Terminator Salvation is a distant memory for many fans of the franchise. Not even the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, could stop the fourth movie from being a dud, and the official videogame didn't fare much better. But now, 16 years after the release of Terminator Salvation on iOS, I find myself looking back on it quite fondly, and you know what? I actually miss it.
Objectively, no, the Terminator Salvation game isn't great, regardless of which platform you play it on, though the scratches on my 360 copy show I did show it some love in 2009. Still, on a platform featuring games like Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, and Medal of Honor, Terminator Salvation didn't really stand much of a chance in the shooter department. On iOS, however, I welcomed it like a long-lost relative.
Before the days of Call of Duty: Mobile and games like Fortnite and PUBG, the App Store lacked memorable shooters, but I'll say it: Terminator Salvation was one of the good ones, and it's actually kind of impressive how well it performed given how early on it arrived. Sure, it won't stand the test of time against the best mobile games of today, but no matter how terrible it is, I miss it, which is something I can't say about the movie. You couldn't pay me to watch that one again.
A certain wave of nostalgia washes over me when I think about the early days of mobile shooters. The shooter genre(especially FPS games) is one of my favorites, right up there with horror games, RPGs, and action games, the latter of which is perfect for Terminator.
One of the things that stands out about the iOS version of Terminator Salvation is that it has a different story from the console and PC versions. It takes place in 2018 rather than 2016 and shifts perspectives between multiple characters rather than focusing on John Connor. However, it did share something in common with the main version, and that's the absence of Christian Bale following his refusal to be in the games.
Taking shooter action on the go was a real treat years ago, and I can't help but look back on what was a simpler time. Yes, I still get plenty of action, but games based on movies seem to be a dying breed, which is just another reason why I miss Terminator Salvation. Who knows, perhaps I'll get lucky and the two upcoming Terminator games, Survivors and 2D: No Fate, will come to the Nintendo Switch 2 when they release.