Many fans of the Transformers series have become disenfranchised over the years. The most recent Michael Bay inspired atrocity and the often poorly designed video games have given fans plenty of reason to be doubtful. No one has successfully taken the magic of the original cartoon series and done it any justice in the modern era.
That all changed on June 21, 2010.
High Moon Studios has done what was previously thought to be impossible. They have paid homage to the franchise’s past while simultaneously pushing it to a new level of excellence.
Transformers: War for Cybertron is an origin story. The games events detail the escalation of the conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons. This is interesting because until now this is an untouched part of Transformers lore. This gave the developers a lot of freedom to craft a unique story without having to deal with the confines of previously established Transformers canon. The resulting story is as amazing as it is epic. Hasbro was obviously impressed by their work because they have accepted the events in the game as canon (which, for those of us playing the home game, is kind of a big deal).
The game play will be very familiar to anyone who has played a third person shooter in recent years. It is very reminiscent of the Gears of War franchise. The only failing here is a lack of any type of cover system. The weapons are very diverse and the ability to pull turrets off of the ground and walk around with them as your primary weapon is awesome!
Another area where the game play excels is in the level design. The Transformers franchise is based on the concept of giant robots who transform into vehicle modes that give them enhanced mobility. The levels, especially the levels built around flight, highlight that theme by providing large expanses of map to cross in between rounds of fast paced shooting action. Also, most of the encounters are timed to encourage you to move as quickly as possible. This discourages you from trudging through levels on foot and does you the favor of forcing you to experience the various characters’ vehicle modes.
The bottom line is this: This is the game fans have been waiting two decades to play. If you are a fan of the Transformers franchise, then you owe it to yourself to purchase this game and play through it.
Props
- Solid voice acting (Peter Cullen FTW)
- Varied level design
- More fan service than you could ever hope for
- Amazing graphics
Slops
- The controls can be difficult to manage on the PS3, the transform button is the L3 button so pushing too hard on the movement stick can make you transform at inopportune moments
- The missions can be a bit unclear at times
-Examiner
