Post by grolt on May 22, 2009 8:49:50 GMT
Well, on the eve of Terminator: Salvation's release, what better time to crack open T2: The Arcade Game. This sucker was long a favorite of mine in the arcades, and it was one of the few games I bought for the Genesis back in the day. I loved it. I'd never tried the Master System version, and since my Genesis version was misplaced, I decided to finally give it a shot. I've got to say, it's a pretty impressive port. Very impressive, even. Slowdown is an issue, but considering it's consistently slow once you start opening fire, it becomes an accepted part of the game after the first few minutes.
What's impressive is just how much they are able to cram there on screen - so many different enemies - I counted 8 enemies at once, plus bonus items flashing in the foreground. Not only that, but there's a level of interactivity with the background, since you can shoot open walls, boxes and the like. The Terminators also animate, after one shot their flesh comes off, and then after the other they explode. From a purely graphical standpoint it's an amazing feat, and for my money one of the more accomplished for the system.
No light gun, but even the arcade version was essentially joystick driven, since the gun was mounted onto the cabinet and you could only tilt it a certain way. Even though the Genesis (and the SNES) supported the infared guns, I've never played it that way, so moving the cursor around just seems natural. In this case, though, it really works - the gameplay is frenzied, to say the least, and it can get intense enough that it even gives Power Strike a run for its money. Considering most shooting games focus on less shots and accuracy, this one is a welcome breath of fresh air, since you can literally just tear through everything. There's a bit of a strategy, though, too, so it's not just holding down button 1 and letting it rip. Your gun will sometimes need to charge, so when you can you let go of the trigger; and then there is also the missile button for slower, more powerful damage. Even if the game encourages you to just open fire non-stop, there are definite benefits to technique and to alternating between machine gun and missile attacks. It's literally a blast.
I've also got to say that the variety in the levels is a real nice change, too. In some you are just plain blasting endoskeletons, but in others, like my favorite, you're on the move and having to take out the baddies before they attack your truck. You have to make it through the whole level with the truck intact, otherwise you die. With every enemy shot the truck gets a little more damaged, and again, the animation is great. I'm hoping my other favorite level, the one where you have to shoot the hell out of the liquid nitrogen truck to freeze the T-1000, is also included, but I haven't got there yet. The manual tells me it's there though.
I'm actually stuck on the 4th and final level of Mission 1. I get to what looks like the end, but am unable to finish. I must be missing something, since I literally wasted my three spare continues on this one screen, blasting what seemed to be an endless array of those round flying dudes. I must have killed at least 50 or so on that one screen alone, and they were still going. They come from doors in the background, but everywhere I shot it didn't seem to impact anything else. For those who have made it past this, what's the secret?
Anyway, this game rocks.
What's impressive is just how much they are able to cram there on screen - so many different enemies - I counted 8 enemies at once, plus bonus items flashing in the foreground. Not only that, but there's a level of interactivity with the background, since you can shoot open walls, boxes and the like. The Terminators also animate, after one shot their flesh comes off, and then after the other they explode. From a purely graphical standpoint it's an amazing feat, and for my money one of the more accomplished for the system.
No light gun, but even the arcade version was essentially joystick driven, since the gun was mounted onto the cabinet and you could only tilt it a certain way. Even though the Genesis (and the SNES) supported the infared guns, I've never played it that way, so moving the cursor around just seems natural. In this case, though, it really works - the gameplay is frenzied, to say the least, and it can get intense enough that it even gives Power Strike a run for its money. Considering most shooting games focus on less shots and accuracy, this one is a welcome breath of fresh air, since you can literally just tear through everything. There's a bit of a strategy, though, too, so it's not just holding down button 1 and letting it rip. Your gun will sometimes need to charge, so when you can you let go of the trigger; and then there is also the missile button for slower, more powerful damage. Even if the game encourages you to just open fire non-stop, there are definite benefits to technique and to alternating between machine gun and missile attacks. It's literally a blast.
I've also got to say that the variety in the levels is a real nice change, too. In some you are just plain blasting endoskeletons, but in others, like my favorite, you're on the move and having to take out the baddies before they attack your truck. You have to make it through the whole level with the truck intact, otherwise you die. With every enemy shot the truck gets a little more damaged, and again, the animation is great. I'm hoping my other favorite level, the one where you have to shoot the hell out of the liquid nitrogen truck to freeze the T-1000, is also included, but I haven't got there yet. The manual tells me it's there though.
I'm actually stuck on the 4th and final level of Mission 1. I get to what looks like the end, but am unable to finish. I must be missing something, since I literally wasted my three spare continues on this one screen, blasting what seemed to be an endless array of those round flying dudes. I must have killed at least 50 or so on that one screen alone, and they were still going. They come from doors in the background, but everywhere I shot it didn't seem to impact anything else. For those who have made it past this, what's the secret?
Anyway, this game rocks.