Terminator 2: Judgment Day (arcade game)
Encyclopedia
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the name of an arcade game released by WMS Industries (the owners of the Williams
and Midway
brands) in 1991. The game is loosely based on the film of the same name
. The home console versions are called T2: The Arcade Game to avoid conflict with the platform games.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
provided custom speech for this game.
: to save the leader of the Human Resistance, John Connor, and his mother, Sarah, from the T-1000
, a mimetic poly-alloy Terminator, bent on killing them both.
The player takes the role of The Terminator, already captured and reprogrammed by the Human Resistance, and fights alongside them against Skynet in the year 2029. Eventually, The Terminator and John Connor penetrate Skynet's headquarters and destroy the system CPU. Discovering the time displacement equipment, The Terminator is sent back through time to when John was a child with the mission to protect him from the T-1000 that Skynet had also sent back. In the past, The Terminator, John, and Sarah Connor launch an attack on Cyberdyne Systems in order to prevent the development and creation of Skynet. The T-1000 catches up to the group and pursues them in a police helicopter and a liquid nitrogen
truck. The Terminator is able to freeze and shatter the T-1000 with the liquid nitrogen, but, it re-liquefies itself and continues to pursue John. Ultimately, The Terminator is able to blast the T-1000 into a pool of molten steel and save John. Depending on how much damage the player inflicts at Cyberdyne, Judgment Day will either be averted or research at Cyberdyne will continue, allowing Judgment Day to possibly still happen.
model and gun down the terminators of the opposing side. The gameplay utilizes a first-person perspective, like the rest of the games in the genre, but what was noteworthy about T2 was the use of digitized actors from footage specially shot during the making of the film. This made for realistic 2D sprites in a Light gun game for the time. Arnold Schwarzenegger
, Robert Patrick
, and Eddie Furlong all reprised their respective roles for the making of the arcade game. Linda Hamilton
did not lend her likeness as Sarah Connor in any footage of the game; she is instead played by Debbie Evans
.
In the demo sequence, the game has been rated "R" (for Righteous) by the Motion Picture Gaming Association of America
.
In the original coin-op version of the game, if one presses the Player-1 or Player-2 'Start' button during attract mode without inserting a token or coin per credit, a sample of Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice will say "No way, Jose!"
The MS-DOS port of the game was very loyal to the arcade game in terms of graphics and speed. However, it was notoriously difficult to run because of the high amount of conventional memory needed to run (580K out of 640K) and would usually need either a boot disk or memory tweaking (or both) in order to load.
The game was also retitled to T2: The Arcade Game to avoid conflict with the platform game. Players would mainly control the gun cursor with the control pad. Other lower graphical ports include the Amiga, the Game Boy, the Sega Game Gear and the Sega Master System. The Super NES
version did support the Super Scope
and the Super NES Mouse
. In North America it was one of the few games which supported the Genesis/Mega Drive's Menacer
, but on the Master System, the Light Phaser was not supported, only a joypad.
Williams (gaming company)
WMS Industries, Inc. is an American electronic gaming and amusement company based in Waukegan, Illinois. The company's main operating subsidiaries are WMS Gaming and Orion Gaming. WMS traces its roots as far back as 1943, the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded by Harry E. Williams...
and Midway
Midway Games
Midway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
brands) in 1991. The game is loosely based on the film of the same name
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
. The home console versions are called T2: The Arcade Game to avoid conflict with the platform games.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
provided custom speech for this game.
Story
The story of the game falls in line with the movie Terminator 2: Judgment DayTerminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
: to save the leader of the Human Resistance, John Connor, and his mother, Sarah, from the T-1000
T-1000
The T-1000 is a fictional nanomorph mimetic poly-alloy assassin and the main antagonist in Terminator 2: Judgment Day controlled by the series main antagonist Skynet. The T-1000 is portrayed primarily by Robert Patrick; however, being a shape-shifter, the T-1000 is played by other actors in some...
, a mimetic poly-alloy Terminator, bent on killing them both.
