Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines announced

Atari has today announced that it will release an action game based on Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines later this year. The game, which is currently in development at Black Ops Entertainment, will not only feature Arnold Schwarzenegger's likeness, but it will also incorporate both footage from the movie and around five minutes of footage shot specifically for the game in which Schwarzenegger and director Jonathan Mostow will shed some light on the mythology behind the origins of the terminator.

"The Terminator series is one of the most popular movie franchises in existence today and its latest incarnation, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, is one of the most highly anticipated movie releases of 2003," said Matt Broughton, international communications director, Infogrames Europe. "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the video game, will capitalize on every aspect of the feature film's popularity, from a mind-bending plot that closely follows the movie's script to the first-ever appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger's likeness and voice in a video game. Gamers and Terminator fans alike are going to be blown away when we give them an opportunity to become one of the most advanced fighting machines ever created."

According to today's press release, the game will weave in and out of the movie script as players face enemies both in the present day and in the apocalyptic future where the War of the Machines is raging. The game will feature more than 20 different locations, including military bases, laboratories, present-day Los Angeles, and futuristic wastelands.

As a terminator, players will have access to more than 20 different futuristic and modern-day weapons, including the SkyNet arc-laser, the Tech-Com micro rocket launcher, and the AR-15 assault rifle with M202 grenade launcher. Terminators will also go up against each other in hand-to-hand combat, and players can look forward to facing the ultimate killing machine, the T-X, on multiple occasions as they progress through the single-player mode. Intriguingly, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will also see players assuming control of the terminator before it was reprogrammed in the future to save John Connor--meaning that in certain portions of the game, players will be fighting alongside the forces of SkyNet as it attempts to eradicate humankind.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is currently scheduled for release this fall. We'll bring you more information on the game as soon as it becomes available.