Now before I begin I just want to clarify this:
This is strictly my own opinion. If you disagree with me, more power to you. Just keep the comments civil and respectful.

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to
GAME MODE: ON!

Well, it has been a few months since I've reviewed a movie-licensed game so being a big film-buff such as myself, you'd expect me to do these kinds of titles more often. Well, I would except... not really.

First of all, unlike most consumers, I actually prefer to wait until I hear anything before I decide to buy a game so if it's a game that I've heard sucks donkey balls, I ain't gonna bother wasting money on it.
Sadly, alot of games based on various properties like movies, shows and so forth tend to turn out pretty crappy. Embarrassingly enough, I actually begged my parents to buy me alot of those games as I grew up during the PlayStation 2's lifespan and aside from a few nostalgic favorites, alot of them were kinda poop looking back on them. I have since then given plenty of them away but there are still some that remain on my shelves so there's a fair chance I'll get around to 'em someday and if I happen to have a friend who owns a few of these shit games, I can borrow them for a potential review. Maybe also try a few through Game Pass if possible, I don't fuckin' care, who even wants to bother with this nonsense anyway?

Now to be fair, unlike movie adaptations of video games, game adaptations of movies have fared out alot better much early on as there have been plenty of good, even fantastic ones such as the Super Star Wars games, Batman on NES, GoldenEye 64, The Spongebob Movie on PS2, Toy Story 2 on PS1, a solid amount of Lego games and even that lame-ass X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie got a decent interactive tie-in from what I've heard.

Nowadays, there aren't as many tie-ins as there have been back in the day but we do get the few occasional licensed titles every year or so, some admittedly better-looking than others.
But when I think of a franchise that has serious bad luck when it comes to game adaptations, it's Terminator.

We all love the first two movies, we've all grown to appreciate Rise of the Machines and Salvation and we've no doubt spoken of our hatred towards Genisys and Dark Fate but when it comes to video games based on the beloved sci-fi action property, it's a mess to say the least.
According to the grand majority of fans, there hasn't been a good Terminator game aside from the occasional exception and nine times out of ten, you're guaranteed to be faced with frustrating gameplay, barf-inducing graphics and music, bullshit difficulty complete with no continues and lack of courtesy towards the source material.

So it should come as no surprise that everybody and their grandma were not only extremely skeptical about Terminator: Resistance, they were dreading it.
Sure, it may look a little cool but you take one look at who's developing it and already, all hope for a good Terminator game is gone.
For those not aware, Teyon is a Polish game studio who were primarily responsible for a ton of shovelware crap for both PC and Nintendo consoles up until 2014 when they broke through with their first proper title, Rambo: The Video Game, a game so deceptively-marketed and so poorly-programmed that it was already panned upon release and listed as one of the worst licensed titles of all time. So it's completely understandable why gamers shuddered severely at the thought of this studio tackling another franchise only to provide the exact same results.

However, when the game was released on November 2019 to coincide with the release of Terminator: Dark Fate, the results were not as bad as one would believe.
Sure, critics have rated it poorly and unfavorably compared it to other first-person shooters but still, not only were the scores much better than Rambo's but audiences were far more kinder to it as they often called it "Fine Enough" to be considered the best Terminator game we've had yet. Granted, nobody's calling it a masterpiece but considering all the odds stacking against it, it's a real surprise that it turned out as good as it can be to the point where some fans are outright defending it against professional journalists.

For this review, I went ahead with the Enhanced Edition of the game available for PS5 which is supposed to provide better-looking visuals and a bit more content to spice things up. I bought it when it was on sale as I've heard enough solid things about to wanna try it out myself and after having played it, I can safely say that the movie it's tied in with can go fuck itself even harder. This is what you call a solid comeback that actually respects the legacy that James Cameron molded, not that fanfic-style, distasteful garbage that... Cameron himself was proudly involved with......... sigh Christ, that man is out of his fucking mind if he honestly thought Dark Fate was the best he could give us fans and yes, I know he didn't direct it nor was he one of the writers but guess what? Michael Bay didn't direct the 2014 and 2016 Ninja Turtles movies either but he's the only one getting all the shit anyway so I don't see why I shouldn't give Cameron shit for the way Dark Fate turned out-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXE8LdXzeHM
Sorry, sorry, got a little carried away but can you really blame me?

