Terminator 2: Judgment Day


by Gary Priest, Jonathan Dunn, Kevin Bulmer
Ocean Software Ltd
1991
Crash Issue 94, Dec 1991   page(s) 54,55

Arnie and his pals are back again with a blockbusting game of the smash hit movie. Nick Roberts often gets mistaken for the Terminator when he carries that oozy 9mm around with him (and 'cos of his bulging muscles and macho stance, ha ha - Ed) so he got to do the review…!

Ocean
£10.99 cass
128K only

It's the future, and the ultimate horror has come true. Man and machine no longer live in perfect harmony. It's war, but despite the machines having awesome power and strength, the rebels are still winning. The computer that controls all the machines soon had the solution, sending a Terminator back in time attempt to destroy the leader of the rebels when he was at his most vulnerable - a child.

The year is 1994 and John Conner is in danger. With a Terminator out for his blood, he doesn't stand a chance on his own. In a bid to save their leader from destruction, the rebels have sent a warrior of their own back in time to battle against the Terminator. One of its own kind. This is where you come in.

HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!

You play Arnie as the T101 Terminator and have seven levels of action to attempt. Level one sees you lace to face with the T1000, fighting the shape-shifting machine to delay its pursuit and allow John to escape. You then jump onto your Harley Davidson with John on the back, but the T1000 is in hot pursuit in a truck!

Recreating a scene from original Terminator movie, Arnie starts twiddling with his arm for level threes sliding puzzle, then its back to the violence. The three game styles repeat with slight variations for the remaining levels of the game. The beat-'em-up sections have different backdrops, Arnie's bike is swopped for a SWAT van and the puzzle is to repair the big man's eye.

IT'S NOTHING PERSONAL

The graphics in Terminator 2: Judgment Day are absolutely fantastic throughout. Ocean have got some wicked graphic artists working for them at the moment and they're making good use of them. Animation on both the T101 and T1000 in the fighting scenes is excellent. The T1000 melts and gloops around the screen very convincingly and there are plenty of fist-crunching moves to use against the computer-controlled meanie.

The game's big downfall is the lack of variety in the levels. Repeating three game styles to make up seven levels is a bit of a con, really, even though the difficulty's set so high most people will find it difficult to get past level two: I found riding the Harley Davidson through the streets totally impossible. The tips in the inlay say to follow the arrows painted on the road, but everything scrolls by so fast you don't get chance to see any flippin' arrows!

Ocean have got a really strong line up this Christmas with every game highly polished and professionally presented. It is going to be hard for Santa to choose between this, Hudson Hawk, Smash TV, The Simpsons and the rest of them - they're all so brilliant.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a great conversion of the film, the repetition in the levels the only fault which I could find, and believe me. I looked hard! Buy it. No problemo.

NICK [89%]


If you missed T2 at the cinema you're a very silly person indeed, it's the best film of 1991. Although not as gory as the original Terminator film, its budget of $80 million ensures it's packed with eye-popping effects. I'm sure Ocean haven't spent quite as much money on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the computer game, but it's very good nonetheless. The sprites are big, bold and very colourful, although as with Total Recall. the Arnie S sprite looks nothing like him (for licensing reasons. I suppose). Don't get me wrong, this is a good game, but I must have a whinge about the contents of T2. If I paid a tenner for a game I'd want more for my money than a punch-up (with different backgrounds), a couple of car chases and a sliding block puzzle. In short, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a fast, action-packed game that only just lacks the depth to make it a CRASH Smash.
MARK [86%]

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Presentation: 87%
Graphics: 91%
Sound: 86%
Playability: 82%
Addictivity: 84%
Overall: 88%

Summary: Lots of flashy graphics and presentation but lacking in gameplay.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Sinclair Issue 71, Nov 1991   page(s) 68,69

Ocean
£10.99 cass (128K only)/£15.99 disk
Reviewer: James Leach

When Arnie says 'I'll be back' he really means it! T2 has got to be biggest, most amazing-looking film ever - the sort you watch about seven times, then go and get on video. So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to seeing the Ocean game. And, as if by magic, here it is.

Right. Terminator 2 is one of those famous Ocean three-games-in-one jobbies. I think the best thing would be for me to sort of look at each level. So, er, I'll just do that then, shall I? Good.

