Terminator: Dawn of Fate

The Terminator: Dawn of Fate is a 2002 video game made for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The main plot centers around the event leading to Colorado Offence, the final attack on Skynet, by the Resistance in the year 2027 during the Future War in the Original timeline.

Plot[edit | edit source]

In 2027, Tech-Com commander John Connor is making one of the last offenses against Skynet main complex in Cheyenne Mountain. However, few days prior to the operation, the Resistance Headquarters was under attacked by Skynet force, starting with a T-800 Infiltrator that infiltrated the base.

Grave Introduction: Following a Skynet invasion of the Resistance Headquarter that began with a T-800, Kyle Reese must escort John Connor to safety.

Final Delivery: While trying to escape the base, Kyle Reese and John Connor are separated. While Connor continues to the exit, Reese tries to rescue trapped soldiers from Skynet.

Mass Destruction: After Connor escapes to safety, Justin Perry and a Tech-Com demolitions specialist go back into the base to destroy it before Skynet can learn of the Resistance's plans to attack Cheyenne Mountain.; Boss: HK-Tank

Enemy Withdrawal: Justin Perry is assigned to investigate the Skynet presence in the ruins of the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles.

Loading Zone: While following a group of Auto Palettes to their source, Perry pursues Alexander Stone through the sewers.; Boss: Loader

Cybernetic Surprise: While en route back to his base, Kyle Reese is attacked by a new line of Skynet assault forces: the Skynet Initiate and captured.

Asylum Assault: After Kyle Reese is captured by Skynet, Catherine Luna is dispatched to rescue him from a Skynet Work Camp in the ruins of Los Angeles.; Boss: Alexander Stone

Infiltration: After rescuing Kyle Reese in the Skynet-run Asylum, Catherine Luna is attacked by a T-800 Infiltrator.; Boss: Terminator

Storming NORAD: The Resistance invades NORAD at Cheyenne Mountain.; Boss: Aerial H/K (first part) and Ground H/K (second part)

Time Displaced: After a T-800 is sent back through time and his team is disabled, Kyle Reese must battle his way to the Skynet Brain and destroy it so that he can rescue his friends and travel to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor.; Boss: Guardians and Skynet Brain.

Characters[edit | edit source]

Resistance / Tech-Com

Skynet

General John Connor (NPC)
Captain Justin Perry
Lieutenant Catherine Luna
Sergeant Kyle Reese

Skynet
Alexander Stone (defecting from Resistance)
Gabriel Stone (defecting from Resistance)
T-800 (Dawn of Fate)
T-800 (The Terminator) (Cameo)

Machines[edit | edit source]

Gameplay[edit | edit source]

Major General Perry fighting a Skynet Loader

Some interesting things that set this game apart from other Terminator games is that players get to see several never before seen Terminator units such as the T-400 and T-500. Additionally, the inclusion of melee combat changes the ways a player can exterminate the Terminators. The camera angles used in this game proves to be unique but feel poorly implemented as the camera feels like its never looking the right way, and also is very "sticky".

There are fifteen different weapons at the players disposal, including:

Electric Stun-baton

The only melee weapon available to the player, an electrical powered stun-baton. Any melee attack with this weapon can temporarily stun older Terminator units, like the T-400. It can be very lethal when used with the right melee attack combination, often resulting in an instant kill if the Terminator unit is incapacitated on the ground, or temporarily stunned.

Dual AP50 pistols

A pair of futuristic, fully automatic akimbo pistols. These pistols have a very high rate of fire, but is unfortunately less effective on Terminator units then the other weapons available.

AR510
Shotgun
R6-Pak Rocket Launcher

A small (and presumably light) hand-held rocket launcher, in the form of a Pistol. This weapon is exclusive to Captain Perry, and is only available when playing as him in certain stages of the game. The R-6 packs a heavy punch, and can easily destroy any Terminator unit in just one-two shots (except the T-800, which sometimes take three shots).

Grenade launcher
C4
Canister Bomb

A throw able high-explosive bomb in the form of a canister. This weapon had its first appearance in The Terminator, making it one of the few weapons that are seen in films.

