"Familiar characters like Baron and Jennifer are immediately reintroduced in the story along with a slightly more calculated rendition of Kyle Reese, with whom you spend much of the 4-ish hour campaign. Along with them, a few new characters also spring up, and they fit into the world just as well as anybody else does."

After a brief opening stealth section, Annihilation Line‘s main objective of hitting the ground running becomes readily apparent, as you’re given a healthy bounty of money and experience points to get yourself leveled up and armed to a respectable degree. Your experience doesn’t technically carry over from the main game, but this initial jolt of resources will more or less get you to where you were in the mid-point of it, which is about where Annihilation Line’s story takes place anyway. This is an advantage that the expansion wisely takes advantage of by arming you with plasma weapons and throwing you into the fray with hunter killers and T-800s within mere minutes of starting it.

This was a huge relief to see, as the first few hours of the main game were significantly dragged down by its excessively slow build-up to those Terminator moments that everyone bought the game for. Even if it’s been a while since you’ve played the main game, not to worry, as it’s streamlined approach to crafting, leveling up, and general gameplay should still fit like an old glove – which is to say the same progression systems and over-arching gameplay mechanics are largely here. Lockpicks, crafting, stealth, hacking and combat all feel basically identical, except of course for the initial slog of not being able to do anything. Just as well, it’s mostly the same enemies you’ll be blowing away too.

Familiar characters like Baron and Jennifer are immediately reintroduced in the story along with a slightly more calculated rendition of Kyle Reese, with whom you spend much of the 4-ish hour campaign. Along with them, a few new characters also spring up, and they fit into the world just as well as anybody else does. None of these characters deliver any monumental moments, but much like the performances of the main campaign, they are mostly pretty serviceable for what the writing requires of them – which isn’t much. Seeing that it takes place within an already established story, this tale doesn’t really get much of a chance to have much of an impact on the overall lore.

"Much like the main game, Annihilation Line’s visual presentation hits you with that double-edged blade of really nailing the general tone and atmosphere of the world but also falling decidedly short of the texture quality and visual effects that you would expect from a modern first-person shooter."

Instead, the story here is pretty standard Terminator fare, and while I expect most Terminator fans will be about as happy with the story here as they were with the base game, I would have really liked to see something different emerge from all of it. The first and foremost job of any story-driven expansion is to deliver a comparable experience to its host game, and Annihilation Line certainly accomplishes this. But after two years of feedback and a somewhat bullish $15 price tag, something more substantial to differentiate this story from the base game would have really helped make it more recommendable in a general sense. As it is, the story and major gameplay loops largely add up to more of the same – limiting its appeal to pretty much only those who were planning on getting it anyway. There’s nothing horribly wrong with that, but it is a bit disappointing to see its expansion end up with this somewhat unambitious story.

Much like the main game, Annihilation Line’s visual presentation hits you with that double-edged blade of really nailing the general tone and atmosphere of the world but also falling decidedly short of the texture quality and visual effects that you would expect from a modern first-person shooter. Granted, I don’t think it would be fair to expect Teyon to totally overhaul their engine for the sake of a 4-hour expansion, but it is something to be aware of for newcomers. Characters’ facial animations in particular, that felt middling in 2019, aren’t faring any better at the end of 2021. Nor are the blurry textures in some of the environments or the rudimentary lighting effects. That said, it doesn’t interfere much with your ability to enjoy the experience, especially if you have already played Resistance and aren’t expecting anything more.

Where it excels the most is in its audio design. Across the board, sounds, music, even the somewhat dry deliveries of most of the dialogue all fit in this universe so well that it should bring at least a grin to the face of any Terminator fan. Exchanging plasma lasers with proper Terminators among the decimated bluish-grey concrete while familiar retro synth melodies rumble in the background is a video game experience that Terminator fans have been wanting for literal decades prior to Terminator Resistance’s launch, and while developer Teyon’s take on that combat is a bit unwieldy at times, the sound design surrounds the entire affair from all corners so well that the overall experience can still add up to an admirable depiction of the source material when it’s really cooking. And thanks to a much better sense of pacing here than in the base game, it’s arguable that this is a better representation of the game’s strengths overall.

