Terminator Salvation Updated Q&A - Enemies, Weapons, and Movie Tie-Ins

We get the last word on this soon-to-be-released action game from executive producer Per Juhlen.

Terminator: Salvation will be a third-person shooter based on the upcoming motion picture. The game will offer plenty of over-the-top action, a cover system, blind firing of weapons, on-rails shooting sequences, and lots of angry, angry androids for you to blast. To get the final details before the game's launch, we sat down with executive producer Per Juhlén.

GameSpot: Give us an update on the game. What aspects is the team working on?

Watch the machines in motion in this trailer for Terminator Salvation.

Per Juhlén: Currently, the team is working on some additional releases of the game for additional regions or languages. The team is also assisting, to some extent, in various marketing activities and providing marketing material. So we are done and ready for the release.

GS: Give us a rundown of the kind of hardware that players will be carrying around in the game. Clearly, you'll need some pretty big guns to bring down the machines, yes?

PJ: That is very true; the arsenal that players will use is mainly based on big weapons that we can relate to. The Resistance had to utilize what was available on Judgment Day, while Skynet had time and resources to get a few steps ahead. Players have access to grenades, pipe bombs, various explosive weapons, and an arsenal of guns and rifles. Each weapon has its strengths against the Terminators, and weaponry plays a key role in combat strategy.

GS: Aside from guns, what other tools and toys will players have at their disposal in their war against the machines?

PJ: Players will be able to use explosives, and in one instance the weapons that Skynet is using will be available to players as well.

GS: We understand that Terminator Salvation will have a great variety of different combat scenarios. For instance, there will be several enemies with the ability to fly--how will these opponents differ from standard ground opponents?

PJ: Players will appreciate a different set of weapons when taking on flying enemies. For the Aerostats, which are fast and attack in numbers, a weapon with more spread will be better to take them down, while a pistol shot might not even scratch their armor. Taking down flying enemies will change the way players interact with the environment since a flying enemy has an advantageous position most of the time, being able to attack above cover and so forth.

GS: We understand that there will be several on-rails sequences in which players must hop onto a moving vehicle and blast oncoming enemies. How has the team worked to make these sequences different and more exciting than standard on-rails sequences in other games?

PJ: I do not want to spoil anything, but what we have focused on was making sure that the [weapons that players will use are] different from typical rail sequences, and that the objectives and the means of transportation require players to use tactical strategies to be successful. When it comes to rail sequences, it is important to ensure that they feel "fair." In my opinion, it is OK to go crazy with prestaged effects and events that do not affect the difficulty. But whenever players don't feel that they've made a difference in the game, then the [developer] has chosen the wrong path, I believe.

GS: Aside from these on-rails sequences, what other sorts of gameplay features are being added to the game to make it seem more cinematic?

PJ: I would say that the tie between the game and the movie adds a lot to the cinematic feeling of the game. Many aspects of the game will transition into the movie, and players will be able to follow how the characters and relationships evolve from the game to the movie. Another thing we have put a lot of effort into is to make sure that the tempo and mood conveyed to the player is similar to a movie experience. A good way to convey the cinematic feeling of the game is through stressing the music and events surrounding players in order to trigger action and emotion. The challenge was to convey action while balancing focus so that players did not just rush into battle headfirst.

GS: Finally, is there anything else you'd like to add about the game?

PJ: I would like to thank the whole dev team working on the title; this project was a true team effort. And I hope that as many as people possible will have the chance to pair up the game with the movie.

107 Comments

  • Postmortis

    Posted May 26, 2009 2:23 am PT

    i just hope the new movie will be as good as the previous one,don't rly care about the game..

  • pyeeater

    Posted May 24, 2009 2:21 pm PT

    raidenishere

    Posted May 19, 2009 9:27 pm GMT

    "anouther movie/game remake how many of these type of games are we gonna be subjected to. not 1 of these type of games have delivered what the movie has delivered, just another deserpiontment"

    They've been making garbage games based on movies since the eighties , so i guess another 20 years of subpar releases dressed up in movie tie-ins is entirely possible.

  • jelly76

    Posted May 22, 2009 8:28 am PT

    "I'm only 30 minutes in but I am kind of dissapointed so far. I can't stand when I pay $60 for a game that they cleaned up for the trailers only to play it and see its nothing like they show here."

    @wushdishmeen

    It gets worse youve only got about 3hrs of gameplay left....$60 ? You paid about 15 $ per game hour.....hope you enjoy them

    Oh and then minus the time for cutscenes. Biggest lame release in a long time. (but the PC launch was amusing at least)

  • DaveA6489

    Posted May 22, 2009 2:46 am PT

    @ Skystride Dune II didn't suck. It was way ahead of it's time and founded the modern RTS genre. Yes, by today's standards it's not great, but for a 1992 game it's quite good.

