Terminator 2D: No Fate
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Publisher: Reef Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed), PC
Release Date: Available Now
Price: $29.99 USD – Available Here
Overview
While not quite as prominent these days, there was a time where movie tie-in games were produced and released within months of the film they were based off of. For the most part, these movie games ended up being terrible in quality and often barely matching the actual film they were trying to mimic. Even Terminator 2: Judgement Day saw an NES game released to fairly dismal reception back in the day despite the fact that the film itself helped propel the franchise to the point that it received numerous sequels and spin-offs and so many quoted phrases remain part of pop culture.
The only thing it was missing was a proper game to help bring that nostalgia back and Bitmap Bureau has taken a time machine themselves to go back to the ‘90s style of arcade games to bring forth Terminator 2D: No Fate. Featuring the 32-bit art style and challenge of shooting games back in the day, is this the best way to truly replay the memorable events of the film?
Story
The primary and one of two available modes when players start the game is either the game’s story mode or an arcade mode, the latter being a stripped down version of the former and a slew of other locked modes that require players to beat the story mode first. The story itself is a rather interesting take on Terminator 2 because, while it exhibits some of the best replication possible of many of the major sequences throughout the limited run-time, it also features some brand new levels that add some additional context as to why Sarah and John were where they were at the start of the film.
The story begins with Sarah training John out in the desert only for her son to be kidnapped by outlaws and Sarah needing to eliminate all of them in an effort to save him. This leads her to realize that the only way to make sure that the future is safe is to take matters into her own hands early and infiltrate Cyberdyne’s labs as quickly as possible. Despite making her way through to the inner depths of the labs, Sarah is caught and thrown into a psychiatric ward. Similarly, players are then transported into the future to show an adult John Connor fighting against Skynet’s machines to battle against their latest invasion force and try to put a stop to the rumored plans that Skynet is planning on sending machines back to the past.
These unique levels are a good introduction to the game and give players a bit of extra contest that was only ever hinted at in the original film. From then on the storyline follows as players expect, ranging from beating up bikers as a naked (or swim-trunk wearing on a special difficulty) Schwarzenegger, speeding down a drainage canal on a motorbike and shooting at the T-1000 chasing them down, escaping the mental hospital, and so on. All of these sequences play out exactly like fans will remember them and are accompanied by satisfying looking pixel screens mimicking the movie. It is only later stages that give players a bit of extra choice though these initial choices are locked until they beat the story normally the first time through, giving everyone the signature ending the film concluded with and a satisfying final chapter to play through to close things out.
It is only on replay that players are given a few different choices that will slightly alter the way the story unfolds and, depending on which choice is made, it happens to be quite bad overall. Either way, making any choice that derails the story from its set path unlocks some additional levels for playing as Sarah or even the T-800 itself gunning away with a near-invincible body. It is interesting that these extra choices give players some new levels to play as, but the actual story differences are so minimal here that they are basically negligible, especially one choice in particular.
Gameplay
For the most part Terminator 2D: No Fate is a side-scrolling shoot’em up where players will control one of the famous characters from the movie as they run through each stage. As mentioned before, the only modes available at the start are Story and Arcade with Arcade limiting players to one life and stripping down extra levels, gauging how quickly, if at all, they can beat the entire game with that single life. Players will need to complete the story, complete the story with optional divergent endings, and more to unlock other modes. This includes Infinite Mode that allows players to select from the three characters and take on enemies in a potentially endless battle depending on their time management and remaining health, Boss Rush mode that is self-explanatory by giving players two characters to take on every Future Boss in a row, and a special Mother of the Future mode that is a modified version similar to Arcade mode though only with Sarah’s levels plus additional stages.
Every stage in Terminator 2D: No Fate is constructed from one of the film’s signature moments from beginning to end, with some new elements mixed in here and there. These new elements tend to feature events that happened just prior to the film and all of the “future” segments. This means that there are many stages that see players running, standing and gunning as Sarah, taking out Cyberdyne members, police, and even the T-1000 while others will see players controlling John in the future where he can actually run and gun as he faces off against all manner of Skynet’s human hunting forces using his futuristic weapon set and pipe-bombs. Among these stages are some unique ones that see players of course taking part in a melee bar brawl as the naked T-800 with some rudimentary brawling mechanics, chase sequences down the drainage canal blasting open gates and the T-1000’s truck to keep it from catching up, and even fleeing from the helicopter near the end. In fact, there is even a stealth based level in the psyche ward where Sarah’s skill set is reduced to melee and lock picking, forced to sneak out or risk being “terminated” if caught or killed by the T-1000.