Level One is a bit of a punch-their-heads-in game. You're all alone in the corridor with Mr T1000 who is made of a weird mercury-type substance which, when bashed, globs back into its proper shape. You're both trying to smack each others metallic brains in and, being Terminators, the violence level is remarkably huge. It's a great section with plenty of neat effects, bits of the T1000 reform as different shapes and his arms turn into spikes and so on.

HASTA LA VISTA, BABY!

At the bottom corners of the screen are two piccies of the T1000 and Arnie. As they get bashed around, their skin drops off (eurrggh) and the insides of their faces show through. Nasty, eh?

Get through Level One and you find yourself on a motorbike with John Connor (the lad you're trying to protect) on the back. It's a vertical scroller and is as fast as a weasel with tummy troubles. You view your bike from above and behind you is the T1000 in a rather scary lorry, trying to rum you down. What a cad, eh? This levels very, very fast. By my calculations, you've got about 0.13 of a second to avoid all the wrecked cars and the pools of oil that lie in your path. If you've got good reactions, you're gonna love this!

Right, if you get through that little lot okay, you're onto Level Three. Here you've got to do a bit of an op on Arnie's arm. It's one of those difficult arrange-the-squares puzzles with an evil time limit which'll have your hair falling on the floor quicker than you can say Duncan Goodhew. The display is really swanky, and the joystick movement works well too. Yep, those bods at Ocean certainly know how to string a game together!

Level Four is a bit like Level one, except that T1000 is a tad tougher. Bash him 'til he gives up and runs away. And that's it basically. It all looks very nice and everything, but you've seen it all before.

Level Five now. Rearrange the blocks (yes, just like Level Three) 'til' Arnie's face is in one piece. It's even harder than Level Three the truth be told. There are lots of great colours here, so crank up the contrast on your telly for this bit. But, arrgghh! That blasted me limit - it gets me every time!

Level Six sees you in a van on a vertically scrolling road. It feels a bit like, you guessed it, Level Two. It's just as fast, but its got different graphics and the T1000 is in a helicopter, trying to ram you. But nay fret. you've got target crosshairs and you can blast that molten dude to kingdom come. It's a very slick level, is Level Six, so you'll have lots of fun with it!

Level Seven is the last level (phew) and it's another fighty one. The T1000 has lost his powers to regenerate, so every smack you give him weakens the nasty fellow permanently. But he's still a bit hard, what with his spiky arms and all, so take a care.

AND THAT'S THE LOT?

How much do you blimming want? Seven levels, based on three types of gameplay, is a lot of code, Each level is different enough to get into (so you won't get bored) and the game is just so jolly quick that your heart will pound and your sweat will flow. (Not mine, matey. Ed) if you've got a good joystick, you probably won't have by the time you finish playing Terminator 2!

Any criticisms? Well its a blasted difficult game to beat. The scrolling bits are the hardest, but the fighting sequences aren't exactly a pushover either. If you don't complete the puzzly bits in the time allowed you still recover energy for your battered and knackered Terminator, depending on how many pieces you managed to get right. Useful, if not downright blimming vital, I'd say.

Yep, T2 is an absolute corker of a stormer of a multi-level game. You really need to have seen the movie to understand what all the bits mean, but of course you can still play and win without having to sit glued to the cinema screen for a couple of hours. If the game was a wee bit easier, at least on the driving level, it might have made Megagame status. But that, and the fact that each level does sort of repeat, means that it falls short by a degree or two. Still, if you're an Arnie fan (and let's face it - who isn't? Ed), you'll love it. 48K dudes will be dead annoyed that it isn't available on their machine. Upgrade now, guys!


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Life Expectancy: 87%
Instant Appeal: 83%
Graphics: 81%
Addictiveness: 82%
Overall: 88%

Summary: Arnie strikes back! It's big, it's fun and it's one for your collection. (It's also dead hard.)

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Sinclair Issue 88, Apr 1993   page(s) 44

REPLAY

And a personal hello to carpet-fitter Bernard Opportunity of Dalton! (He's the only one who ever reads this box, you know.)