"Terminator Resistance: Annihilation Line is hard to recommend to anyone who found the base game unappealing. The same complaints about Resistance’s somewhat mushy movement, generic progression systems, and boilerplate mission structure could all just as easily be levelled at this expansion. But at the same time, so could all the adulation for its outstanding portrayal of the dystopian future from the Terminator franchise. The characters still work, and the vibe still feels right."

Terminator Resistance: Annihilation Line is hard to recommend to anyone who found the base game unappealing. The same complaints about Resistance’s somewhat mushy movement, generic progression systems, and boilerplate mission structure could all just as easily be levelled at this expansion. But at the same time, so could all the adulation for its outstanding portrayal of the dystopian future from the Terminator franchise. The characters still work, and the vibe still feels right. Considering that, along with the better pacing and not really getting in the way of everything else that made the base game shine, it’s an easy recommendation for those that are already poised to pick it up on PC or their PS5’s. I would have really liked to see Teyon flex what they’ve learned from Resistance a bit more here and extend the reach of this game, as I truly believe it’s a quintessential example of a diamond in the rough. But as it is, more of the same with some conservative tweaking around the edges isn’t an inherently bad thing.

This game was reviewed on PC.

A new trailer just under 3 minutes has released to highlight the DLC. It jumps around somewhat with a few jarring cuts, but still gives you an idea of the situation and firefights you’ll be in. As mentioned before, you’ll be part of Kyle Reese’s squad on a mission based around some mysterious disappearances. It seems, naturally, that things don’t go as planned. Check it out in full below.

Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is available now on PlayStation 5 and PC, with the Annihilation Line DLC coming December 10th. As of now, there is no word of when the DLC or Enhanced version will come to the Xbox consoles.

On top of new story content, expect new areas to explore in post-apocalyptic California, along with new characters. Kyle Reese, a character Terminator fans will be very familiar with, will have a major role to play in the story, and players can expect to “live out Kyle’s visions of the future seen” in the original movie. There will also be new weapons, as well as new enemies to take on, such as the iconic T-600 and HK Centurion.

Check out a trailer for the expansion below.

Terminator: Resistance – Annihilation Line will launch on December 10 only for PC and PS5. There’s no word yet on when (or if) we can expect to see the expansion on Xbox Series X/S (which doesn’t have Terminator: Resistance Enhanced to begin with) or previous-gen consoles.

On Reef Entertainment’s official Twitter, they tease an incoming message from John Connor, one of the central and most important characters in the Terminator saga. While the message is said to be from Connor, it features the ID label from the jacket of Kyle Reese, the protagonist of the first film, who goes back in time to save John’s mother from a Terminator attack. Whether this is more DLC for Resistance or something entirely new, we’ll apparently know next week.

Terminator: Resistance is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. An Enhanced version was released on PlayStation 5 and PC as well.

[[ INCOMING MESSAGE FROM JOHN CONNOR: NEW MISSION PARAMETERS ]]

1.RENDEZVOUS WITH DN38416 AND HIS TEAM
2.INVESTIGATE REPORTS OF MISSING RESIDENTS IN NORTHRIDGE OUTPOST
3.FURTHER INTEL WILL BE DELIVERED NEXT WEEK pic.twitter.com/3RNpEYRb6g

— Reef Entertainment (@Reef_Games) November 19, 2021

Needless to say, I didn’t expect much out of Terminator: Resistance Enhanced. I was very, very wrong. If you’ve never played the original release, Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is an upgraded version of 2019’s Terminator: Resistance. The game drops you into the boots of Jacob Rivers, a private in the Resistance. Separated from the rest of his division and stranded in Pasadena, Rivers ends up joining up with scavengers as he looks for a way to get back to the Resistance.

"Resistance isn’t your traditional first-person shooter. Rather than dropping you into linear levels, Resistance drops you into large environments, gives you a few mission objectives, and lets the player handle things more or less however they’d like."

Resistance isn’t your traditional first-person shooter. Rather than dropping you into linear levels, Resistance drops you into large environments, gives you a few mission objectives, and lets the player handle things more or less however they’d like. Resistance is a slow-paced FPS. While there are more linear, action-focused segments in the game, you’ll generally spend your time sneaking around environments, scavenging supplies, opening doors with your lockpick, and hacking turrets. 