The player takes the role of The Terminator, already captured and reprogrammed by the Human Resistance, and fights alongside them against Skynet in the year 2029. Eventually, The Terminator and John Connor penetrate Skynet's headquarters and destroy the system CPU. Discovering the time displacement equipment, The Terminator is sent back through time to when John was a child with the mission to protect him from the T-1000 that Skynet had also sent back. In the past, The Terminator, John, and Sarah Connor launch an attack on Cyberdyne Systems in order to prevent the development and creation of Skynet. The T-1000 catches up to the group and pursues them in a police helicopter and a liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen is nitrogen in a liquid state at a very low temperature. It is produced industrially by fractional distillation of liquid air. Liquid nitrogen is a colourless clear liquid with density of 0.807 g/mL at its boiling point and a dielectric constant of 1.4...
truck. The Terminator is able to freeze and shatter the T-1000 with the liquid nitrogen, but, it re-liquefies itself and continues to pursue John. Ultimately, The Terminator is able to blast the T-1000 into a pool of molten steel and save John. Depending on how much damage the player inflicts at Cyberdyne, Judgment Day will either be averted or research at Cyberdyne will continue, allowing Judgment Day to possibly still happen.
Gameplay
Running on the once-popular Williams/Midway Y-Unit arcade hardware and currently Midway X-Unit, the 2 players essentially take part in controlling a T-800T-800
"The Terminator" refers to a number of fictional characters portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger – a cyborg, initially portrayed as a programmable assassin and military infiltration unit...
model and gun down the terminators of the opposing side. The gameplay utilizes a first-person perspective, like the rest of the games in the genre, but what was noteworthy about T2 was the use of digitized actors from footage specially shot during the making of the film. This made for realistic 2D sprites in a Light gun game for the time. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
, and Eddie Furlong all reprised their respective roles for the making of the arcade game. Linda Hamilton
Linda Hamilton
Linda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Catherine Chandler in the television series Beauty and the Beast, for which she was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Emmy...
did not lend her likeness as Sarah Connor in any footage of the game; she is instead played by Debbie Evans
Debbie Evans
Debbie Evans is an American stunt actor. She was the first female competitor in FIM Trial World Championship. Evans has appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, including motorcycle stunt work in The Matrix Reloaded. She was inducted to the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2003.-References:...
.
In the demo sequence, the game has been rated "R" (for Righteous) by the Motion Picture Gaming Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
.
In the original coin-op version of the game, if one presses the Player-1 or Player-2 'Start' button during attract mode without inserting a token or coin per credit, a sample of Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice will say "No way, Jose!"
Ports
The game was converted to the 16-bit game consoles to the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis and SNES. However, the Mega Drive/Genesis version could not do scaling due to hardware limitation, and many of the images were redrawn at different sizes.The MS-DOS port of the game was very loyal to the arcade game in terms of graphics and speed. However, it was notoriously difficult to run because of the high amount of conventional memory needed to run (580K out of 640K) and would usually need either a boot disk or memory tweaking (or both) in order to load.
The game was also retitled to T2: The Arcade Game to avoid conflict with the platform game. Players would mainly control the gun cursor with the control pad. Other lower graphical ports include the Amiga, the Game Boy, the Sega Game Gear and the Sega Master System. The Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
version did support the Super Scope
Super Scope
The Super Scope, or Nintendo Scope in Europe and Australia, is the official Super Nintendo light gun. It was released in the European and North American markets, with a limited release in Japan due to a lack of consumer demand...
and the Super NES Mouse
SNES Mouse
The Super NES Mouse is a peripheral released by Nintendo in 1992 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System . Originally designed for use with the game Mario Paint, the SNES Mouse was sold in a bundle with the game and included a plastic mouse pad...
. In North America it was one of the few games which supported the Genesis/Mega Drive's Menacer
Menacer
The Menacer is a lightgun created by Sega for the Mega Drive video game console in 1992, as a response to the Super Scope by Nintendo.The Menacer is made up of three sections which can be disassembled...
, but on the Master System, the Light Phaser was not supported, only a joypad.