This time, John is saved from a stray bullet by the very surviving T-800.
Terminator 2D: No Fate is a nostalgic run-and-gun game in the spirit of Doom Troopers based on the second 'Terminator'. Styled like a typical Mega Drive game, it plays reasonably well and recreates all the iconic scenes from the film. The game is too short and fanservice-oriented to be discussed seriously. But there is one point!
The developers built up intrigue among fans of 'Terminator 2' before the release. The first playthrough will repeat the film's plot, but subsequent ones can change the iconic story in some interesting ways! We completed the game three times (spending two hours on it) to see everything with our own eyes.
In reality, everything turned out to be banal. There is no clever system in the game. Closer to the end, Terminator 2D gives players two choices in key scenes for the original plot: whether to give the T-800 free will and whether to kill Miles Dyson. Well, it gives — only the 'default' options are available on the first run. However, later on, you can test two more branches. The catch is that you will have to complete the game three times in full. But even the least skilled run in Terminator 2D won't last even an hour.
In practical terms, these alternative paths will provide a couple of new short levels and one bonus boss. But the essence lies in the fanservice; surely, everything is fine with that? After all, Terminator 2D was made by desperate fans of the film, and the game even has an official license — they must have come up with something interesting.
The T-800 gains free will, and Sarah Connor kills Miles Dyson. As a result, the police arrest Sarah, leading to a completely absurd level in terms of the plot. The heroine ruthlessly and confidently takes out an entire police station — not a single cop will escape alive. Then, just like in the film, Sarah and the T-800 storm the Cyberdyne building to prevent the creation of Skynet. But without Dyson, they cannot reach the processor and manipulator of the previous T-800 to destroy them.
The scene at the steel mill from the film is repeated exactly, but all in vain — due to the surviving processor, the T-800 gives birth to Skynet, the war with the machines occurs, and billions die. Moreover, John Connor, shocked by his mother's brutality, escapes into the unknown.
In the epilogue, an aged Sarah Connor in 2029 tries to save her son from captivity. However, during the process, one of the robots kills John Connor. Terminator 2D officially states — the resistance is still struggling, but now humanity is doomed.
The T-800 does not gain free will, and Sarah Connor orders him to kill Miles Dyson. The T-800 carries out the order, but Sarah is arrested again — the silly scene in the police station repeats. They still cannot reach the processor and manipulator in the Cyberdyne building. However, this time the game does not immediately transition to the factory — first, we get to run around as the T-800 with a machine gun. Considering how little gameplay there is as the Terminator in the game, this is valuable.
At the steel mill, the heroes kill the T-1000, but the T-800 does not destroy itself. However, this alternative path is also a bad ending. Because Skynet and the war happen again. And Sarah Connor in the epilogue goes to rescue her son again. This time, John is saved from a stray bullet by the very surviving T-800. In the end, Sarah Connor reconciles with her son, gives the T-800 free will, and sends him back in time with the advice to learn from John.
You expect more from fan fiction than two bad endings that reinforce the moral ideas of the original film. And if you are going to delve into straightforward grimness, then on a larger scale, for example, by allowing the resistance to be brutally crushed by your own hands on the side of Skynet in the epilogue. Then there would be a point in expanding the scenes from the future — right now, they seem like empty stretching of an absurdly short game. But Terminator 2D acts in the most boring and 'safe' way.
Terminator 2D is hard to call a full-fledged game. It is more of an attraction for fans and those nostalgic for the Mega Drive era. A set of loosely connected mini-games, in which there is nothing but retro stylization and fanservice. And additional runs are a waste of time, albeit a small one.
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