Environments are huge, with lots of hidden secrets to find and side quests to complete, so it’s a good thing that exploring them is both engaging and fun. You’ll probably spend a lot of your time moving slowly, toggling the visor that lets you see machines through walls, to make sure you’re not about to be attacked. None of what Resistance’s exploration offers is new. You can blow up damaged walls and crawl through vents, and the items you find can be used as crafting materials, but all of it works well enough and each level is designed in ways that make you want to explore, even if it means backtracking.

When it does come, combat is harrowing. While you’re almost always armed in Terminator: Resistance Enhanced, you’re often overmatched, especially early on. Ammo can be scarce, and just about everything, even basic enemies like Scout Drones and Spider Scouts can be deadly. Rivers’ health doesn’t regenerate; to heal, you must use health packs, so every encounter is not only dangerous in the present but can significantly weaken you for future fights. Humanity is just scraping by in the Terminator universe, and Resistance is brave enough to make that the players’ reality, as well. You scratch and claw for everything you get early on, and a straight-up fight is only often suicide – especially if you’re going up against a Terminator.

"Terminators aren’t something you fight in Resistance, at least initially. They’re something you run from."

Terminators aren’t something you fight in Resistance, at least initially. They’re something you run from. Terminators are fast, heavily armed, and incredibly intimidating. Engaging one early on is a poor decision. Fighting more than one is often a death sentence. Resistance uses this tension – of having to inhabit an environment with Terminators without alerting them to your presence – to build several of its best sequences. An early standout requires Rivers to sneak through a bombed-out hospital, avoiding Terminator patrols, utterly helpless to engage them as he searches for fellow Resistance members.

That doesn’t last forever, however. As Rivers gains experience, levels up, acquires new skills, and gets more powerful weapons, players can engage in combat more easily. Terminators never become trivialized – you still have to plan how to approach them, and they’re still deadly, especially up close – but they do get easier. Luckily, Resistance always seems to have more -and bigger things – to throw at you. Still, I do think the game was at its strongest when it emphasized how outmatched you are, and I wish the action sequences – which are, to be fair, often pretty good – lived up to the game’s best stealth-focused sections.

Between missions, you’ll wander Resistance’s hub, chatting with other characters, learning their stories, purchasing new equipment, and acquiring side missions. How you respond to characters matters, as it can actually change the game’s ending and open up new aspects of a relationship with a character. Resistance’s story isn’t exceptional, but it is solid, and I was invested enough in the writing and the performances to care about the characters and what happened to them.

"Teyon was clearly working on a budget here, and it shows. Character models, while not terrible, aren’t as good as what you’d see in a triple-A title, and they don’t animate much, even in conversations."

Unfortunately, not everything in Terminator: Resistance Enhanced comes together so well. Teyon was clearly working on a budget here, and it shows. Character models, while not terrible, aren’t as good as what you’d see in a triple-A title, and they don’t animate much, even in conversations. Mostly, you just see their mouths move. The game also features some fairly muddy textures, and the voice acting is a bit hit and miss.

Enhanced fixes some of this, running at a pretty much locked 60 FPS, boosting the resolution, and increasing the load times. The latter is by far the most impressive: Enhanced loads in about 2-3 seconds, which is very welcome. Ultimately, Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is a better version of the game, but it can’t hide that this was a budget release. It does look and run better, but you wouldn’t mistake it for a triple-A release.

 In addition to the technical enhancements, Enhanced adds updates from the PC release. The biggest of these is Infiltrator Mode, which lets you play as a T-800. The mode is around 45 minutes to an hour long and must be completed in a single sitting. In it, you step into the metal skull of a T-800 that is tasked with assassinating a high-ranking member of the Resistance. To find them, you’ll travel across a map repurposed from the campaign, gathering intel and fighting the Resistance.

"You first realize the difference in power the first time you rip out a minigun out of its mounting and carry it around. The T-800 doesn’t need to find materials or craft. He just needs guns. Lots of guns."

