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WITH THE IMMINENT RELEASE of Terminator 3: The Redemption we thought it timely to throw a little info at you as anticipation is fairly high for this title to succeed where others in the franchise have failed miserably. Indeed the last two Terminator titles at least have largely been quite forgettable so it's high time we got something decent to sink our teeth into and Terminator 3: The Redemption has been shaping up quite nicely to take on the challenge.

Recently we got to play a level of the game that introduced us to Arnold Schwarzenegger's T800 movie character and the different elements of gameplay that make this Terminator game quite interesting and a standout from previous efforts. Firstly let us say that the graphical presentation in T3: The Redemption is superb with clearly a lot of work having been put into creating excellent CG likenesses of the main characters, although we're feeling that the developers have been very kind to old Arnold making him appear a lot younger in the game than in real life.

All the scenery in the levels and the scenarios themselves are very true to the movie and have been brilliantly recreated to provide as close an experience to the film as you'll get in a game. The game engine itself appears to do a fantastic job of moving everything along at a decent framerate too as there's always a lot of effects like multiple fires, explosions, animations and weather effects going off and we didn't experience any slowdown in the level we played. Couple this with the fact that the T800 shows progressive damage as you move through the level and it's really quite impressive.

Essentially a 3rd-person arcade action shooter, T3: The Redemption, however, combines several different styles of gameply - shooting, driving and hand-to-hand combat - all in the same level and it changes constantly depending on what you're confronted with as you progress through. Each gameplay style will be presented in roughly equal amounts in the full game too. The level we played saw us first taking the T800 on foot into a post-apocalyptic city where we attempted to shoot down an airborne Skynet opponent before heading off down a road taking out oncoming robots with both weapons and hand-to-hand fighting. Opponent's weapons can be picked up and used and there are also stationery guns that can be mounted to slow down the advancing hordes of metallic enemies.

While the hand-to-hand combat mechanic felt a bit clunky and a little limited we were reminded that it was the intention of the developers to present this as something more like you'd expect from two big awkward heavy metal robots rather than the usual fighting game fare. To this end they seem to have succeeded and if you keep this in mind rather than expecting to bust out arcade fighter style then you'll appreciate it more for what it is. You can also pick up items in the environment to smash or impale your opponents with but given the choice we'd probably always opt for a gun if we've got one. There's plenty of them in the game too ranging from hand-held rifles and lasers to chainguns and all manner of heavy mounted weaponry from both human and Skynet sources. Expect much carnage.

After taking out a whole host of bots on foot we then jumped on the back of a ute with a mounted heavy gun and proceeded further down the road in pursuit of a flying Skynet ship that kept intermittently firing explosive "spikes" down at us. All along the way robots kept trying to climb aboard to take us down but with a quick nudge of an action button Arnie's boot came into play and we literally kicked their asses outta there! Of course this kind of thing wouldn't be complete without a classic one-liner from the Governator and each enemy booted from the ute was followed by a heavily-accented quip like "Have a nice trip!". There were also robots aboard vehicles attacking at various points along the way.

Vehicle combat such as this is all on rails rather than free-roaming but there is the promise of alternative paths using the analogue stick to steer either way when approaching branches in the road or by shooting certain 'flags' along the route. The rail shooting segments are pretty mayhemic with lots of action going on the whole time and different enemies coming at you from all angles. Thankfully the controls are quite straightforward and responsive and managing to drive and shoot at the same time soon becomes second nature. There are also driving segments in the game where you can actually drive the vehicle rather than ride on it and this promises a whole host of different vehicles including a motorbike which you can use to escape from or chase enemies down. We didn't get to try this option in the level we played.

The other feature we'd like to have tried is the multiplayer co-operative mode. Here two players can join forces in some rail shooting levels with each taking a side of the screen aboard vehicles. One level for example will see you both aboard a helicopter circling an area with the objective of taking out all the Skynet enemies below you. At this stage it sounds a little limited but we're sure it'll add a little something extra to the game and we're more than willing to give it a bash in the final version.

Terminator 3: The Redemption is certainly full of promise and while its gameplay looks fairly linear from what we've seen there's definitely a huge amount of action, challenge and fun on offer. We're also thinking this might be pretty solid "redemption" from Atari in terms of making up for all the below par Terminator titles we've had thrust upon us recently! Look out for our full review soon!

Here's some extra previously available information -

Description

Terminator 3: The Redemption will take players for a thrill ride into the post-apocalyptic universe as they play the series' signature icon, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice and likeness, Terminator 3: The Redemption will surprise players with innovative and exciting gameplay presented in a number of different styles utilising vehicles and machines straight from the Terminator universe, pitting the Terminator against numerous ground and air-based enemies.

Terminator 3: The Redemption will feature high intensity arcade style vehicle combat and character based missions from a third-person perspective. The Redemption is presented in a massive and diverse Terminator world, allowing the player to experience gameplay through three distinct timelines. Gamers will see the world of Terminator like never before - they will go places and do things that have only been hinted at in the films, including a futuristic world where Sky Net has defeated the human resistance.

Features:

• 14 single player levels in a variety of highly detailed, photorealistic environments.

• Co-op gameplay allowing friends to protect resistance forces on the ground by blasting Skynet opponents from the air.

• Fight as the Terminator in third-person, adrenaline rush driving action, which takes place in current day Los Angeles and devastated future Los Angeles, as well as alternate future scenarios.

• Engage in classic Terminator combat - rip out opposing Terminator's power cells and use them as high-powered explosive devices; use dismantled Endoskeleton torsos as shields; pick-up objects in the environment and pummel opponents with them; or simply smash opponents to pieces with metal-bending hand-to-hand moves.

• Command any vehicle on the battlefield. Leap from vehicle to vehicle and seize control of Sky Net or Tech Com weapons of war.

• Experience "Terminator Moments," which reward the player with cool "only Terminator" action shots for executing risky moves or finding short-cuts.

• Utilise vehicle weapons for enhanced Terminator combat, including Tech Com truck-mounted laser cannons and helicopter-mounted chain guns as well as advanced Sky Net weapons attached to Future Killer robots, tanks and hovercraft.

• More than 15 minutes of actual movie footage taken straight from the Hollywood blockbuster Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

Show me the screenshots!