The Terminator is one of the most enduring science fiction films in pop culture. AS an indestructible metallic monstrosity featuring glowing red eyes, The Terminator has become an image known to strike fear. The movies weave a twisted tale of time travel and an A.I. despots that have maintained a devout fanbase thanks to the strong quality of the initial duo of films. However, by the time the third film hit theatres, the quality took a dip. Terminator Salvation was an interesting new direction and introduced some cool new machines. Then Terminator Genisys rewrote the entire timeline and retconneไd most of the established lore.
The movies have also had a number of video game adaptations of the source material, as well as original storylines based in the universe. Some of them have been excellent explorations of the world a self-aware Skynet created, while others have been terribly executed exercises in bad mechanics and stiff kung fu combat. When things go right, it’s a blast blowing away machines and leading humanity in the ജresistance against the onslaught of robotic tyrants. The games have appeared on every system since the DOS Computer system and with the recent announcement that the sixth film in the series would be coming soon, it won’t be long before Terminators are on current gen systems with ridiculous polygon counts. 💞Until then, here’s a list of the 8 best and 7 worst Terminator games ever made.
15 Best: The Terminator (Sega CD)
The Sega CD version of The Terminator film video game adaptation is considered to be the best of the original bunch. This was achieved thanks to the advanced graphics and futuristic soundtrack made possible by the CD drive, along with the well executed gameplay. The backgrounds were suitably dark, the character designs were nicely detailed and true to their film counterparts, and the combat was satisfyingly visceral. The gameplay was very similar to early Contra games as we watched Kyle Reese run, shoot, duck and flip through each level, taking o⛄ut T-800s along the w🧔ay.
The game provides a deeper look at the bleak future that awaited mankind thanks to the ꦑc🃏arelessness of CyberDyne and it’s sentient Skynet A.I. with a grudge. Luckily, there are plenty of weapon upgrades to spice up the battlefield antics and make the rebellion that much sweeter. This is definitely one to check out for any retro gaming enthusiasts out there.
14 Worst: The Terminator (SNES)
It’s amazing how much of a difference the system used to make during the 16-Bit era. While the Sega CD version of The Terminator is widely-touted as the best film adaptation, the SNES version is considered one of the worst. The presentation isn’t nearly as crisp as th✱e detailed sprites the the Sega CD was capable of producing. The gameplay is a punishing trek with limited lives through lengthy levels devoid of save points. There are al༺so fewer weapon choices to disperse machines wit and the player is limited to a basic plasma rifle, a rapid fire upgrade and grenades. The difficulty is also ramped up a considerable amount. Many players would succumb to frustration before they even completed the first level.
The game also deviated from the film in a few areas, such as an early battle with a fighter jet for some reason. If you wanna get your fix for side-scrolling Terminator action, stick with the Sega CD. Also, please꧟ don’t give the vile Genesis version a plaꦉy through by any means.
13 Best: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Arcade)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a film that carries a celebrated legacy of technical achievement for movie effects, great action scenes and probably the greatest amount of acclaim of any of the other releases in the series. The video game adaptations of this film hold the special distinction of being terrible across all platforms, wit💮h the exception of the excellentꦆ arcade light gun shooter that was also released.
This game features great graphics and frenetically fun gameplay that is sure to keep you and your friends entertained. The game features lots of cool pickups that can be added to your weapon to make it even more effective in battle. You mow through a shooting gallery of machines and slightly follow the plot of the movie. There are a few challenging sections, such as escort💮 missions, but the overall experience is memorable fo🌳r all the right reasons.
12 Worst: Terminator 3: War Of The Machines
Terminator 3: War of the Machines was released on the PC after Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines was released in theatres. It is a first person shooter that allows the player to choose whether to be on the side of Skynet and the ꦓmachines or the TechCom human resistance forces. The game also featured an online multiplayer component that was still fairly innovative in 2003. Sadly, that’s whe🐠re the positive points end for this one.
War of the Machines was pretty much critically panned and was lacking in just about every way possible for a competent FPS. The graphics weren’t much better than games of the first PlayStation era and the environments were nothing more than an uninspired assortment of grey and brown buildings. Critics also derided the multiplayer for poor matchmaking and a lack of dedicated servers. One even called it a failed attempt at copying Battlefield 1942. They didn’t even bother to program death animations for the characters you cont𒈔rol, as they just t🔜ip over like mannequins in a department store display window.