Unlike Rivers, the T-800 is a killing machine more than capable of waiting through dozens of Resistance members without issue. You first realize the difference in power the first time you rip out a minigun out of its mounting and carry it around. The T-800 doesn’t need to find materials or craft. He just needs guns. Lots of guns. As tough as he is, however, the T-800 isn’t invincible. Teyon balances the T-800’s strength by limiting your access to healing items, forcing you to scavenge them off of other Skynet forces. I often found myself at low health, searching for some more downed robots so I could heal just a little bit. 

Death means restarting in Infiltrator mode, so there’s a nice balance between feeling absolutely unstoppable and also a bit vulnerable when it’s been a long time between repair kits. Teyon also nails the T-800’s hud. Text scrolls along the upper left, things you come into contact with are scanned, and taking damage causes your vision to malfunction as static and tearing fills the screen. There are also some very nice secrets and throwbacks in the mode that I won’t spoil. It’s a good addition, but I do wish that Infiltrator mode had its own map and that there was more to do aside from gathering intel.

"Even Enhanced, Resistance’s budget nature shines through. Anyone who can get past that, however, will find a surprisingly solid game that respects the IP and often punches above its weight."

 I enjoyed Terminator: Resistance Enhanced much more than I expected to. While the game doesn’t do anything particularly new, it does everything it attempts fairly well and absolutely nails the atmosphere, tone, visuals, and sound of the Terminator films. That it features a pretty solid story and some compelling gameplay is a bonus.

Enhanced is clearly the best version of the game, and its upgrades and additions, particularly Infiltrator Mode, are welcome additions, but nothing added is going to make anyone think this is a triple-A title. Even Enhanced, Resistance’s budget nature shines through. Anyone who can get past that, however, will find a surprisingly solid game that respects the IP and often punches above its weight. Terminator: Resistance Enhanced manages to deliver a fun, if flawed, experience, and in a franchise as deeply flawed as Terminator has been for the last three decades, that’s not too bad a fate.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

Outriders

People Can Fly’s looter shooter has seen its share of delays but it’s finally, finally gearing up for release. Outriders takes place in the future where humanity travels to Enoch for colonization. While investigating a mysterious signal, it’s hit by a powerful storm. Many die but others, including the player character, gain powerful new abilities. With the signal manifesting once more, the player sets out from the First City to discover the truth and hopefully ensure humanity’s long-term survival.

Though Outriders is a third person shooter with cover mechanics, it encourages players to enter the fray and slay foes, providing health on kills. There are four classes – Pyromancer, Devastator, Trickster and and Technomancer – with different skill trees that can fit varying play-styles, from tanking to support.  With a fairly large campaign, end-game Expeditions and support for three player co-op, that too without no microtransactions or live-service elements, there’s plenty to look forward to. Outriders is out on April 1^st for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC and Google Stadia. It will also launch day one on Xbox Game Pass for console.

Oddworld: Soulstorm

A re-imagining of Abe’s Exoddus, Oddworld: Soulstorm has also been a long-time coming. After Abe freed the Mudokons from slavery, he must now lead them while fending off the Magog Cartel. Whether Abe can find his voice and lead the revolution or the Mudokons fall depends purely on the player. Oddworld: Soulstorm throws in the same sneaking, puzzle solving and platforming that defined its predecessor but on a larger scale and a 2.9D perspective.

You also have the opportunity to command your Mudokon followers to help, as they can act passive or aggressive depending on the situation. Craft items, gift them to followers, amass an army and scavenge from foes in order to survive. Just make sure that none of your fellow Mudokons die in the process. Oddworld: Soulstorm is out on April 6^th for PS4, PS5 and PC with PlayStation Plus subscribers getting the PS5 version free for the month.

Borderlands 3: Director’s Cut DLC

Included with Season Pass 2, the Director’s Cut marks the final piece of DLC for Borderlands 3. Hemovorous the Invincible is the latest end-game raid boss, requiring 500 Eridium to battle and whose power scales with the player and Mayhem level. Ava also features in the new story missions which see players venturing to different planets to investigate murders tied to the supernatural. Visiting crime scenes and piecing together clues is important with the results apparently “sending ripples” throughout the base game’s story. Finally, the first of three Vault Cards arrives, bringing over 100 challenges to earn cosmetics, powerful gear that scales to your level and more. The Director’s Cut DLC is out on April 8^th for all platforms.

