Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Terminator: Salvation adopts a third-person shooter format that will feel instantly familiar to fans of cover-based action games. You’ll spend the majority of your playtime ducking behind wrecked cars, crumbling walls, and twisted metal girders as you blast through waves of merciless machines. The cover mechanics are solid, allowing you to blind-fire or pop out and deliver headshots on Hunter-Killers, T-1 tanks, and the hulking T-600 units that stalk the battlefield.

(HEY YOU!! We hope you enjoy! We try not to run ads. So basically, this is a very expensive hobby running this site. Please consider joining us for updates, forums, and more. Network w/ us to make some cash or friends while retro gaming, and you can win some free retro games for posting. Okay, carry on 👍)

Weapon management is straightforward but adds a layer of strategic decision-making: you can carry two firearms at once plus one type of thrown explosive. While you can swap out weapons found in weapons caches, you’re unable to scavenge arms directly from downed Terminators, which encourages you to think twice before unloading on every mechanical corpse. Grenades, pipe bombs, and other explosives can turn the tide in tight corridors, but ammo scarcity often pushes you to conserve resources or execute stealthy takedowns.

Between on-foot missions, the game throws you into a handful of on-rails vehicle segments where you man stationary turrets on hastily repaired military transports or commandeered civilian craft. These sequences break up the infantry combat nicely, though they can feel a bit restrictive compared to the freedom of the third-person sections. For fans who enjoy cooperative play, the offline split-screen mode lets two players tackle the entire campaign side by side, reinforcing the idea that humanity’s last hope lies in teamwork.

Graphics

The game’s visual presentation captures the bleak, ash-choked world of a post-Judgment Day Los Angeles with convincing authenticity. Ruined skyscrapers, collapsed freeways, and burnt-out vehicles stretch across the horizon beneath a permanently overcast sky. Textures on crumbling concrete and scattered debris often verge on photorealistic, immersing you in the apocalypse from the moment you step into the ruined cityscapes.

Character models range from impressive to serviceable. John Connor and his Resistance allies are rendered with detailed facial animations and realistic gear, while generic soldier models can feel a bit generic in comparison. The mechanical designs of the Terminators—the HKs, spider machines, and motorized endoskeletons—shine with polished metal textures and intricate joint animations that convey the cold precision of Skynet’s army.

Pre-rendered CGI cutscenes tie the narrative beats together with Hollywood-level production values. Explosions erupt in showers of sparks and debris, and the dynamic lighting during firefights fluctuates realistically as muzzle flashes flicker across your screen. The overall graphical package may not push the absolute bleeding edge of visual fidelity for its generation, but it consistently delivers a gritty, brutal aesthetic that suits the Terminator universe perfectly.

Story

Set in 2016—two years before the events of the 2009 film—Terminator: Salvation picks up the saga in the scorched ruins of Los Angeles. Following the catastrophic nuclear onslaught known as Judgment Day, humanity clings to survival in scattered enclaves. Skynet’s relentless machines sweep the wasteland, hunting any human who dares to resist. You assume the role of John Connor as he fights alongside Resistance squads to rescue captured soldiers and disrupt Skynet’s operations.

Rather than retread the movie’s plot, the game acts as a narrative bridge between Terminator 3 and the Salvation film. Key moments are depicted through pre-rendered cutscenes featuring voice performances from Common and Moon Bloodgood, who reprise their film roles, alongside Gideon Emery’s take on John Connor. Though Christian Bale doesn’t return to voice the protagonist, Emery captures Connor’s steely determination and leadership spirit.

While the story follows a fairly linear path—rescue missions, base infiltrations, and last-stand shootouts—it still manages to sprinkle memorable set pieces throughout. You’ll witness the desperation of a Resistance outpost under siege, coordinate an ambush on a spider tank patrol, and race to evacuate noncombatants before the next wave of Hunters arrives. Though not revolutionary, the narrative earns its keep by delivering the tense atmosphere and moral stakes you’d expect from a Terminator tale.

Overall Experience

Terminator: Salvation offers a solid shooter experience wrapped in the franchise’s iconic post-apocalyptic setting. Its strengths lie in the atmospheric level design, satisfying cover-based firefights, and the occasional thrill of facing off against towering war machines. Fans of the series will appreciate the expanded lore and the chance to step into John Connor’s boots during the darkest days of the Resistance.

However, the lack of online multiplayer and a relatively short campaign—around five to six hours on average—mean the game can feel a bit limited for seasoned shooters. Enemy variety, while decent, becomes predictable after repeated playthroughs of escort and rescue scenarios. The split-screen co-op mode is a welcome addition but requires a friend on the couch, which may not suit everyone’s play style.

Ultimately, Terminator: Salvation is an engaging, if not groundbreaking, action title that successfully captures the tone of the films and offers enough thrills to satisfy genre aficionados. If you’re looking for a tight, story-driven shooter with authentic Terminator flavor and you don’t mind its brevity, this game delivers a worthwhile glimpse into humanity’s battle for survival under the shadow of Skynet.

Retro Replay Score

5/10