Terminator 2D: No Fate

When Terminator 2: Judgment Day debuted in cinemas back in 1991, it was more than just a sequel; it was a phenomenon. It was a massive blockbuster that ended up bringing in more than $500m at the worldwide box office, easily making it the top grossing film of that year. In fact, the movie was so popular that it couldn’t all be contained in a single video game, as there was both a side-scrolling action game that nobody remembers, as well as an arcade light gun game with sharp digitized graphics that recreated some of the most exciting moments from the movie. Now, nearly 35 years later, we’re getting yet another game based on the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic. But Terminator 2D: No Fate is more than a simple retelling of the action flick, because this throwback run ‘n gun shooter attempts to fill in some of the plot points that we never got to see in the film. Does that make this the best T2 game yet? That’s what we’re about to find out when I review Terminator 2D: No Fate by Bitmap Bureau.

In case you somehow missed out on the biggest movie of 1991, Terminator 2 picked up about a decade after the original and tells the story of two different models of Terminators who time travel back to the mid-1990s in order to either kill or protect John Conner. It’s basically a retelling of the first film, only this time around Arnold Schwarzenegger is on our side and the bad guy is made out of liquid metal. It’s also way more explosive. Just so many things blowing up.

This game is largely faithful to the Terminator 2 movie, but decides to add a bunch of new content to make this more than a retelling. For example, the game starts with an exciting shoot-out in Copper Valley, Texas, an old abandoned town where Sarah has been training her son, John, to be the leader he eventually becomes. We also see how she was arrested and why she was institutionalized at the start of the movie.

One thing I really like about this game is how it quickly shifts from one character to the next. Not only do we get to see Sarah Conner in action, but we also get to play as John Conner in the far-flung future of 2029, fighting off the robot army. This gives us a chance to experience all kinds of new weapons and battle massive boss characters, some of which are new to the game and some that are pulled straight out of the film.

Things begin to look a lot more familiar once the two Terminators go back to 1995. Pretty much every major scene from the movie is recreated here, starting with a genre-bending bar fight that trades in the previous run ‘n gun gameplay for beat ‘em up action, similar to Streets of Rage. And that’s not the only time Terminator 2D completely switches up the gameplay, because just a few levels later we’re avoiding cars and obstacles on our motorbike in one of several exciting chases.

While the genre-hopping is fun and helps to shake things up, most of the game can be summed up as a run ‘n gun shooter. No matter if you’re trying to survive the future, planting bombs in the Cyberdine building or fighting the T-1000 in that steel mill, a lot of the action resembles classic games like Contra, Gunstar Heroes and even Rolling Thunder. In fact, there are specific moments hat feel like they were taken straight out of those games, such as a futuristic boss that shoots missiles at the ground, an almost shot-for-shot remake of something that happens in Contra III: The Alien Wars.

When I went into Terminator 2D, I was excited to see how Bitmap Bureau interpreted all of my favorite scenes from the movie. However, now that I’ve played through No Fate, I have to say that the game is at its best when it’s veering away from what was on the silver screen. I like that it not only gives us a bunch of new locations to fight through, but it also allows the developer to go even more over-the-top with the action than what you find in the movie stages. This is especially true when you’re playing as adult John Conner in 2029. I love the bombed-out level designs and all of the massive robot bosses they throw at us. This is a chance for the developer to show us what they can do, and those stages do not disappoint.

Unfortunately, even with all of the added story beats, the game clocks in at around an hour. That’s not very long. It’s also not very difficult, especially on the default setting. Seasoned run ‘n gunners will have no problem speeding through the first eight or nine stages without dying too many times. But just when you start to get cocky, the game dials up the difficult in a big way for the final two stages. I found that the steel mill stage, while fun, was more frustrating than it should be due to the introduction of one-hit deaths. And not just for the protagonist, who in this level is Sarah. John is off running around off screen, and if he runs into the T-1000, he’ll die instantly and the game will be over.

While short, there are a few really good incentives keeping you glued to the screen. One thing you’ll want to do is make different choices to see how the story changes. This lets you rewrite the ending of Terminator 2, in both good and bad ways. There are also a bunch of modes to unlock, including the usual boss rush and an infinite survival mode. One of the interesting things you can do is play exclusively as Sarah Conner in the Mother of the Future mode. This is a remixed version of the game where Sarah takes on Terminators in both the past and the future.

As a throwback action game, Terminator 2D looks and plays the part. The gameplay is easy to pick up and precise; when you die, it’s never because the gameplay got in the way. Even as it’s jumping from one genre to another, it’s always clear how to play and actually feels really good as you take down robots in the future or security guards in the past. These stages also look fantastic, with details backgrounds and levels that are more complex than they first appear. The level layout is full of hidden weapons and continues to find, and sometimes there are multiple ways to accomplish your goal. It’s still a fairly restrictive 2D action game, but there’s a lot more going on than just walking from left to right shooting bad guys.

This is a game that makes a real good first impression and continues to delight right up to the very end. I might argue that all of the endings are a little abrupt and could be more satisfying, but much like the film, this game is more about the action-packed journey than a rousing conclusion. I suspect most Terminator fans will leave happy with the throwback gameplay and impressed with how the developers have fleshed out the story. That’s the real reason to play a game like this. Just as long as you aren’t expecting hours upon hours of gameplay, you’ll have a good time with Terminator 2D: No Fate.