to parallel blockbuster summer film
Arnold Schwarzenegger Likeness and Voice Make First Ever Videogame Appearance on All Major Console Systems
Atari announced on Thursday the development of a videogame based on Terminator3: Rise of the Machines, the upcoming summer blockbuster motion picturefrom Intermedia, IMF and C2 Pictures, scheduled for nationwide release byWarner Bros. Pictures on July 2. The film will also be released overseasthrough Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International and in Japan by TohoTowa. A first-person action game currently in development for all majorconsole gaming platforms, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will –for the first time on next-generation console systems — allow players tobecome the Terminator Series signature icon, Arnold Schwarzenegger as theoriginal Terminator. This marks the first time Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice and likeness has ever appeared in a home videogame.
“The Terminator series is one of the most popular movie franchises in existencetoday and its latest incarnation, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, is oneof the most highly anticipated movie releases of 2003,” said Matt Broughton,International Communications Director, Infogrames Europe. “Terminator 3:Rise of the Machines, the videogame, will capitalize on every aspect of thefeature film’s popularity, from a mind-bending plot that closely follows themovie’s script to the first ever appearance of Arnold Schwarzenegger’slikeness and voice in a videogame. Gamers and Terminator fans alike are goingto be blown away when we give them an opportunity to become one of the mostadvanced fighting machines ever created.”
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will feature exclusive film footagecreated specifically for the release of the videogame and not available in themotion picture. Filmed by director Jonathan Mostow, this 5-minute segmentfeatures Arnold Schwarzenegger and sheds new light on the mythology behind theorigins of the Terminator. In addition, footage from the feature film is alsoused liberally throughout the game to set up key situations and story-relatedgame elements.
“Videogames have become an entertainment medium as big as the movies theyare based on,” said C-2 producers Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar.“Now the Terminator has found the most exciting and authentic expression asa videogame of what made these movies a hit in theaters around the world andwe are proud to be partnered with Atari in bringing Terminator 3: Rise of theMachines into homes everywhere.”
The Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines videogame storyline will weave in andout of the movie script as players face enemies from the present in which theWar of the Machines looms on the horizon, to the apocalyptic future where theWar itself is waged on all fronts. While following the feature film’s plotclosely, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will go one step further byproviding fans of the Terminator series with a deeper look into the movie’suniverse and the role of the Terminator, a futuristic fighting machine reprogrammedto save humanity from the SkyNet holocaust.
As the Terminator, players will face all comers in first-person action from thewastelands of the future to present-day Los Angeles. Military bases, laboratoriesand downtown Los Angeles are just a few of the more than 20 unique locations foundin the game, which have been taken straight from the current Terminator timelineof events. In addition, more than 20 futuristic and modern-day weapons willbe at the player’s disposal for use in terminating any enemy in the mostefficient manner possible, including the SkyNet Arc-Laser, Tech-Com MicroRocket Launcher and the AR-15 Assault Rifle with M202 Grenade Launcher.
Much like the feature film, when Terminators clash in Terminator 3: Rise ofthe Machines all hell is sure to break loose. Terminators are designed toutilize the most readily and efficient means available to eliminate any particularfoe — when that enemy is a Terminator this leads to absolutely brutal hand-to-handcombat. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines will allow player’s toengage in true movie-like Terminator combat as they repeatedly face theultimate killing machine, the T-X, throughout the single-player game. Smashingopponents into walls, massive two-handed chops and crushing kicks are just afew of the dozens of moves in the Terminator’s arsenal.
A unique twist in the Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines story will alsoallow players to operate the Terminator before it was reprogrammed in the futureto save John Connor. As a result, players will be able to test their terminatingskills against battle-hardened Tech Com special forces from the future as theyfight alongside and utilize SkyNet’s advanced weaponry, including Future Killertanks and flyers, fixed gun emplacements as well as other Terminators in aneffort to crush the last remnants of mankind.
Developed by Black Ops Entertainment, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machineswill make its debut on all major console gaming systems in Fall 2003.
News page content input by Dominic Robinson, 2003.
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.