So let's not waste anymore time and dig into what worked and didn't work about Terminator: Resistance.

STORY & CHARACTERIZATION:
Taking place before the events of the 1984 original, you play as Jason Rivers, a private from the Pacific Division of the Resistance who finds himself the lone survivor of an ambush from Skynet's forces.
He soon joins up with a small group of scavengers and, later on, the South Division and soon end up trying to muster up a plan to save what's left of Humanity from the wrath of the Machines only to discover that not only do their metallic foes have a few backup schemes in place but what they could pull off may not happen without sacrifice.

As a prequel to the first two films, it not only serves it's purpose nicely but it's relieving to know that it's deliberately ignoring the events of the films that came after so thank god for that.
Sure, the story may not be anything special, just a simple "Strike back against the bad guys" premise that doesn't offer anything innovative for it's respective genres. It's your standard sci-fi war shtick but it's done surprisingly well. Not only is there an interesting delve into how the original events came to be in the first place but there's plenty of references and easter eggs to make fans happy without coming off as forced or contrived. So it's clear that the folks over at Teyon have a deep love for the franchise and really wanted to get this one right despite their obvious budgetary issues which is way more than anybody can ever say for the last time they adapted an 80's action favorite.
It also helps that the characters are decent enough to drive the story. Although Jason is a rather blank slate, the people you interact with have some interesting background and clear personalities and while they aren't as iconic as the characters from the films, they're solid enough in their own way... except for this one kid who is such a whiner that I don't even know why I bothered risking my life just to get him some chalk. Seriously, if you thought trying to protect someone from the 1-1000 was a deadly endurance, try scavenging for fuckin' chalk in the middle of a warzone, I'm not kidding, I've died more times during that side-mission than in any other part of the game. It should also be worth noting that your choices do affect the story and it's ending so watch what you say or do if you want the best outcome. Word of advice: Don't end up like me and assume everybody I convinced to stay would be mega-useful in the final stretch of the game even though I should know better because anybody who has seen the first film knows the unfortunate outcome. If you've seen the movie and played the game, you'll understand what I'm talking about. God, I'm such an idiot.
Anyway, while I can understand why the story may not be up there with Cameron's masterful writing for the first two films, the overall execution is decent enough that you'll wanna keep playing to see how everything falls into place.

