| The Terminator | |
|---|---|
 European box art | |
| Developer | Virgin Games |
| Publisher | Virgin Games |
| Producers | Erik Yeo Neil Young Stephen Clarke-Willson Tom Gibson Barry Pringle Sr. |
| Designers | Erik Yeo Tom Tanaka Douglas Cope Silas Warner |
| Programmer | Silas Warner |
| Artist | Nick Bruty |
| Writers | Erik Yeo Justin Norr |
| Composers | Tommy Tallarico Brad Fiedel Bijan Shaheer Joey Kuras TeknoMan |
| Series | Terminator |
| Platform | Sega CD |
| Release | |
| Genres | Platform,shoot 'em up |
| Mode | Single-player |
The Terminator is a 1993platform/shoot 'em up game developed and published byVirgin Games for theSega CD. It is based on the 1984film of the same name, and includesfull-motion video from the film. The game was praised for its graphics andTommy Tallarico's soundtrack, although the film footage was considered low quality and the gameplay also received some criticism.
The Terminator is aplatform andshoot 'em up game with 10 levels. The player controls soldierKyle Reese and travels through aSkynet facility during the first four levels, set in 2029. After battling Skynet'sTerminator machines, Kyle finds a time machine and travels to Los Angeles 1984, where the remainder of the game takes place. Kyle locatesSarah Connor and protects her from theTerminator, a machine sent from the future by Skynet. The Terminator is tasked with killing Sarah, preventing her future sonJohn Connor from leading the human resistance against Skynet.[1][2][3][4] The player can use various weapons and has unlimited ammunition. The player can crouch, jump, and shoot in multiple directions.[1][2][4]
Although the game is based on the film, creative license was taken to give more variation in the gameplay.[5] The graphics and music took advantage of the Sega CD's capabilities, and the game includes the use of digitizedfull-motion video (FMV) from the film. The FMV scenes appear in between levels to advance the story.[5]
The game utilizedQSound.[6] The soundtrack, consisting ofhard rock,pop andtechno music,[1][7] was composed and recorded byTommy Tallarico, with additional songs contributed byBrad Fiedel ("The Terminator Theme"), Bijan Shaheer ("Future Shock"), Joey Kuras ("Visions") and TeknoMan of Teknologic ("CyberTek").[8] Tallarico said the game's graphics "were still very much 16-bit-looking and the music you'd hear would be like music on the radio or on an album – and it was a bit jarring. So I would get into screaming matches with the producers because they told me they didn't want that proper music in the game. They said it doesn't sound like a videogame and I said exactly – it doesn't have to any more!"[9]
The Terminator was first released in North America in June 1993.[3] It was originally scheduled for release in Europe the same month,[10][11] but was delayed due to changes at Virgin.[12] It was eventually released in Europe in February 1994, six months later than initially scheduled.[12][13]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |   [14] |
| Consoles + | 87%[15] |
| Game Players | 62%[16] |
| Jeuxvideo.com | 18/20[4] |
| Joypad | 86%[17] |
| Player One | 80%[18] |
| Video Games (DE) | 54%[19] |
| Game Power | 78/100[20] |
| Mega | 67%[1] |
| MegaForce | 85%[21] |
| MegaTech | 69%[2] |
| Sega Power | 58%[22] |
| Sega Zone | 65%[23] |
| Supersonic | 92%[24] |
The Terminator was praised for its graphics and its inclusion of FMV,[3][2][16][12] although the latter was also criticized for its poor quality.[22][23][19][20] Paul Pettengale ofSega Power wrote, "The images are so grainy, and the colours so fuzzy, looking too hard at these bits could be bad for your eyes".[22] The soundtrack was praised.[3][2][22][23][12][16]GamePro stated that the "catchy music fits the action well".[3]
Some reviewers were critical of the gameplay. Julian Connolly ofMegaTech felt that the game had no longterm value, concluding that it "looks great, sounds great, plays great for a while but all this shooting wears you down".[2] Pettengale found the gameplay unoriginal and wrote "not even a superb soundtrack can save a game when it's had so little thought put into it".[22] Paul Mellerick ofMega was disappointed by the linear level design and concluded, "A well-presented blast, but ultimately boring, very samey and a bit of a waste".[1] David Roberts ofSega Zone found the game to be lacking variety.[23]Game Players considered it an average platform game.[16]
In a later review forAllGame, Shawn Sackenheim praised the "bleak" and "dreary" graphics, stating that they "lend themselves nicely to the mood of the game". He also praised Tallarico's score, writing that it added "a ton to the impact of the graphics and the mood of each level". Sackenheim concluded, "While it may not have been the best looking action/platformer around, it could definitely give any other game a run for its money".[14]Jeuxvideo reviewed the game in 2010, praising the soundtrack and controls.[4]
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