Terminator 3: War of the Machines Impressions

At a recent Atari press event, we were able to take an up-close look at Terminator 3: War of the Machines, Atari's multiplayer-themed shooter for the PC in development at Hungarian studio Clevers. The game takes place in the year 2032, the year in which, according to the motion pictures, the machines took over the world from the humans.

In the game, you'll be able to play on the side of either the humans or the machines in one of about 10 huge maps that will mainly consist of burned-out urban areas filled with ruined buildings and industrial debris. Humans will be able to play as different classes, each of which will have a selection of weapons available. Among the human classes are a basic combat unit called the hunter, a heavyhunter with more-formidable armament, a supply character who functions like a medic, and a scout with access to two kinds of sniper rifles. Human players will be able to carry a primary weapon plus secondary items, such as grenades, and will be able to commandeer one of six drivable vehicles, including a burned-out sports sedan and an armored Humvee transport--these vehicles can be used freely by any human player, similar to those in Battlefield 1942.

Players who choose to play as the machines will have a considerably different experience, since they'll have the option of playing as an actual armored vehicle. You'll be able to spawn into the game as a tank or a flying gunship, or as a humanoid T-1 unit or infiltrator unit. The infiltrator unit will be disguised as a human, similar to the spy unit in Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, but once the infiltrator attacks, its cover will be blown. While the machines seem extremely powerful, they'll have various advantages and disadvantages; for instance, they'll generally move much more slowly than humans, and when they're controlled by the computer in a single-player game, they will generally not bother with subtlety and will charge forward, while humans will tend to group together to coordinate group assaults. When machines run out of ammo, they'll have a powerful claw attack up close, though if you spawn as a vehicle, you'll be able to get rid of your human opponents simply by running them over.

War of the Machines will support multiplayer matches for up to 32 players and will feature such play modes as deathmatch, team deathmatch, and domination, a mode in which players must capture territory to win. War of the Machines is scheduled for release later this year.