Why did we get an Alien Vs Predator movie and not RoboCop vs the Terminator!?

This would have made a much better film than any of the Terminator movies after T2, and certainly no worse than the RoboCop reboot (or RoboCop 3)!

Story

The story kinda makes sense! Certainly more than some of the movies in the respective franchises.

It is simple, and ties to the two franchises together very well.

The game starts off as a RoboCop type game, you’re fighting thugs on the streets of Detroit. The second level introduces Terminators, and things gradually go more Terminator-ey as you progress, culminating with you destroying OCP HQ on mission 5, before focussing your energy on SkyNet.

On mission 6 (of 10) you start to fight in locations that are more related to the Terminator Universe, splitting the two movies in half, and giving both franchises equal attention.

Gameplay

RCvsT is a run and gun, you shoot at 45 degree angles and you avoid the enemy attacks. Unlike similar games in the genre RCvsT isn’t one hit dead, as you get a health bar.

However, that isn’t to say RCvsT is easy. It isn’t. There is no recovery time, so if the enemy shoots at you twice, and you don’t dodge both, you’ll get hit twice. Obviously this means the difficulty ramp up the further you get in the game.

It can be frustrating on the Level 3 boss when a boss burns through 5 lives because you haven’t quite figured out the pattern, same with the level 4 boss.

But it always feels fair. Mistakes will be punished, it isn’t like the Lion King where the difficulty comes from slightly off platforming, or like Road Rash which has an insane difficulty spike.

Patterns can be learnt, and reflexes will get you through.

Surprising amount of depth

There are secrets galore in RCvsT, secret rooms and secret powerups. They vary in their usefulness, some are for highscore hunters, but mostly they are extra lives/health/better weapons.

The Lasers you get later in the game one shot the Terminators, and ED-209‘s machine gun will get you through a lot! Though, ED-209’s weapon is a one time deal, so make sure when you’re about to die you quickly switch to a crap gun (note: you can get more off the last boss if you’re lucky).

Negatives

The game is hard, but the curve is OK. It can feel a bit hellish on level 9 and 10, but it is nothing practice won’t fix.

Some levels can feel very unfair if you die early on, particularly on level 5 when you’re inside OCP HQ. If you die on level 4 boss and or at start on level 5 you simply can’t proceed. Too many enemies, with too much health mean that the starter pistol isn’t enough to get through (or you need to get better).

While I enjoyed the music at first, it does get a bit repetitive. Especially when doing a full run.

Overall

I thought I was going to hate RCvsT, it is hard and can feel unfair at first. With a little practice and some patience there is a lot of fun to be had.

RCvsT is probably my favourite Megadrive game. I would put it on a par with Aladdin as a “must have game” for the MegaDrive.

It holds up well, and it does run and gun better than later examples such as Metal Slug.

I highly recommend it!

Pros: Fun, better than most of the films in the series, a fair bit to discover

Cons: Can be very hard

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