It might be brief, but Terminator 2D: No Fate is a cracking, nostalgic tribue to 90s games, movies and culture.
Terminator 2D: No Fate’s story mode opens with a shot of a rolling stretch of tarmac, its yellow centre lines infinitely scrolling past at regular intervals as moody, industrial music plays out behind it. It’s a sight that should feel familiar to any fan of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as it’s similar, but not identical, to the final scene of the movie’s theatrical release. The monologue that accompanies it is different too, delivered in the game by blocks of text rather than by Sarah Connor’s distinctive whispered voice from the film.
In the movie this scene neatly ties up the story with lessons learned, offering the viewer a hopeful glimpse at a better future. But at the beginning of No Fate a large chunk of exposition tells us of the horrors that await us during Judgement Day and beyond, setting up the events of the game that follows. Despite the differences, this feels incredibly authentic to the atmosphere of James Cameron’s juggernaut of an action movie, instantly tapping into a vein of T2 nostalgia, while at the same time being handled differently enough to give the game its own unique flavour too. That’s the Terminator 2D: No Fate experience in a nutshell really. It’s incredibly faithful to the source material, but it’s also not afraid to mix things up a bit or add in some unexpected alternatives in order to best serve the gameplay.
Bitmap Bureau’s Terminator 2D: No Fate isn’t just a love letter to one of the greatest movies ever made though, it’s also a tribute to 90s gaming, of Super Nintendo side-scrollers and arcade action games. People who lived through that era will immediately notice similarities between No Fate and the Contra/Probotector series as you run left to right, shooting enemies and occasionally jumping up or down onto different parts of the scenery, but other influences from the time are felt here too. The tutorial level, a brand new scene that doesn’t feature in the movie, opens with an homage to Double Dragon as John Connor is punched in the gut and then slung over the shoulder of a musclebound bad guy.
Later that same level, enemies lean out of windows and shoot down at Sarah and you, unable to shoot in any directions other than horizontal, vertical or diagonal, need to position her in just the right way to take them out – just like in the Robocop arcade and home computer games from the late 80s. There are side-on vehicle chase sequences where you need to watch the edges of the screen for oncoming obstacles a la Battletoad’s frustrating Turbo Tunnel level (although in No Fate it’s nowhere near as aggravating) and Double Dragon’s overpowered elbow smash also makes an appearance, albeit in the form of a backhand from Arnie during the game’s wonderful barfight level.
Bringing the comparisons back to Contra though, No Fate’s Future War levels where you play as a grizzled John Connor are heavily inspired by Konami’s action shooter series.