PLM40 Laser Assault Rifle

A quite bulky looking laser rifle with a mounted scope (the scope is never used). This is probably one of the best weapons in the game, having a pretty devastating effect on Terminator units alike. The PLM40 is not to be confused with the M-25 Phased Plasma Rifle, which is unavailable to the player

EMP Generator
Multi-caster
MOB-M Launcher

Soundtrack[edit | edit source]

Main article: The Terminator: Dawn of Fate Soundtrack

Continuity notes[edit | edit source]

The game is set in the Original timeline, in which Judgment Day occur in 1997.
Though the game seems to be a prequel to the film The Terminator, there are many differences between the Dawn of Fate and the background story of The Terminator:
- The events in the game take place in 2027 instead of 2029 as established in the film The Terminator, which mentioned the invasion of Cheyenne Mountain, both T-800 and Kyle Reese's time travel for their missions happened in 2029. It is worth noting that Kyle Reese also travelled to 1984 from 2027 in the alternate original timeline in the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
- There was nobody explains the mechanism of time travel to Kyle Reese, such as only organism or an object wrapped in living tissue can go through the Time Machine. Kyle was only told that it was an one-way trip to the past and the Time Machine would be destroyed after he depart to 1984.
- As established in Terminator 2: Judgment Day per official materials and the novelization, the Time Displacement Equipment is located in Los Angeles, California instead of in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. Additionally, John Connor led the assault in Los Angeles instead of leading Colorado Division to Cheyenne Mountain. Additionally, Skynet was not destroyed by Kyle Reese in most of the timelines.
This game does not have any connection with Terminator 2: Judgment Day as there is no mention of Skynet sending T-1000 back to 1995 to kill young John Connor, nether the reprogrammed T-800 sent back to 1995 by John Connor to protect his younger self in 1995.
John Connor gave Kyle the Sarah Connor snapshot at some point in the past, telling him to memorize the face, but did not tell him who it was until the assault on Cheyenne Mountain, at which point he also gave Kyle orders to use Time Displacement Equipment to travel to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor if the Resistance is unable to prevent Skynet from sending a Terminator to the past.
The image of Sarah Connor in the photograph looks older than she does in the first movie.
The T-800 sent back in time to terminate Sarah Connor does not resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800 in the game has black hair and a moustache. Likewise, Kyle Reese only vaguely resembles Michael Biehn. This is largely due to the video game publisher Infogrames not having any rights to use either actors faces or physical looks.

Notes[edit | edit source]

Locations in the games include:
- Haven (Mentioned only)
- Oregon Base
- Resistance Headquarters
- Los Angeles
- Cheyenne Mountain
Terminators are referred as "fakers" or "fakies" by the Resistance.
Skynet is able to teleport Hunter-Killers to enemy locations. In An Evil Hour, the Time Displacement Equipment can used as a teleportation device based on the time travel mechanism.
The designation of Initiate is I-950, which is also used for the I-950 Infiltrator in T2 Trilogy timeline.
Skynet Brain is capable of brainwashing human mind given enough time; this ability is not seen in any other incarnation of Skynet in other timelines.

Terminator references[edit | edit source]

Justin Perry, who is first mentioned in The Terminator, makes his first appearance in the game.
HK-Recon shares a similar design idea with Mini Hunter in T2 3-D: Battle Across Time
The Time Displacement Equipment is located in Skynet's main complex, just like T2 3-D: Battle Across Time.
Skynet uses Space Displacement to transport its army to location where the player is. In the 1995 video game The Terminator: Future Shock, as enemy pops up from nowhere in the blast of a sphere of blue light before attacking the Resistance.
Some of the Hybrid Soldier are brainwashed human captured by SKynet. In the 1999 comic The Terminator: The Dark Years, Skynet also capture humans and brainwashing them into its pawns.
The battle against the T-800 in "Infiltration" follows the same series of stages as the battle against the T-800 in The Terminator. The T-800 starts off with a standard skin sheath, followed by one where the skin has been ripped from half of its face before an attack where it has been broken in half and can only attack by crawling.
Skynet backups itself to a satellite. In the game The Terminator: 2029, Skynet's core is in a satellite; in T2 3-D: Battle Across Time, Cyberdyne Systems also develop the Skynet Satellite. It worth noting that in the 2003 novel Times of Trouble, Skynet also uploaded a lite version of itself to a T-XA before its destruction.

Real-world references[edit | edit source]

The Federal Reserve Bank of Los Angeles building is presumably a reference to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Los Angeles Branch.
From the images and dialog, it appears the Resistance attack at the North Portal entrance of Cheyenne Mountain, which is a real-world location.
Skynet has perfected the use of cold fusion as a power source. It is worth noting that the Time Door in the 2014 comic Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle is powered by a fusion reactor.
When Luna enters the time displacement chamber, she says, "Dios mio!", which means "My God!" in Spanish.