Terminator: Resistance – Exclusive Preview and 7 Important Questions
The Poles at Teyon studio face the legend of the 80s – the Terminator. We have known about it for a long time, and today, we can finally talk about the game, which we've had a chance to play already.
We've seen Terminator Resistance in May of this year at the Digital Dragons conference, or rather next to it, because the show took place in a rented apartment near the conference center. I'm used to seeing new titles long before they hit the stores. This time, though, it was something more – I could play Terminator Resistance as the world's first journalist... and then I had to keep my mouth shut until now. But I know What you care about, the presentation itself and the game itself. So let me answer a few basic questions.
What's the upcoming Terminator game about?
The atmosphere is good, but nowhere near the movies.
Terminator from Krakow's Teyon studio is a 100-percent single-player FPS with RPG elements stronger than usual in this genre, a branched storyline, and partially open locations. At first glance, the game reminded me of the latest Homefront, but at the same time, for some reason, it was also evocative of Dying Light, although there are no zombies, nor parkour.
The release date has not been disclosed yet, but we know that we're looking at a multi-platform release for the PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Teyon has plenty of experience with Nintendo Switch, but the console, according to the devs, wouldn't be able to run the game.
Okay, but what does the game have to do with the popular franchise?
The setting is the United States after a revolution of machines. Remember the short snippets of the future in the first and the second Terminator movies? This is roughly when the game takes place. The developers call their game a prequel of the first film, because the plot is supposed to get us to about the moment where the machines sent their hitman to the past to kill John Connor.
During the game, we will meet the characters known from the movies, and, above all, see the titular "electronic killers." Personally, I had the pleasure of admiring the t-800 model, the Terminator with a skull-like head. Besides that, I have also met the robo-spiders coming in two sizes (these were invented by the devs) and some patrolling drones.
Unfortunately, a stronger link between the game and the movies is hardly tangible when playing. Mainly because the Polish production tells of events that were barely shown in the first two movies. Can you even remember those scenes? Not much could be seen, only darkness, frayed soldiers, some robots and explosions. The game depicts more of a classic, post-apo USA, which addmittedly has a cool atmosphere, but doesn't really evoke the movies.
The developers have created models both taken from the movies, and invented by them.
TERMINATOR? I DO NOT RECALL
The first film was released in 1984, and its action took place in the same year. Plot outline: in 2029, there is a war between humans and rebellious machines. Humans win, and robots send an "electronic killer" (played by the one-and-only Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to kill the mother of the leader of the human resistance – Sarah Connor. The mission of stopping the Terminator is given to Kyle Reese.
In the second film, the story repeats with the difference that the protectors of Sarah and her son send their own, reprogrammed Terminator – again played by the former governor of California. .
Who's the protagonist?
You play as a resistance fighter whose squad was butchered by robots. While searching for other human units, he stumbles upon a small group of survivors, and sets out with them on a journey that is apparently inspired by the fantastic Metro: Exodus. Here, too, our comrades will try to organize mobile headquarters.
You can see the budget isn't high, but it's edible.
WAIT, ARE THOSE THE DUDES WHO MADE RAMBO: THE VIDEO GAME?
Correct, they are the same team, although Teyon's efforts are not limited to game development. Let me remind you that Rambo: the Video Game not only received a very bad reception from the players (I myself sort of enjoed it), but at the same time, it's clear that since then, the team has learned a lot, and the whole project is clearly more ambitious.
What does the gameplay look like?
I saw the beginning of the game. After a short tutorial introduction, I grabbed the pad and played one mission. On a fairly extensive map, I had to perform a simple task – get to the marked place, press "E" to get some story exposition, kill some robots along the way, don't die (I failed achieving the latter, but what are checkpoints for, eh?).
Simply – a good shooter with RPG elements.
This is a pretty classic shooter, in which finding cover, getting first aid kits and targeting the robots' weak spots is crucial. It's nice to watch the bullets tear pieces of metal armor from Skynet's minions, though shooting is rather formulaic. There was nothing very exciting about it – just solid craftsmanship.
Later stages of the story will also offer sneaking levels, and combat alongside AI-controlled allies. We'll also get crafting, resource collection, and on top of that, some game-changing decisions.
How much of an RPG is the Terminator ?
Character development and inventory management have pretty much been standard for action games for a while, so there's no point getting more in-depth here. In the new game, we can also modify the arsenal and spend experience points on skills from several different trees. The game takes that a little further, though. For example, we will encounter chests and locks that can only be accessed with high enough lockpicking skills.
Enemies that are deadly at the beginning, will become easier with progress.
I also learned that the T-800 terminators will be absolutely lethal to the player at the beginning of the game, and about the only thing you will be able to do is stay in the shadow and pray they don't see you, but later, you will even the odds with a plasma weapon. Then, we can fight them as equals. This system could be compared to Gothic, or Skyrim, as both games didn't scale the levels of enemies – the creatures that were deadly at the beginning could be easily overcome towards the end.
What does it look like and how does it sound?
While the concept of the game seems very enticing, the question of technical quality is one of the crucial issues here. Don't get me wrong; the game isn't ugly, the locations have a nice mood and it's hard to argue that the developers haven't delivered. Simultaneously, however, all the pixels on the screen whispered "Don't mind us, we're just displaying a AA game." The fact is apparent when looking at textures, models, and possibly most of all – the animations. If you compare this game to the above-mentioned Metro: Exodus, the gap will be huge.
The T-800 terminators are also problematic. They are quite accurate copies of what James Cameron showed us 30 years ago. Of course, this contributes to faithful world-building, but at the same time, it's clear that this project is... outdated. It's hard to get the same thrill from this story as a two decades ago, in front of a CRT TV.
The score, although using some of the motifs and compositions from the originals, was mostly written anew. It's rather inconspicuous throughout the game, but I presume there will be moments when it could reinforce nostalgia.
Is it worth giving a shot?
It is, of course, too early to answer this question, but, first of all, nothing is easy, and second, this is arguably the point of writing a preview. First of all, the Polish game is a representative of the dying genre of story-based shooters, which in and of itself makes it worthy of attention. Furthermore, the combination of a shooter with RPG choices and an extensive system of character development warrants hope that the gameplay will offer at least a few novel solutions, letting us remember the game better. Finally, there's, of course, the universe, which still remains iconic for many players, even though it's been strongly diluted with all each subsequent movie, and few people have a good idea of what's going on exactly.
"A, hey man, give me a chance!"
What I saw looked like a decent game that would be able to compete with any game on the market if not for the want of a bigger budget. If you're not scared of a game, where the characters deliver their lines very statically, sort of like in Bethesda games, and which looks like a title from around 2015, then... I wish I could really praise the game, but I only played it for an hour. I'll wait with the verdict, but I'm rooting for the Polish studio. They might just pull it off, and I can always enjoy a good, post-apo shooter.
