Tabletop_Gaming__April_2019

80 April 2019

PLAYED

miniatures, there is no connection to

the mechanics of the gameplay.

In addition, despite being a

miniatures-focused game, the

gurines are of average quality and, to

top that o, do not t well inside the

box. e rest of the components are

equally shabby in their quality and

presentation, with misaligned printing,

extra thin cards and bending boards.

Despite all of that, almost

unexplainably, Rise of the Resistance is

actually good fun. e combat might

be basic, but its mindless dice-rolling is

entertaining in its ease and simplicity.

e enemies might continually spawn

and attack from all directions, but you

dispense with them equally swiftly due

to the generous actions available each

turn. e winning strategy is often as

simple as it is logical: stick together,

pick up as much equipment as you can

carry, focus on your objective, level-up

between missions. Yet, it can still be

T

erminator Genisys: Rise of the

Resistance is a board game

version of a really bad movie,

which you can’t help but like despite

its more than obvious aws.

If you have played any action or

RPG-in-a-box games, like Zombicide or

Vengeance, Rise of the Resistance won't

surprise you in any way. Its gameplay

loop is almost too familiar: arrange

cardboard map tiles to form your

battle arena, drop in a couple of tokens

that represent supplies and barriers,

put a miniature of your character on

a starting spot, and battle waves of

endlessly spawning enemies while

trying to achieve objectives that vary

slightly from mission to mission.

e dice combat is basic and the

story that accompanies the missions

is laughably clichéd, being overstued

with dramatic end-of-the-world

motivational speeches that are made

even funnier by a scattering of typos.

Finally, while the game may have

enticed you by providing good old

gung-ho action in the Terminator

universe, the theme is entirely

window dressing – beyond the art and

Roll your dice if you want to live

TERMINATOR GENISYS:

RISE OF THE RESISTANCE

90-120m 1-4 14+ £60

TRY THIS IF YOU LIKED... ZOMBICIDE

Instead of being overwhelmed by zombie hordes, Rise of the Resistance sees

you clearing waves of killer robots – the gameplay may not be as nuanced, but

you will be back for more of its unintentional dramatic silliness.

WHAT’S IN

THE BOX?

◗ 28 miniatures

◗ 32 base rings

◗ 22 dice

◗ Four character boards

◗ 13 double-sided

map tiles

◗ 111 tokens

◗ 108 cards

dicult to execute, as it’s easy to nd

yourselves split up while chasing an

objective or ambushed by an unlucky

roll that overwhelms you with enemies.

Like many of games of this ilk, every

mission has a story premise, but Rise

of the Resistance also peppers small

narrations throughout each level that

are unlocked by interacting with certain

objects on the board. No matter how

inconsequential and eye-rollingly cheesy

those bits of story are, they manage to

create a little interlude between constant

dice-rolling and repetitive movement.

As a welcome breather, they unite the

whole table as the players listen to a little

bit of dialogue before going back to their

routine of shooting robots.

Perhaps because of the game’s

incredible simplicity, the strength of

its setting or because its association

to the movie of the same name

doesn’t exactly inspire high hopes,

the mediocrity of Rise of the Resistance

becomes almost irrelevant. It is easy

to learn and easier to play, but can still

be hard to win – and shooting robots

with futuristic-sounding weapons

is entertaining enough to keep

pushing you through the campaign.

If that sounds like too much of a

time investment, there is always the

skirmish mode.

On paper, Rise of the Resistance does

not sound like a game that is worth

your time. In reality, it doesn’t demand

much from you at all, and the time

spent will be full of silly mindless fun –

until the next, better action game in a

box comes along.

ALEX SONECHKINA

PLAY IT? MAYBE

It doesn’t make much sense or follow

any logic, but Rise of the Resistance,

despite its many flaws, is simple

fun. If nothing else, you can have a

good laugh at its clichéd writing.

yourselves split up while chasing an

As a welcome breather, they unite the

whole table as the players listen to a little