11 Best: The Terminator 2029
The Terminator 2029 is similar to DOOM and features the player as part of one of John Connor’s Special Ops teams. You and your squad discover a power suit known as Advanced C𒅌ombat Armor that can be customized with a variety of weapons, shields and other attachments. You fight against a wide variety of machine enemies, including T-801s, A-1000s, G-500s and many mor🧸e.
You move throughout the game world and search for items and weapons upgrades for your armor. The graphics are actually pretty good and they’re on par for other games released for DOS at the time, like Monkey Island. The world isn’t as detailed as the character models, but it doesn’t necessarily take away from the overall presentation of the game. It also helps to flesh out the world of The Terminator universe without having to rely on the storyline of a film. It also appears to have been one of the inspirations for Bethesda’s later adventures into the Fallout universe.
10 Worst: The Terminator (NES)
The NES version of The Terminator game releases has the dishonorable distinction of being the ab꧑solute worst one of the entire bunch. The game was comprised of only four levels of mediocre gameplay that follow the plot of the movie. It was your standard side-scrolling action, with a couple of car scene chases for added variety. It does very little to help the cause and just results in a variety of horrible examples of game design.
The graphics are horrible, as the characters look like doodles from a grade school student’s notebook. The backgrounds do fair much better, though they come across as repurposed pieces of other games such as Super Mario Bros. and Castlevania. Horrible music 🅘choices also plague this poor adaptation, as they present you with some of the most annoying assortments of bleeps and bloops imaginable.
One of the most egregious examples is the final boss battle against the titular Terminator, which featured confusing lev🔜el design and a ridiculous endgame showdown that has the player passivel🔴y led the villain into a trap to win, even though the game doesn’t bother to tell you that’s what you need to do.
9 Best: RoboCop Versus The Terminator
RoboCop Versus The Terminator sounds like all of your robo-nerd dreams come true. The metallic titans square off against each other in a battle royale that is sure to satisfy fans of both franchises. The level design was a bit confusing, but the gameplay itself more than made up for it. Stomping through the city and mowing down bad guys as RoboCop is extremely satisfying, even if his limited jumping ability conflicts with the platforming design of the game itself. The game is extremely challenging, but not in a frustrating way. You just feel a greater sense of accomplishment as you move past obstacles and enemies that killed you on each previous run. Think of it like Demon’s Souls for the SNES, something to excite the masoch♌ist that naturally resides in us as gamers.
When Terminator does appear, yo🅺u will barely be able to contain your excitement, until you realize he’s a total pushover and can easily be taken out by ducking and unleashing a constant barrage of bullets. Definitely a hidden gem in the SNES library despite the lackluster ending.
8 Worst: Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Chess Wars
The Terminator 2 film spawned numerous video game adaptations that range in quality. Most of them are actually pretty enjoyable, while some of the concepts were terrible. Whoever thought it was a good idea to combine chess with The Terminator franchise should have been met with nothing but vehement disapproval. Somehow it was designed and released to the masses anyway as Terminator 2: Judgment Day - Chess Wars.
The game featured key characters from both sides of the conflict acting as the pieces on the chessboard. There are numerous background options to choose from, although they are merely cosmetic and offer no real benefits. The graphics are nothing special to look at and the character designs are drab. The music 🌳is standard low grade techno imitation from the film soundtrack. The game is basically chess with kill cutscenes when pieces are taken off the board. Nothing to truly invest time into at the end of the day.
7 Best: Terminator 3: The Redemption
Terminator 3: Redemption is aptly named thanks to the abysmal reception of the other title that was released in conjunction with the film of the same name, but we'll have more on that later. This game was a ton of fun with varied mission types, action-packed cutscenes and set pieces, along with a 🍰decent storyline that is more of an extension within the universe than a straightforward re-telling of the film plot.
The game featured on-foot combat, vehicle-based combat and on-rails sections. There is no shortage in the variety of machine types that you will be beating and blowing apart. The graphics are definitely dated by today’s standards, but they were decent for the time. The game also featured some voice acting from Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is raꦿre for the actor.
6 Worst: Terminator Salvation
Terminator Salvation actually had the makings of a good game. The open world, cover-based shooter featured an interesting storyline that took place between the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator Salvation. While it most definitely is not the worst game based on The Terminator franchise, it wasn’t going to win any prizes. The graphics were drab and the gameplay was repeti🌳tive after the first few levels. The action of the game is exciting and makes you wo♔nder what could have been if the game received some extra time to get polished. The cover mechanic doesn’t really work sometimes and the aiming reticule can be slow to respond as well.
Of all of the games tha꧃t have made this worst list, this is the one I could definitely see being solid with a few minor tweaks. The developers were on the right path without enough time to reach 100% completio🌼n.