The problem with the game's story is that it feels like Warner Bros. went through the game's script and took out anything that might be a spoiler to the movie. The result is a poorly edited mess that only offers a two part-mission for Marcus (who we get no introduction to) who must somehow meet up with another character (who we don't know) and escape (because of why?) and it's somehow significant to the overall story. As it stands, it's a two-stage intermission from the Connor story and you're left scratching your head at why it was here to begin with.

The game is meant to promote the movie, without actually giving anything away in the movie. Thus, the ending is hopefully not canon. After Connor defeats the advanced T-700 (apparently after single handedly infiltrating Skynet's base) you're treated to a campy explosion sequence and then text informing you that Connor baldy injured himself after blowing up the entirety of Skynet's base. This scene's potential for coolness and its omission speaks to the quick-turnaround and half-hazard nature of movie tie-in games.

Taking a page from Gears of War, Terminator Salvation offers third-person shooting action, and the ability to take cover by pressing the character's back against walls and rubble. This works great in theory and is cool the first few times you do it. The walls usually degrade after taking damage, which is a nice detail that other titles can't claim. However, since only the d-pad will guide you to take cover, it's also really easy to get stuck behind cover. You'll signal for Connor to move away from the cover and instead he'll just shimmy along the wall to the left or right. In combat, this kind of limitation can be disastrous.

The ability to play as a T-600 is a cool unlockable feature, but hardly constitutes a deeper level of gameplay. The game will take you about 90 minutes to play through and maybe another hour or so to try again at a harder level before you get bored. While the game possesses some major breakthroughs in iPhone gaming-- namely competent third-person shooting action and the ability to find cover-- the game is marred by short gamelength, shoddy graphics, and a butchered script.

[ Macworld.]