Terminator 2(k3)

There comes a time where we get these amazing games on RMN" games that challenge our perception of what a game truly is. Some games do it through avant garde graphics, like Space Funeral or Pom Gets Wi-Fi. Other games do it through emulating classic romps, such as Blackmoon Prophecy or Hero's Realm. Yet others do it through gripping storylines: A Blurred Line, I'm looking at you!

Other games, like this one, emulate the classic movies by keeping me on the edge of the seat, pressing enter as fast as I can for one single encounter with some redneck in a bar. This is more interactive and engrossing than any action film to come out in the last 10 years, except Skyfall.

This is the latest masterpiece by NewBlack. It's so amazing, in fact, that he had to have a disclaimer at the beginning of the game to lure people into a false sense of security:

Cut to our set piece: it's a windy day in a city, and we're in the parking lot outside of a bar. Various cans and boxes are set to random movement as they tumble in the wind, almost like NPCs in a fantasy village! Our protagonist breaks out of his encasing...

...and we are immediately treated to some expertly crafted spriting, with one exception:

Unfortunately, this means that I'll be taking this game down. But let me say one thing first: the dialogue inside the bar is brilliantly crafted and is almost as good as the compelling work done in such classic action films as Die Hard With a Vengeance and Eight Legged Freaks. Excellent work rivaling the classic commercial entries of this genre!

And as I said, the one battle in this game is something to behold. You press "Enter" a bunch of times and you may or may not kill the random bar guy, even though you're the Terminator. This is hardcore realism, folks: we don't want a protagonist who can eliminate everything he touches. We need to feel connected to this protagonist, so we have to feel that he is truly in danger and not invincible. To do this, he has to lose every now and then.

That's why I replayed this game 27 times: I wanted to feel CONNECTED TO my Terminator avatar. I wanted to make sure he LOST a few times to allow me to identify with him.

And boy, did I ever.

5 starz.