Terminator 2D: No Fate (Switch) Review

Terminator 2 is one of my favourite movies of all time. The action, the message, and the amazing soundtrack, the movie takes me back to a time in my life where the only AI was in movies and things were a lot simpler. From the minute I first saw Terminator 2D: No Fate, I was like, I’ve got to be there day one.

Terminator 2D: No Fate does its best to take you back to that time, not only with its graphics, but also its arcade-inspired gameplay and music as well. No Fate follows the story of the movie fairly closely, except for when it doesn’t. There are also some missions set in the future with you in control of John Connor instead of Sarah. There are a couple of ways the game deviates from the movie, kind of fill-in-the-gaps levels with Sarah, and eventually, after you beat the game once, a couple of “what ifs” levels at pivotal story points.

All of the big scenes are there, although some of the ones you think would be included only happen in the alternative storylines. The T-800’s instructions to never kill a human mean he’s sidelined for most of the game outside of these alternative stories, aside from one very nude, genital-less level. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s likeness is a big omission from the game, but the rest of the gang is all here at least.

The game plays out as a side-scrolling shooter for the most part, with a couple of missions involving some driving, including the iconic LA River chase section. Most of the time though, you’re blasting away at enemies or ducking for cover. There are powers that can be collected to improve your firepower, but like most arcade games of the era, these only last a limited time.

There a four difficulty settings here, although they’re a bit wonky. The game’s easiest difficulty will grant you unlimited continues, but remove some enemies and hazards to make things, well, easy. If you want to play the game as the developer recommends, at least for the first time, you’ll get a good challenge out of it, but once you run out of continues you have to start the entire game again. That’s how it used to be back in the day I hear you say, but the maximum amount of continues you can gather is limited to nine, and the game ramps up the difficulty towards the end. Most runs of the game will take only around an hour to complete, it’s meant to be an arcade game after all.

The game’s graphics may look era-appropriate, but the animations are not, and that’s a good thing. This game is super slick in its presentation, doing things arcade machines couldn’t do at the time, with really detailed animations all the way through. The death animation of the T-1000 is a highlight.

The game’s soundtrack is equally as impressive as the way it looks. Brad Fiedel’s synth soundtrack has been transformed and integrated into the game. There’s no voice acting here, and the music fills in the blanks instead with atmosphere and feeling. There’s even one licensed track from the movie, if you know where to look for it.

Terminator 2D: No Fate isn’t a long game, you can smash through it in about an hour, but like the movie itself, every time you play it you find something new and learn to appreciate it just a little bit more. Aside from one level that doesn’t lend itself particularly well to being replayed, there’s a lot here to go back for whenever you’re feeling like a bit of Terminator. The game does lean on the licence a lot, so if you’ve no nostalgia for the series, you might just feel like you’re missing out on something. I’ll be back (for another run).

Rating: 4/5