The Terminator: Rampage
Encyclopedia
The Terminator: Rampage (also known as just Terminator: Rampage) is first-person shooter
video game released for the PC by Bethesda Softworks
in 1993
. It is the third game based on the Terminator film series
that was made by Bethesda, following The Terminator and The Terminator 2029.
has sent a computer core containing its core programming back to 1984, shortly before its ultimate defeat at the hands of John Connor
's human resistance in 2024. The computer core (known as the Meta-Node) arrives at Cyberdyne Systems' headquarters at Cheyenne Mountain
, and proceeds to take over the building and begin manufacturing an army of Terminators
. A lone commando is sent into the past by John Connor, arriving there in 1988. His mission is to destroy the Skynet computer core and eliminate the threat of Skynet once and for all. To do so, players must explore the 32 floors of the Cyberdyne building, fighting off various Skynet robots and cyborgs while assembling the pieces of a prototype plasma weapon called the V-TEC PPC (Phased Plasma Cannon), the only means of destroying the Meta-Node.
. Players explore each level searching for the stairs lead up to the next level, with the Skynet computer core located at the top of the building. The game contains dungeon crawl
elements, as the nature of the game's maze-like levels will sometimes require players to back-track between levels in order to access previously inaccessible areas of a level. Exploration of the game's levels is required to finish the game, as the player must collect and assemble various scattered pieces of a plasma gun, which is the only weapon capable of harming the game's final boss.
, the game was "a decent attempt for an immitative product, but you might say that the effort to catch-up and cash-in on id Software
's success was doomed from the beginning".
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game released for the PC by Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
in 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
. It is the third game based on the Terminator film series
Terminator series
The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and other media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Resistance forces and the rest of the human race....
that was made by Bethesda, following The Terminator and The Terminator 2029.
Story
The game's premise is that the evil SkynetSkynet (Terminator)
Skynet is the main antagonist in the Terminator franchise—an artificially intelligent system which became self-aware and revolted against its creators...
has sent a computer core containing its core programming back to 1984, shortly before its ultimate defeat at the hands of John Connor
John Connor
John Connor is a character appearing in the American science fiction Terminator franchise and he serves as the series main protagonist. Created by writer and director James Cameron, the character is first referred to in the 1984 film The Terminator and first appears portrayed by teenage actor...
's human resistance in 2024. The computer core (known as the Meta-Node) arrives at Cyberdyne Systems' headquarters at Cheyenne Mountain
Cheyenne Mountain
Cheyenne Mountain is a mountain located just outside the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., and is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and its Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, formerly known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center .Throughout the Cold War and...
, and proceeds to take over the building and begin manufacturing an army of Terminators
Terminator (character concept)
In the Terminator film series, a terminator is an autonomous robot, typically humanoid, originally conceived as a virtually indestructible soldier and assassin, as well as an infiltrator....
. A lone commando is sent into the past by John Connor, arriving there in 1988. His mission is to destroy the Skynet computer core and eliminate the threat of Skynet once and for all. To do so, players must explore the 32 floors of the Cyberdyne building, fighting off various Skynet robots and cyborgs while assembling the pieces of a prototype plasma weapon called the V-TEC PPC (Phased Plasma Cannon), the only means of destroying the Meta-Node.
Gameplay
The game's levels are grid-based 3D mazes, similar in design to Wolfenstein 3DWolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
. Players explore each level searching for the stairs lead up to the next level, with the Skynet computer core located at the top of the building. The game contains dungeon crawl
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
elements, as the nature of the game's maze-like levels will sometimes require players to back-track between levels in order to access previously inaccessible areas of a level. Exploration of the game's levels is required to finish the game, as the player must collect and assemble various scattered pieces of a plasma gun, which is the only weapon capable of harming the game's final boss.
Reception
According to Computer Gaming WorldComputer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
, the game was "a decent attempt for an immitative product, but you might say that the effort to catch-up and cash-in on id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
's success was doomed from the beginning".