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 the final attack on Skynet, by the Resistance in the year 2027 during the Future War in the Original timeline.
Plot[]
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.
Stages[]
- 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[]
| Resistance / Tech-Com | Skynet |
|---|---|
|
|
Machines[]
- Auto Palette
- Aerial HK
- Ground HK
- HK-Recon
- HK-Spider Tank
- Skynet Loader
- T-400 Endo
- T-500 Endo
- T-800 Endo
- T-800 Infiltrator
- I-950 Hybrid Soldier
- Defense Turret
- Guardian
Gameplay[]
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[]
- Main article: The Terminator: Dawn of Fate Soundtrack
Continuity notes[]
- The game is set in a timeline close to 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, neither 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[]
- 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.
Terminator media references[]
- Justin Perry, first mentioned in the first movie, 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.
- The Hybrid Soldiers are designated I-950, a reference to the Infiltrators in T2: Infiltrator and its sequels.
- Some of the Hybrid Soldiers are brainwashed human captured by Skynet. In the 1999 comic The Terminator: The Dark Years, Skynet also captures and brainwashes humans.
- The battle against the T-800 in "Infiltration" follows the same series of phases as the battle against the T-800 in The Terminator. The T-800 starts off with a standard skin sheath, then the skin is ripped from half of its face, and in the final phase it's been seriously damaged 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.
- 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.
Real-world references[]
- 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.
- Luna speaks Spanish at several points in the game. For example, when she enters the Time Displacement Chamber, she says "¡Dios mío!" ("My God!")
Errors[]
- Luna remarks on Skynet sending a Terminator back in time 30 years to kill Connor's mother. It is actually 43 years, from 2027 to 1984.
Q&A[]
Gallery[]
The Terminator Dawn Of Fate (High Quality)
External links[]
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate on Wikipedia
- The Terminator: Dawn of Fate (2002) - MobyGames
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate - Sony Playstation 2 - Games Database
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate - Microsoft Xbox - Games Database
- The Terminator: Dawn of Fate (Game) - Giant Bomb
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate - IGN
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate - Secrets FAQ
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate - Walkthrough/FAQ
- Terminator: Dawn of Fate - Terminator Episode Studies
- Videos