MLB The Show 21

As the first title in the series to release on Xbox platforms, MLB The Show 21 isn’t simply providing improved visuals. It has a Casual Mode for learning the ropes, tons of new animations for everything from bat tosses to fielding, streamlines progression for the March to October season and much more. Current-gen versions even get the new Stadium Creator which allows for designing your own ballpark from the ground up with more than 1000 pieces. Of course, you can also share your stadiums and play those created by other users. If that weren’t enough, MLB The Show 21 will even have cross-play and cross-progression. It’s slated to release on April 20^th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4 and PS5.

Century: Age of Ashes

Playwing LTD’s Century: Age of Ashes is a free to play multiplayer title that enters early access in April. What sets it apart from the competition are the dragons. As a Dragoneer, you choose a class and dragon and incinerate, maul and/or decimate your foes. Three modes are available from the outset – Carnage, a 6v6 team deathmatch mode; Survival, which sees three 6-player teams battling to be the last team standing; and Gates of Fire where one team must deliver a flag, passing through gates and earning points while doing so. Leveling up unlocks cosmetics for your character and dragon while additional classes will be coming in the future.

MotoGP 21

The MotoGP series returns with its yearly iteration, offering over 120 riders and 20 tracks from the 2021 season. And while it may be more of the same, MotoGP 21 lets you customize pretty much everything, from racing conditions to various parts and accessibility. Some of the more interesting additions include bike retrieval – falling off your bike now has you picking it up and manually getting back into the race – and the long lap penalty, providing more nuance to races. Extensive customization for one’s rider, the event creator and so on are also here with more features. MotoGP 21 is out on April 22^nd for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.

NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…

Following the incredible success of NieR: Automata, it seemed only a matter of time before its predecessor was remastered. Based on the PS3 version released in Japan, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is more than just a remaster – it heavily revamps the visuals, from character models to environments, while improving the combat. Fully voiced characters, rearranged music and new tracks also round out the excellent presentation as players venture the world to discover a cure of the Black Scrawl. Along the way, they’ll discover the meaning of existence, and what it truly means to be alive. Releasing on April 23^rd, Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… will be available for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Returnal

Housemarque’s high-octane arcade shooter action marches to a stronger narrative beat in Returnal. Deep space ASTRA scout Selene crash lands on a strange planet called Atropos, only to discover constant hostility, shifting environments and a Groundhog Day-like cycle of death. Utilizing 10 different weapons with over 90 mods to customize them with, Selene must learn the secrets of Atropos and try to escape. Interspersed in each run are unique narrative events that provide more background into her past while audio logs detail the more terrifying occurrences on the planet – like Selene encountering and killing another version of herself. Returnal is out on April 30^th for PS5.

New Pokémon Snap

It’s been roughly 12 years since Pokemon Snap launched on the Nintendo 64, providing a unique spin on “catching them all” by focusing on Pokemon photography. New Pokemon Snap follows the same principles with improved visuals and more than 200 Pokemon to photograph. Venturing to the Lental region, the player assists Professor Mirror in investigating the Illumina phenomenon. Using the NEO-ONE, they’ll journey through various environments like deserts and beaches, with Pokemon exhibiting different behaviors at different times of day. Use Illumina orbs to make them glow or Fluffruit to lure them out and take pictures, with higher rated shots improving Research Levels and unlocking new areas. Along with photo-editing, players can share their snaps online – amass enough likes and your work could be featured in-game. New Pokemon Snap is set to release on April 30^th for the Switch.

Terminator: Resistance Enhanced

Of the many games one expected to garner a positive following after mixed critical reviews, Terminator: Resistance was probably low on the list. Nevertheless, the first person shooter, which takes place in the franchise’s Future War scenario, offered up some fun combat and interesting mechanics like changing the fates of different characters. A new mode, Infiltrator, was also added as players control a T-800 and taking out resistance members. The Enhanced version promises loads of improvements, from lighting and shadow improvements to 4K/60 FPS gameplay and faster loading times. It’s exclusive to PS5 and launches on April 30th.