded me to buy it. In truth I was anticpating similar game play to say a 'Call of Duty' game but set in the Terminator universe.

what you get is a linear experience that does not allow the player to deviate from what the story has deined as your journey. You cannot even jump over obstacles, you have to do some stupid move where you go from cover to cover.

Basically the game is shoot this, now shoot that, move from this cover and shoot something, and on and on. this was how video games were in the 1980's because of the limitations of the operating systems.

Absolute garbage, do not buy it. I bought it yesterday, took it back to the shop and exchanged it for Infamous which is 5*****.

Very annoyed