bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Pavan Shamdasani

  Terminator Genisys: Future War
Plarium
2 stars
The Terminator Genisys movie came out almost two years ago. Everything about it was mediocre, from the terribly misspelled title, to (spoiler alert) John Connor as the bad guy, Sarah Connor’s non-stop sarcasm and even Schwarzenegger as an elderly terminator. It all but killed the franchise, but here we are, a good 700-plus days since it hit cinemas, with a tie-in mobile game.


What’s the point of releasing this obvious cash-grab when there’s little cash left to grab? We have no idea. Future War (available for Android and iOS) is a free-to-play Combat Strike rip-off, in which players must seemingly pick the side of the humans or the Skynet artificial intelligence network.
Game review: Friday the 13th - scary enough and with all the good bits from film series
You then start to build up an empire, constructing bases and buildings, as well as getting your many army units together. It’s your standard click-and-wait formula, the kind that any major movie franchise selects when they’re churning out a middling tie-in. The ultimate purpose is to fight it out in multiplayer or player-vs-player battles – but you can’t control any of it, as the fights are all automated and success largely depends on how many troops are on your side.

There’s no story, no real goal - apart from building more, battling behind-the-scenes and then doing it all again in Sisyphean fashion.
Having said that, the game looks decent, so developer Plarium obviously spent some time and money on it. Visually, the settings are straight out of the Terminator art book, and character models aren’t bad, if not wholly realistic. The possibilities and budget were definitely here, but as is to be expected with mobile gaming, creativity in the game play concept wasn’t a high priority.
Game review: Old Man’s Journey – walking for miles in an old man’s shoes has never been so absorbing
The Terminator series is in a sad state – a brilliant concept that went from dark sci-fi cult flick, to family fun action masterpiece, to ever worsening sequels that missed the point of what made the original so great.
Genisys was by far the weakest film, and this bizarrely late tie-in does nothing more than remind us what we’re missing.


How the Korean game company behind Lies of P found success after struggles

Forget phone apps and gaming consoles, video game players are returning to websites

Saudi video gaming giant Savvy eyes China after success of Delta Force, Black Myth: Wukong

China’s dreams of football glory may be achieved through gaming

Mobile gaming

Game review: Terminator Genisys - Future War mobile tie-in won’t revive franchise

Terminator Genisys is a free-to-play mobile tie-in game, in which players must pick the side of the humans or the Skynet artificial intelligence network.

Art from the Terminator game

Culture

Lifestyle

Arts

Tech

The Terminator Genisys film all but killed the cult franchise, but this bizarrely timed release of the tie-in mobile game will do little to excite already disillusioned fans


Video gaming

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review