Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition is the final version of the 2019 Terminator: Resistance game and subsequent DLCs for the Xbox X/S. The Complete Edition brings Infiltrator Mode and Annihilation Line To The Xbox, two long-awaited and highly-requested additions by fans of the original release. Developed by Teyon and published by Reef Entertainment, Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition essentially serves as a discounted update to the base game, adding the improved graphics from the Enhanced Edition and the four-hour Annihilation Line side campaign and Infiltrator Mode to the console.

Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition's base narrative features the story of Jacob Rivers, a Resistance fighter on the quest to uncover secret intelligence on Skynet and the mysterious Infiltrator robot that wiped out his squad. Though the game may be compelling enough to warrant a second look for diehard franchise fans, in many ways, Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition lacks many of the improved narrative and gameplay techniques popularized since its original release.

Terminator: Resistance's Main Campaign Is Plodding

Terminator Resistance characters speaking to each other in front of a yellow school bus.

Terminator: Resistance is an action role-playing FPS in the style of popular Bethesda and Obsidian games like the Fallout series of games and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. While it may have been a pretty solid entry or alternative to those worlds when it was originally released in 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, compared to modern games of its ilk, it feels severely lacking from both a gameplay and narrative perspective.

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For one, there are typically only two choices in conversations, making the decisions in the game feel binary. Many in-game options that "affect the story" don't impact the gameplay throughout the vast majority of the campaign, instead culminating in a pretty underwhelming ending. While plot points feel important due to the sometimes extreme topics discussed, this is merely a veneer hiding rather shallow character-building for most of the cast, leading to a sense of apathy for companions.

Traversing the desecrated robot-infested plains of Terminator: Resistance can feel unbearable at points, with sub-plots and side missions equating to fetch quests with little to no narrative impact. One quest sees Jacob search for a boombox, which has quest and narrative impacts later, but these kinds of changes in the story are few and far between. More often than not, one will find themselves risking life and limb for what feels like inconsequential items, reducing any desire to explore the game's different environments.

Ultimately, not many changes were made from a graphical or gameplay perspective that differed from the original experience. While there is the addition of an FOV slider for the Complete Edition, from a gameplay perspective, in many ways, Terminator: Resistance feels like an FPS game released in 2019 by a smaller studio, though the improved graphics as part of the Enhanced Edition update are a welcome improvement. With sub-par shooting , limited guns, and confusing radial menu controls, the game just doesn't feel good in 2023, especially when holding it up to recently released games.

Annihilation Line Is Better Than The Base Game

T-800 from Terminator Resistance game reaching out towards the player.

Annihilation Line follows the story of Jacob Rivers as he and Kyle Reese's squad go behind enemy lines to strike at the heart of Skynet. The game takes place sometime during the end of the base game's narrative events and is a nice change of pace in what ultimately equates to an extended side-mission for the game. While it maintains the exact same mechanics as the base game, the story feels more high-stakes, and the gameplay feels less grindy overall with the help of laser weapons at the start of the missions.

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Pacing here feels better, with high-octane points of action split up by what feels like pretty compelling cinematics. While John Connor was the most recognizable character in the base game, in Terminator: Resistance Annihilation Line, Rivers gets to meet Kyle Reese, the Resistance fighter who goes back in time to save John Connor in the first Terminator film.

Terminator: Resistance's Story Is Compelling To Fans Of The First Two Movies

Kyle Reese looking at the player in Terminator: Resistance.

One thing that Terminator: Resistance is good at is extending the lore and universe of the Terminator franchise. Though the 2009 Terminator Salvation movie took a deeper look into John Connor as an adult and the events surrounding the first Infiltrator robot, Terminator: Resistance does a great job at filling in the gaps and providing more details and a unique story for the human soliders of the future. While overall companion and NPC character development can feel hamfisted and underdeveloped at times, re-living key events and characters within the Terminator universe is quite fun, and fans of the franchise will appreciate details that help flesh out the overall narrative.

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Unfortunately, these story beats are too few throughout the duration of the game and are spaced out by frustrating fetch quests that add no heft to the game's narrative. While the devastated HD environments for the game help with immersion, it doesn't make up for the sometimes frustrating gameplay loop of loading into a section, looking for items, and escaping.

Another interesting concept that works to some extent is the inefficiency of regular firearms on the T-800 and its variations. Though eventually, the player obtains laser blasters capable of dispatching the droids in the base game's campaign, it does add an element of fear and realism to the overwhelming power of the robots from Skynet. Having to hide instead of fight is a nice break of pace and is in line with the first two films.

Infiltrator Mode Is A Wasted Opportunity

Terminator: Resistance Infiltrator robot.

Perhaps the most compelling game mode for Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition is the Infiltrator mode, the 45-minute, slightly variable mission that puts one in the shoes of a Terminator Infiltrator robot looking to discover intel on the Resistance. This mode is arguably the most fun, as playing as an overpowered robot bent on the destruction of humans is a nice change from the base game's emphasis on stealth and concealment.

However, this concept alone isn't enough to salvage an entire game, which is made worse because other, much more interesting themes could have been explored. "Infiltrator," as one would expect, should have included some level of infiltration or subversion, just as the first Infiltrator T-800 did in the movie franchise. However, this isn't the case in Terminator: Resistance 's Infiltrator Mode, and as a result, it amounts to roaming a desecrated landscape with a red filter over the screen and grabbing Resistance fighters by the neck.

While the game mode is certainly fun at first, with interesting gameplay mechanics like slowing down time when opening doors and new robot-centric healing items, it continues to rely on the base game's main loop of finding items, killing enemies, and eventually exiting the level. This leaves for a fairly underwhelming overall experience, as the concept of playing as a T-800 Infiltrator robot certainly sounds cool but falls flat with its lackluster execution.

Final Thoughts And Verdict

Terminator Resistance's Ferro looking at the player.

Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition is an average first-player FPS for 2019, which makes it a sub-par FPS to purchase outright in 2023. While fans of Terminator will appreciate the additional details to the franchise's overall narrative, it lacks a fun gameplay loop, and relationships with characters in the game feel significantly underdeveloped and clumsy at times. Though the game contains a lot of really great concepts, many of these ultimately fall flat in their execution, potentially making it a title not worth visiting for those who missed it the first time.

Those with an Xbox X/S who enjoyed the original game should expect much of the same on a new generation console, and nostalgia may be reason enough to pick it up; however, they shouldn't expect any enhancements or improvements from their original experience. Those who do own the digital copy of Terminator: Resistance on Xbox can get the game for a discounted price of $14.49 on the Microsoft Store. Ultimately, while Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition does finally include all the DLC content fans of the game on Xbox wanted, it may have happened far too late after its initial release.

Terminator: Resistance - Complete Edition releases on October 27, 2023, for Xbox X/S. Screen Rant was provided with a digital code for the purpose of this review.