Before the movie's release game developers began working on a PlayStation 2 adaptation of the film.  The arcade version of Terminator 2 greatly impressed audiences in the early 90s.  T3 has a different developer and a different publisher, but seeing how well other movies have been converted to games gave me hope for this title.  The light-gun is out, but Terminator is still a shooting game, this time a first-person shooter. 

A war is going on, robots are everywhere, and it's up to the Terminator himself to eliminate the threat.  From the first-person view players should be able to see all the action unfold.  Rise of the Machines is a bit claustrophobic though (problem #1).  There's a lot of destruction going on at first, but it's not very easy to see.  This is compounded by the camera (problem #2).  Console shooters use the two analog sticks to simulate mouse and keyboard control.  If a PC gamer were to play Terminator 3 he or she would never want to play another console shooter again.  Player movement is slower and less responsive than most of the below-average shooters on the market.  Not much can be achieved when you dread having to reposition the camera to take another shot.  An auto-aim feature could have improved the player's ability to aim, but it wouldn't have made the experience anymore enjoyable.

Rise of the Machines' weapon selection is decent in amount but disappointing in quality (problem #3).  The weapons sound much cooler than they really are.  In the present Terminator 3 offers weapons like a 9mm pistol and a pump shotgun.  The T1 mini-gun is here, as is the rocket propelled grenade launcher.  The rest are more or less variations of machine guns and other FPS staples.  In the future T3's weapons are almost worst.  We've seen too many lasers and plasma rifles to get excited about their presence in a Terminator game.  Their secondary functions (a grenade or a more powerful laser shot) are generic at best.

Problem #2 centered on the camera, but the player movement was briefly mentioned.  That leads us to problem #4.  While most shooters have borrowed the smooth Halo feel that Bungie created, Terminator 3 goes way back to the days of the SNES.  I can only remember one first-person shooter released on that system: Doom.  By today's standards Doom would seem clunky and very difficult to control.  It would be looked down upon and wouldn't seem worth playing.  Terminator 3 has those same qualities.  This is inexcusable.  I know they could have done better than this.  The developers must have had less time (or less funds) than most.

Problem #5 has to do with the game's graphics.  Where are they?  All I see are bland backgrounds, inferior explosions, cartoony weapon effects, and ugly robots with little detail.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is the reason why gamers are afraid to see publishers pick up a movie license.  A lot of good can be done with it – The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King proved that.  But a lot of bad can be done with it as well.  If a no-name game stinks, it'll be forgotten quickly.  But a movie-based game has a lot attached to it, especially if the film is successful. 

Gameplay: 4
A ho-hum shooter for a high-quality-expecting audience.  Terminator 3: Rise of the Machine is TOA – Terminated on Arrival.  It's so slow and mundane that you won't even feel like you're playing a game that's based on the movie.

The weaponry is about as weak as they come.  They're effective in killing the robotic opponents, but in terms of power or coolness they stink.  It might sound crazy to pick on the laser beams, but compare this to virtually any new FPS available.  There are certain subtle elements that game developers have added to the genre that are only noticeable when they are absent.

T3's camera and player movement are horrendous.  Thank your lucky stars that the enemies are easy to kill, because if they weren't the camera would stop you in your tracks.  It makes it nearly impossible to line up a good shot and fire.  If you're playing a game that's all about shooting, and the game prevents skilled players from aiming properly, it comes to a point when you wonder if the game is worth playing.  I hate to say it – and I rarely do, even when a game is filled with flaws – but this is a must-avoid.

Graphics: 3
PlayStation 2 this is not.  It says PlayStation 2 on the box, but the game does not feature any of the graphical qualities of a PS2 title.  Slow and sluggish gameplay is sometimes caused by a low frame rate, but I'm not sure that's the problem here.  Nothing good can be seen – the textures and explosions are far below the industry's minimum standards.  The FPS genre was created to put the player inside of the game, but T3 does no such thing.

Sound: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 3
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a below-average FPS with the characters from the film.

Overall: 4
I've got the movie, California's got a new governor, and gamers have a new game to check out.  It's not worth the check that you'd sign to pay for it, but it will stay out of your system for all eternity.  I suppose that having this game would be better than nothing if you were stranded on a desert island.  But in North America – the land of first-person shooters – you have dozens of superior options.  You could get a used copy of Perfect Dark for under ten bucks.  Halo, Quake III, Unreal Tournament, Half-Life and countless first-person shooters retail for $20 or less.  The old age of these titles has no bearing – they're still more fun to play than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.  The only thing that would make this game worth taking home is if it were free.  But if that were the case you'd play it till you got sick of it and toss it out the window.  (Time elapsed before defenestration: ten minutes.)