"The war with the machines raged on for years. The resistance was mankind’s only hope. The shield around Skynet had to be lowered in order to gain entry. My son John Connor decided that he alone had the best chance of success."
Sarah Connor, Game Intro

Terminator 2 Judgment Day is regarded as one of the greatest action movies ever released. Unfortunately the games based off it, as is often the case, do not meet the same standards of quality. One of the best examples of just how bad the Terminator games are is T2 for the Game Boy. Devoid of the original theme - T2 starts off with basic Game Boy-esque music that could have been plucked from, or used in any other game. It sets an instant feeling that we’re not wholly inside the “Terminator universe” as does the somewhat disappoint a hardcore fan such as myself.

The actual gameplay itself is decent, although often confusing and frequently needlessly difficult. Essentially the bulk of the game involves traditional sidescrolling run and gunning - with players either controlling John Connor or the T-800 Terminator. The initial level has players controlling John in the future at a time when the battle between man and machine is well underway. The Leader of the Human Resistance must defeat patrolling Terminators as well as flying Hunter Killer’s but the main goal of the level is to destroy communication towers. Each subsequent level involves its own objectives - although the similar theme that binds the game together is to kill and to avoid being killed. Other levels require the player to control the Terminator in the present including a level that has players riding a motorbike and avoiding a menacing truck.

The Game Boy was never particularly a marvel in the sound or visual department but all things considered Terminator 2 looks pretty good. The grim reality of Cameron’s future Los Angeles is depicted well enough on the Game Boy’s tiny screen and non-existent color pallette (unless we’re counting the several shades of gray). The sound on the other hand is rather grating. As previously mentioned the lack of the original Terminator theme is unfortunate - presumably including it would have cost more money. The music included is instead generic and will likely get on the players nerves after a while especially with the tinny gun and explosion sounds competing for players ears.

Much like almost all video games based on a license Terminator 2 does not meet the benchmark set by the movie it is based on. It is a broadly-franchise-related side-scrolling shooter that frequently just as easily could be based on something else. There are some cool “Terminator” moments - probably the biggest being the motorcycle/truck chase - but there is certainly nothing that should compel someone to seek out this game.