Here’s another post leading up to the release of Terminator Salvation this week.

Despite the fact that the Terminator series of movies seems like a perfect fit to be made into a video game, with deadly machines fighting against humans, almost every game based on the franchise has been awful, with one exception…

T2 Arcade Game or the Only Good Terminator Video Game

 The T2 Arcade Game was/is a fantastic shooter. It’s simple to play - just grab one of the mounted uzi, pump in some quarters, pull the trigger, and you’re instantly blasting away at endoskeletons in the future in an effort to save the human race. The uzi is packed with plenty of vibrating punch that’s sure to leave your hand and wrist hurting after a while. That’s the sign of a great game.

I mean, how can a game not be fun with an awesome promo image like this one?

Unfortunately, the game didn’t translate to home versions very well. It was released in Super Nintendo, Genesis, Game Boy, and PC versions, but none of these were ever as fun as playing in the arcade, though using Nintendo’s Super Scope gun to play did help somewhat.

Here’s a glimpse at the Nintendo version:

But why is this the only good Terminator game ever made? There have been a TON of Terminator games produced over the years for nearly every home console ever invented, but they’ve all suffered from a severe lack of fun. Many were unplayable due to poor graphics, frustrating controls, or a combination of the two. Like this one:

Boring and repetitive. And then there’s Terminator chess:

While it’s true that many movie-based video games are simply awful, as they are usually rushed through development and production to ensure that they’re released at the same time (or before) the movie hits theaters, it still surprises me that so many bad Terminator-based games have been made. So I hope that somehow that the upcoming Terminator Salvation game succeeds where so many of its ancestors have failed.