This brings plenty of variety to the stages that players will play through in any standard run through of the game and it is nice to note that the gunplay feels great. There is 8-point directional aiming on weapons and players can press and hold a button to stop and aim directly to target specific enemies, though this will leave them a bit open. Each character also has their own unique mechanics depending on their stage. Sarah can slide and melee enemies and can find hidden assault rifles in her stages to take down enemies faster before later stages see her kitted out right away. John in his future setting wields a rapid-fire laser and limited pipe bombs with refills scattered throughout each stage. Various temporary weapon upgrades like homing shots, spread-shot, and piercing shot are also placed in levels for use against the slew of Skynet forces and bosses. Finally the T-800 itself is a merciless killing machine with a massive health pool and gatling gun in the one stage players can potentially play as it.
One thing that Terminator 2D: No Fate also emulates quite well is the challenge of a game from the ’90s. While there is an easy mode for players to simply skate through with infinite continues, extra health, and no time limit, that is not the way the game is intended to be played. Playing on the equivalent of the Normal difficulty increases enemy count, limits how many continues the player has, lowers their overall health, and adds a time limit to every level. Players cannot expect to clear the game their first time through, especially since some stages feature instant death conditions so an improperly timed firing of a shotgun or duck for cover can instantly cost a continue. That being said, learning enemy patterns is the best way to advance from checkpoint to checkpoint, with checkpoints also healing players as they go and keeping an eye out for bonus “continue” markers hidden through each stage that can be shot for an extra life.
Bumping the challenge up even higher to Hard, the “recommended” difficulty, increases the challenge further with a “Very Hard” equivalent being locked behind the final optional mode being cleared. That being said, a lot of the optional content like the aforementioned modes is repetitive despite being incredibly challenging. The two “alternate endings” that players can unlock are incredibly basic and only add an extra stage or two to each level, one being the aforementioned T-800 stage, and others basically being running through John’s levels again only as an old Sarah Connor. Even at its longest run through of extra stages players will likely be able to complete the story in under two hours, or even under an hour if they simply rush through on Easy. Combining this with the limited actual differences on offer through the bonus modes and Terminator 2D: No Fate, is surprisingly lacking in extra content despite how it appears.
Audio & Visuals
Terminator 2D: No Fate has some excellent looking sprite work and replicates the feeling of a classic late-release SNES game or Sega Genesis title perfectly. Every stage feels unique (except for repeated stages as mentioned before) and matches what one would expect given the film’s setting. The action is chaotic looking with bullets flying around and players using their skills to avoid them all while taking down various foes that fit each level’s setting. Some of the enemy designs are a bit too generic looking, especially when they are used so minimally and the fact that the bare T-800s are so standard looking is disappointing. That being said, boss designs are rather unique, especially in the future settings where the team had more freedom. It is rather odd that the few canine enemies that appear in the game are larger than most of the actual humanoid enemies players will blast away at.
It is interesting to note that despite having the license for Terminator 2, the game does not feature any voice work of any kind. It does feature the pixelated appearances of every character in screenshot style, minus Schwarzenegger other than in his damaged state, but all dialogue is presented as text only. That being said the game does feature some outstanding sounding background music that fits the tense combat of the game perfectly and even includes some iconic background music that players can trigger in some stages.
Overall
Terminator 2D: No Fate clearly is a love-letter to the film it is based off of, exemplifying what a movie tie-in could be like if actual care was given to it. With excellent presentation and soundtrack the title features a fittingly difficult challenge to the game’s many modes and exceptional gameplay. That being said, it is a bit disappointing in the end that not only is the game rather short overall, but even the extra modes and bonus new content to the story is rather minimal and some of it even re-uses stages.
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