Terminator 3: the Redemption

Based around brutal robot-on-robot brawling, frantic car chases, and explosions aplenty, Terminator 3: The Redemption starts with the stuff of great arcade games made modern: good-looking, mostly mindless, and linear affairs packed with explosions and eye candy. Unfortunately, the game tips its hand too early��mired in repetition and some substantial balancing issues, a good deal of its simplistic charm dissipates after a short time.

A fairly well-wrought story line is interspersed with plenty of footage from the Terminator 3 film, but developer Paradigm has wisely opted to branch out in between episodes of cinematic narrative. In levels set largely in a postapocalyptic Los Angeles, players do battle with all manner of machine, both on foot and by easily commandeering an array of vehicles (manned and autonomous) featuring simple, satisfying controls. But far too many later levels are entirely vehicle based��encompassing careening chases and on-rails obstacle courses��and it��s here the game suffers the most. Worse still is a severe shortage of checkpoints��levels are sprawling, multistaged affairs, and many require rote memorization��one gameplay feature from the old school that ought to have stayed in the arcades.

From the user interface to the in-game look and feel, Redemption is surely the product of a developer that really loves its source material. There��s a simple joy to be had here, an unpretentious sort of action served straight up that hearkens back to arcade shooters of yesteryear��a time when stealth, ammo counts, and free-roaming worlds simply weren��t a factor. Like The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay��and to a degree Atari��s own Enter the Matrix��this is a movie game done right��it��s just not quite right.

07 OUT OF TEN

PUBLISHER: Atari // DEVELOPER: Paradigm Entertainment // PLAYERS: 1-2 // LIVE: No // MSRP: $39.99 // ESRB: T

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Xbox Nation.