Overview
Take control of John Connor and join the resistance against Skynet as you battle hordes of machines in post-apocalyptic 2018 Los Angeles. There’s plenty of gameplay variety in easily one of the most impressive, yet short, games I’ve played on my phone yet. Amazing graphics and sounds coupled with an intriguing storyline that follows that of the upcoming summer blockbuster of the same name.
Features
The game is definitely loaded with tons of features and different options to keep things interesting. One is the character you get to play. Not only are you able to play as John Connor, but you also get to use Marcus Wright as well. Each character has their own abilities and weapons to mix things up.
The game comes with four different options in the control menu so you can customize the virtual keyboard to your specific style of gameplay. An important option as the controls are one of the things lacking in this game. (See the “Bad” section for more information on the control layouts)
Not only do you get to fight all of the machines that will be featured on the film, but there has also been some exclusive models added specifically for the game only. Six different weapons to choose from and an option to play an unlockable game mode where you get to play the T-600…very cool. There is also a “hacking” mini-game that pops up every now and then when you need to rescue the prisoners or shut down the machines, etc.
Breakdown
The Good:
The graphics…wow! More than once I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the screen. Take for example this shot here where you’re on the Golden Gate bridge. Incredibly impressive. Couple the visuals with the equally top notch sounds and music…really one of the best looking and sounding games the IPhone/IPod Touch has produced.
The variety of the gameplay here is also quite good. You get to play two different characters (three if you count the unlockable T-600), drive two different vehicles, and use a wide variety of weapons against multiple enemies. In this respect, you fell like you’re getting your money’s worth here.
The Bad:
It seems like I have this complaint ever time and this game is no different…the controls. The virtual keyboard just doesn’t work very well. You get four different options to choose from, but each one has its own flaw accompanying it. For one, no inverted option is something that’s missing for sure.
The main issue with the controls is they’re slow. You can’t turn around quick enough, you get stuck onto walls and hiding spots when you try to get on the move again, and you get yourself shot up a lot as you try and get head shots on the machines. The re-load option and switching between weapons just plan sucks. Bottom line: You’re going to die a lot due to the controls.
The game is also really short. I beat the entire game on normal in a little under an hour, give or take. For ten bucks…I was disappointed with that. Especially because as you get toward the ending of the game it gets really good with the story and gameplay….and then it kind of just ends. I wanted to keep going and I couldn’t…sigh.
Last is the lag…there’s a lot of it. At times the game doesn’t run very smoothly. I though it might be my phone, so I rebooted and even re-installed the game, but still had the same outcome. Ten years ago lag wasn’t that big of a deal for me…nowadays, it’s annoying as hell. I’m sure the next update will fix this as I’m sure this was rushed out so it would hit before the film. Still though, it does lag a lot and that deters from the gameplay.
The Verdict
Don’t get me wrong…this is by far one of the most impressive looking and sounding games I’ve played on my phone so far. It’s lots of fun and for any fan of the Terminator series, you’ll get enjoyment out of it. But is it worth $9.99? That’s tough. There is a lot here and what is here is generally good, but there is also some bad as well. Make sure the good out ways the bad for you before buying. Because if it’s the other way around, you’re going to be let down.
Our Rating
Terminator Salvation
- Developer: Terminator Salvation : The official game
- Category: Games
- Released: 05-01-09
(currently 1.0.7)
(currently 4.99)
I too was surprised by the short length of the game, but that may be why they lowered the price to only $5.99, making it a much better deal.
I fully enjoyed the one hour of total gameplay though! Can’t wait to see the film.
Yeah, it was a fun game for sure. I really hope the movie delivers…although from what I’ve heard it seems it might let me down…figures.
I still think $5.99 for this is a little much, considering there’s very limited game length. Good game though!
Am I the only one who’s terminator salvation app is just not launching on his iphone? I tried re-installing it through wifi and through itunes, rebooting my iphone several times, but no matter what i do, the terminator salvation app just does not launch. it gives a blank screen when its icon is tapped and then I see my menu again. Gameloft is not responding to any of my emails or bug reports and not even refunding my money $9.99 like I asked them to. What the hell ??
Yikes! That’s terrible. First off, how many apps do you have on your phone? Second, have you tried un-authorizing and then re-authorizing your iTunes account? I recently did that and every app I had crashed on me. Basically the phone thought all my old apps where under a different account or something. So I had to re-install everything. Sucked. If you’ve re-installed, re-booted and re-authorized and still get the same issue…I don’t know what to do there? Try searching the web and see if anything comes up? Possibly contact Apple and iTunes. Which will take forever yes, but at least you tried. Good luck.
I do have a ton of apps on my phone but they all work, provided none of them are as big as 120MB either. But this is ridiculous.. I was so waiting for this game to come and I just can’t launch it since day one. Let me re-authorize my account again and download this again. After that its customer support wild goose chase. Thanks Matt..
Yeah, good luck. Once we get the new update in June I think things will work better. Once I put Myst on my phone, which is like 700 mb I think, thinks got really slow on my phone. I literally deleted it because it was too big of a file. Kinda lame, but what can you do. I also have all nine pages filled with apps as well so…yeah. Hope that works for you. Maybe try cleaning house and deleted some apps you might not use. You can always download them again anyway.
Tried deauthorizing and then reauthorizing my ITunes account, and then downloaded this app again, but still same issue. I’d have to call Apple, Gameloft isn’t responding.
Sorry. That doesn’t make any sense to me at all? Don’t get it? Well good luck on all of that.
did you find a solution yet!??
same here. game gives a blanc screen after tapping the button and then returns to the desktop…. wtf!?
also my Siberian Strike does not work. GameLoft is sending me standard-bot-answers, as if I am a stoopid noob!
Same thing here. Companies should not be allowed to release apps that dont work. Will i ever buy anything released from gameloft? No! Will i ever recommend it? No! Will i try to prevent other people from buying anything from them? Yes!
i’ve heard that with the newer games, they won’t work on a jailbroken iphone or ipod touch
so if you jailbroke it, that could be the problem
I have a legit phone, its not jailbroken at all. Atleast not this one.. lol. But i got a message from gameloft which basically tells me to reboot my iphone, which I already mentioned in my report to them, seems like its a bot message. I don’t have the time to run after this even when i have paid $9.99 for this freakin’ thing. I’ll just have to suck it up I guess. I don’t think i’ll ever download another game from gameloft again.