    But, moving on to something a little more on topic, I'm not convinced by this game. It could be good, but I'll check out some reviews after it's been released.

  • Lambtastic13

    Posted May 21, 2009 8:44 pm PT

    I wouldn't BUY it, but its a definite rent for me.

  • solartiger

    Posted May 20, 2009 2:56 pm PT

    "...We get the last word on this soon-to-be-released action game from executive producer Per Juhlen..."

    Obviously not, since the install for the PC version of this game is broken...
    the last word seems to be "recall"

  • wushdishmeen

    Posted May 19, 2009 4:40 pm PT

    Oh and one very very important thing I forgot to mention. For all of you that think this game is Co-op let me make clear what obviously the developers of the game would leave out which is the fact that there is NO ONLINE CO-OP....i repeat...NO ONLINE CO-OP CAMPAIGN. The only way to play co-op is with two controllers and a friend over in person with a split screen. LAMEEEEEEE im so pissed. DONT BUY THIS GAME

  • wushdishmeen

    Posted May 19, 2009 4:32 pm PT

    I just popped this game into my PS3 and played the first half hour of the game. It seems OK....the game feels bland and a little clunky. Let me tell you guys....the trailer videos for the game they put up here on GameSpot capture the game in a certain way which makes it look A LOT BETTER then what it ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE. During gameplay I notice the graphics look like EARLY PS3 games during launch at times...the backdrops are kind of pretty. The only benefit to the sub par graphics is that the frame rates are amazing. I did not see one bit of lag at all even when there was a lot going on. However, seeing a car explode or a huge ship crash into a building I was in looked awful. The explosion and fires were barely even there...it looked like a cheap animation.

    I'm only 30 minutes in but I am kind of dissapointed so far. I can't stand when I pay $60 for a game that they cleaned up for the trailers only to play it and see its nothing like they show here. I always give my purchase the benefit of the doubt because in the back of my head I'm so nervous that I might have blown another $60 with no way of returning it. I'll update when I get farther. Maybe it's too early to judge?

  • DangerClown

    Posted May 19, 2009 3:46 pm PT

    I hope the game will feature a robust melee system, lol.

  • AlfaxD_Centauro

    Posted May 19, 2009 2:55 pm PT

    @andreipascu

    Because they are fighting against Machines. Not Humans.

    I mean, they can't running in the battlefield (but there are scenes) because they need heavy Weapons and transport to destroy the machines.

  • raidenishere

    Posted May 19, 2009 1:27 pm PT

    anouther movie/game remake how many of these type of games are we gonna be subjected to. not 1 of these type of games have delivered what the movie has delivered, just another deserpiontment

  • andreipascu

    Posted May 19, 2009 12:30 pm PT

    the single damn thing that you do in this game is shooting from vehicles i mean watch the video x(

  • Zold2012

    Posted May 19, 2009 12:28 pm PT

    Could be good, will wait for the rating before I think about getting it. Really want to see the movie though.

  • Warlord_Irochi

    Posted May 19, 2009 10:56 am PT

    A main campaign that can be done in 4 HOURS!!!

    I think that says it all...

  • Hoops0123

    Posted May 18, 2009 6:10 pm PT

    I wounder how long before they realize their not actually making more money off movie games?

  • runkii

    Posted May 18, 2009 4:24 pm PT

    Jesus it seems every blockbuster movie these days needs a video game counter-part, and if your going to make a Movie game especially one based on such a popular movie franchise, then why for the love of god pick one of the most mediocre gaming companies to produce it. Its decisions like these that make my eye's water. @ JJ_Marsh probably and it probably will be as good as the Multilayer on Terminator 3.

  • JJ_Marsh

    Posted May 18, 2009 3:43 pm PT

    I'll rent this, but only to kill the time before purchasing Infamous and Prototype. Does this game have multiplayer or anything other than campaign mode?

  • thenephariouson

    Posted May 18, 2009 11:47 am PT

    Really looking forward to the Movie, which is more than i can say for the game, Movie/Game...... Nuff said!

  • assassinatur54

    Posted May 18, 2009 11:07 am PT

    One thing is for sure, the Graphics and Visuals are top-notch. But since it's made by Grin Studios, I'm going to have to wait for the reviews. Wanted was really crappy, and from what I've seen, this sorta looks like Wanted done Terminator style. But other wise it looks O.K. I'll wait though.

  • ib3l

    Posted May 18, 2009 2:44 am PT

    full action i like it, amazing graphic and effect

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