Following in the footsteps of The Animatrix, Batman: Gotham Knight, and The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, the producers of Terminator Salvation have launched their own animated prequel this week. However, instead of using traditional animation, they’ve taken a different (and much more cost-effective approach) to create Terminator Salvation: The Machinima Series. This is a web series consisting of six animated episodes that were created using the video game engine for the upcoming Terminator Salvation video game. The story focuses on Blair Williams (played by Moon Bloodgood, who also provides her voice for this series), and her involvement in John Connor’s resistance movement.

Looking at some of the preview footage, I can’t say I’m all that impressed. Video game cinematics rarely match the quality of feature film CG animation (and understandably so), but on top of that the story doesn’t seem very important or compelling either (especially considering that it was written by Andy Shapiro, McG’s former assistant). The fact that they are trying to sell these episodes for $1.99 each ($2.99 for HD) on iTunes, Amazon, Xbox Live and PSN, only adds insult to injury. The least they could have done is stream them online for free like the Wachowskis did with The Animatrix. Check out the preview of Episode 1 below and see what you think. On a related note… has anyone played the Terminator Salvation video game yet?