GAMEPLAY & CONTROLS:
Unlike with Rambo which is a half-assed arcade rail-shooter with audio so badly-compressed that it's better suited for one of those dumb analogue-horror films, Terminator: Resistance is an actual honest-to-god first-person shooter with competent audio and a fair challenge. One of the big complaints I often hear about this game is that even on the hardest difficulty setting, it's too easy to play through and can be plowed through within a single day. Personally, I never got that. I played the game on Normal and there have been plenty of times when things can get pretty hectic and despite my best efforts to upgrade some of my weapons and level up my stealth skill, those Terminators can be a bitch to avoid and/or take down and their accuracy is not to be underestimated. The game took me about 8-10 hours to complete and while it's not a long game, the difficulty does make up for it as there have been some genuinely-challenging moments.
In terms of how it actually plays, Resistance is an action-shooter with RPG elements where you go through the game completing various objectives and side-quests, shooting Machines or sneaking by them, upgrading and crafting equipment like ammo, explosives and whatnot, finding written logs, etc. As you keep playing on, you'll earn experience points and when you level up, you'll earn a skill point which you can spend on a variety of stats including the size of your backpack, the amount of damage you can take, how good you are at lock-picking and hacking, the right to carry and craft more advanced weapons and tools, you get the idea. On top of that, you'll also be engaging in various dialogue scenes where you get to choose what you say and like I said, your choices to affect the story. If you're able to get along with a character enough, he/she will let you in on their stories before and after Judgement Day and maybe, if you're lucky, she'll have sex with you.
Aside from a few linear chapters and the shelter hubs, each level you go through is an open-zone meaning that you can explore as much as you want and see what goodies you can find with new pathways being opened up via walls weak enough to be destroyed by an explosion or a door that needs to be hacked or picked open. Just on a side-note, as someone who absolutely hated the lock-picking system in Skyrim, the system here is at least more tolerable than frustrating.
Now as far as controls go, it plays like most other FPS games which is a good thing. You can move and aim just fine, the sorting mechanics are solid and the gunplay is satisfying to say the least. Though there are times where you're in a panic-inducing situations and you occasionally can get stuck on a random object when you're trying to move away from a tough opponent. Not stuck as in glitches and crap like that but more-like those little details in the environment that you can't see because you're too focused on backing up and trying not to get smacked around or shot at. Seriously, people, this game is not that easy, I went through more med-packs here than I should, it can be that tough. Hell, there are times when I did run out of ammo and pipe bombs so I have to either take my time to sneak by or just make a run for it.
That being said, while there are some solid battle scenes that honor the future scenes in the movies, there are times in the first half of the game where it goes more for a horror angle like the bit in the hospital and that shit can be very effective.
It should also be worth nothing that aside from the base campaign, the game also comes with additional story content including Infiltrator Mode in which you play as a Terminator posing as a human and Annihilation Line in which you team up with Kyle Reese so there's something to keep you busy for a bit.
So okay, the gameplay may not be anything special, it's kinda generic to be honest, but it plays well enough and there's plenty to do and explore so there's that.

GRAPHICS & PRODUCTION VALUE:
As I've stated before, the game does have it's budgetary issues as Teyon is not a massive Triple-A developer so it should come as no surprise as to why it looks like a PS4 launch title. Even with the Enhanced Edition, it pales in comparison to other shooters that were out at the time like the recent Call of Duty games. However, even if the graphics leave a little to be desired, one thing I will give the developers credit for is that they nailed the atmosphere of the movies right down to alot of the references and even the little details. It's like you're actually playing a part in the Future War and fighting for your survival, it's that intense and haunting. From the designs of the machines to the ruined landscape of Los Angeles to even the sound design, they really got alot right. I will say that my only real issue is that there is the occasional moment where the volume of the dialogue would randomly lower to the point where you can barely hear what a character is saying but those are super-rare and thank god for subtitles anyway.
Lastly, there's the music by Chris Detyna which is a fucking godsend. He not only managed to churn out some solid original tracks but he even managed to recreate the iconic Terminator theme and certain cues from the original movies so beautifully. The mixing of rock and techno is so nicely done that movie composer Brad Fiedel would be so damn proud.

FINAL VERDICT:
Overall, Terminator: Resistance may not be exactly up there with the best movie-licensed games as the graphics aren't exactly up to par and it is often standard and generic but it is crystal-clear that alot more effort was put into here than with 2014's Rambo.
The gameplay works well enough, it is extremely faithful to the movies, there's some fun and tense elements, there's a decent challenge to endure and overall, there was far more heart and soul put into this game than there was in the last two piece-of-shit movies we've gotten.

If you're a Terminator fan, I do recommend it. It may not be the great game we wanted but it's a good enough effort and worth a purchase.

Until next time, thank you for taking the time to check out this installment of GAME MODE: ON.
If you liked what you've read here and want to see more, you can go ahead and follow me whenever you want.

And also, don't forget to check out my Letterboxd page for new film reviews every week.

AFTER-NOTE: Before anybody asks, yes, I am interested in the new RoboCop game that's coming out soon.