The Hit Squad
£3.99
061 832 6633
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

Just as Arnie's films have increased in expense and box-office takings over the years, so have his games increased in size to the extent that the last two weren't even 48K-compatible. And they almost got things right with Total Recall - obviously cos it was Arnie game they had to include a little man running around shooting things. But, with a maze of platforms to negotiate and objects to collect, the mindless violence of an Arnie film was at last woven successfully into a respectable and playable game.

Not so with Terminator 2. As the film was full of special effects, it seems Ocean decided that they should also try to give their Speccy conversion a rather special look too. Level One is a head-to- head beat-'em-up with an Arnie sprite which looks and moves so much like Arnie. Those who are familiar with the film will delight as T1000 s (the baddy's) arms metamorphosise into two spikes and try to stab you (just as they did in the film). Unfortunately, this beat-'em-up frenzy takes place at about 0.00001 mph rendering the entire level totally unplayable.

Then there's Level Two - a naff old Spy Hunter drive-your-bike-along- a-scrolling-road level. Level Three is the only highlight - another chance to have a go at a computerised version of one of those slidey puzzle games, rearranging Arnie's hand and Arnie's head. But two good levels out of seven doesn't really make much of a game. Ignore T2 and put the money towards a copy of the video instead.


Overall: 46%

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Sinclair User Issue 134, Apr 1993   page(s) 29

Label: Ocean
Memory: 128K only
Tape: £3.99
Reviewer: Tony Kaye

The movie was an all time classic and when we saw the original screen shots of the game we thought that it locked pretty darn spanky too. Could it all have been a case of judging the book by its cover though? (You know the old saying... were very superstitious around here!)

Well partly, yes and no. The graphics looked excellent and it certainly didn't look as though it was going to be just another platformer.

The game roughly follows the plot of the film - which is more than I can say for most platform licences. The first of seven levels involves the T101 (you) versus the T1000 in a beat 'em up bout. You can continue on into on obstacle beating race against time in a storm gully, mounted on a Harley Davidson. Two puzzles, some more boxing action and some shoot 'em up van racing antics round things off.

The graphics and animation are very well executed and there are some lovely digitised Terminator images in the intro sequences.

The problem wIth T2 lies in its playability - or rather lack of it. The puzzles are ok, the chase scenes are basic but good enough fun but the one on one fighting scenes are rather boring and slow. T2 is a good looking curiosity game but that's really all.


GARTH:
I've never really liked this game. The sprites are big and good looking on the fighting but elsewhere they are just mediocre. Unfortunately the gameplay isn't up to much either and the whole game, though sounding good falls down at every hurdle.

Graphics: 89%
Sound: 50%
Playability: 78%
Lastability: 72%
Overall: 79%

Summary: Terminator 2 looks like a good idea but unfortunately fails rather miserably in practice. The graphics are good enough but the gameplay is about as inspiring as Geremy Beadle's beard, even if it is a bit longer. More a curiosity than an essential buy.

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Sinclair User Issue 116, Oct 1991   page(s) 10, 11

He feels no pity, no pain, no fear, he's a remorseless killing machine, and it's nothing personal - so why does the Arnie character in Terminator 2 seem to spend most of his time involved in lame bouts of fisticuffs?

It's a nice rag bag of styles and stimuli, and generally what makes T2 such a success is the sheer variety of what's on offer. Each section may not be mindblowingly exciting, but lumped together they provide a challenge that's constantly got a trick up its sleeve. Enjoyable, but... It could have been better. Welcome to Judgment Day.

There are seven levels in all, three where T101 and T1000 (you and him respectively) do their best to punch, kick, knee and headbutt each other into submission, two where a frantic car (bike/helicopter/lorry etc) chase calls for masses of grit and co-ordination, and two pictorial puzzles where extra energy can be gained by literally re-arranging Arnie's arm and face! The fight sections are fun but rather limited, the chase scenes will have you somewhere near the edge of your seat, and the puzzles are guaranteed to make you rip out gigantic tufts of hair in frustration.


GARTH: Big characters good graphics as a result of a clever use of monochrome with a couple of added colour areas. One that's certainly for all Arnie fans although I find the puzzle sections for extra energy a little.

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Graphics: 90%
Sound: 73%
Playability: 85%
Lastability: 78%
Overall: 84%

Summary: Terrific Terminator 2 is totally the tops for tension and takes this tomes title for tenacity!

Award: Sinclair User Silver

Transcript by Chris Bourne

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