Terminator 2 (16-bit video game)

Terminator 2 received generally negative reviews. SNES Force considered it a "massive disappointment",^[3] while Jonathan Davies of Sega Zone called it a "film licence game of the very worst, most despicable sort".^[10] MegaTech wrote, "You'll be hard pressed to find a more inept game than this. It's absolute trash and Acclaim should be ashamed that they're actually releasing it".^[11] Mean Machines Sega called the game an "outright disaster for Acclaim who ought to bin this title before anyone notices it exists".^[6] Total!, in a February 1994 review, claimed it the worst licensed SNES game so far.^[13]

Reviewers were critical of the graphics, especially the small character sprites.^{[3][17][10][6][11]} VideoGames opined that the game "looks like it was programmed on a Commodore 64".^[14] MegaTech called it "a ridiculous-looking romp which brings new meaning to the word appalling".^[11] GamePro considered the sprites easily identifiable despite their small size, and wrote, "All the character movements are well detailed and deftly animated."^[2] Total! panned the T800 sprite as unlike its source material and too "big" and "clunky", noting a glitch where it became invisible once a bullet passed.^[13] Mockery was made towards the Terminator's jumping animation by Paul Mellerick of Mega and Mean Machines Sega, describing it as similar to a "constipated bunny"; Mean Machines Sega also joked that he "hits like a baby".^[6] The backgrounds were criticized by Total! as "drab" and GamePro as "mostly squarish objects with little variation".^[2][13]

The gameplay was criticized as well,^[3][11][12] including its poor collision detection.^{[17][10][6][13]} Total! and SNES Force considered the gameplay tedious,^[13][3] and Sega Power found it too basic.^[17] However, the variety of gameplay styles received some praise.^[3][1][6] The controls were criticized, especially in the driving portions,^{[1][3][17][13]} which MegaTech called "horrendously laughable".^[11] GamePro considered the driving segments a "major drawback", writing, "The confusing controls seriously detract from an otherwise excellent cartridge".^[2] Conversely, Mellerick considered these segments to be the best part of the game, and also praised the need to search through buildings for items.^[15] However, MegaTech stated that these searches are "slow at best and frustrating at worst".^[11] In a positive review, Steve Atherton of Mega Action called the game "well thought out and good fun", concluding it to be "All in all a great conversion" of the film.^[5]

The game received some praise for closely following the film's plot.^{[1][11][17][4]} Some critics found the on-screen text difficult to read,^[1][10] and others were critical of the sound and music,^[6][4] although Atherton found the latter to be atmospheric.^[5] GamePro criticized the SNES version for using the same music through much of the game.^[2]

In a later review for AllGame, Brett Alan Weiss called the Genesis version "a truly wretched gaming experience" with "almost no redeeming value". He criticized the controls, and stated that the music "comes up far short" and that sound effects "are strangely absent" for most of the game. He considered the SNES version "superior in every way", writing, "While still a lousy game, it has better graphics, music, and sound effects".^[7][8]

• Terminator 2: Judgment Day at MobyGames