Transformers

"A transfixing, translucent translation."

Transformers - Playstation 2 - review by slut boy fame

Intro
The translation to the PS2 has been a triumph for the developer, Melbourne House. They deserve credit for the care and attention they've paid to virtually every aspect of this title. There have been few games lately that have held this reviewer's attention beyond a few minutes, but this game matches even Prince of Persia for sheer, compelling genius. Unfortunately, those who conclude that this game's slightly childish subject matter is beneath them will miss one of the most admirable games released this year. First impressions were not especially good for this reviewer, either, after immediately 'transforming' the strongest robot - in an attempt to recreate GTA - and finding the resultant flat-bed truck quite unsuited to a tropical rainforest. Or even for going uphill, it seems.

For the first few levels, it is recommended that you use the 'Red Alert' robot, which gives you some verifiable control when you transform. Most often, this ability is used to allow you to escape from a precarious situation, or to travel to your next objective more quickly. The twitchy handling and the loss of control, in bumpy terrain, means that two of the robots have this ability slightly disabled. This hindrance is remedied, with some panache - by virtue of the gliding ability - and is soon forgotten however.

Gfx & Sound
The graphics and sound effects are superb. The metallic clanks and thuds as you stomp about give your robot real weight, which is matched by the rag-doll effects when you're knocked down by a powerful attack. The music isn't nearly as annoying as most games of this type, with reasonably atmospheric ambient background music, blending with the stirring main theme - which strikes up as you come under attack.

The environments are well realised, atmospheric and help draw you into the game. They range from blazingly sunny Amazon to the Antarctic, and all look the part. It might have been admirable to have had a change - perhaps to have had an 'urban' level - to break up the picture postcard atmosphere, but the locations are convincing enough to involve you nonetheless. The particle effects and lighting are sublime, and not just for effect. This is because the shadows cast by stalking enemies will genuinely help you to pick them out, if you're observant enough.

What is one of the most impressive facets to the game is the surprise you feel, when the enemy robot you're fighting, for instance, decides to transform into a ball, and roll down the slope you're standing on. Or when you use the EMP blast ability, and find that it neutralises the flying ability of airborne foes - allowing you to break off from the combat, and watch them smack into the nearest tree, with not a little schadenfreude.

Gameplay
It is difficult to know which games to compare this to. Immediately, it is reminiscent of the look of Metroid Prime, but it also includes elements of Pilotwings and Jet Force Gemini. The way the game gives you so many options, and such a wide license to experiment with the weapons and abilities you are given is astounding. You have a wide battlezone, a series of tools to explore it, a number of defensive, offensive and 'other' abilities, called 'mini-cons'. There are on average six of these, on each level, and the locations of most of them are immediately obvious from the blinding yellow glow. The others require the use of specialist 'scanning' mini-cons to locate, or, in the US government tradition, dumb luck combined with plenty of explosives.

You can equip up to four of the 'mini-con' abilities, the likes of missiles, tractor beams, invisibility, shields etc depending on how much their total cost is to your robot's power. This is to ensure that you can't simply enable protection against every attack, or dispatch your foes too easily. Finding equilibrium for your offensive, defensive and 'other' abilities gives the game a little strategy, and fortunately the developer has made it straightforward to swap between each. You can suit your robot's abilities to some gung-ho action, defensive work, exploration or stealth. Mixing and matching between these throws up some fascinating variations. You can, for instance, equip a tractor beam, which allows you to pick up any enemies you face, and fling them around. Just as you release your captive, you can send a homing missile flying after it, which ensures a nasty surprise, when the robot smashes into the remaining group that you're fighting.

As an example of what you can do with your new-found flying ability, you are harassed by a massive enemy dropship circling the Inca ruins, on one level. As you scale them, it will occasionally drop new troops when it spots you. Once you reach the summit, you take off, and glide near to the ship. You notice a distinctive shine on the top, and you approach the ship from behind and try to land on it. You get burned in the engines. You try to shoot the ship down, but the ability is destroyed. You wait for the next ship, and this time you cross the T, stealthily gliding onboard. You grab the new power, and survey the scene, high up in the clouds. You decide to make for a previously inaccessible ability, as the ship swoops closer than you could, unpowered. You glide gracefully near to the glowing mini-con. As you cross a clearing, you see a group of enemy robots. You decide to improvise, finding that you can use your proximity mines as bombs as you pass overhead.

None of your weapons or shields ever 'run out', but using the more powerful ones drains their power, and requires a recharge, before they can be used again. Depending on the ability in question, the speed with which each mini-con is drained, and how fast it recharges, adds another layer of depth to your choice of weapons and defences. The only slight quibble with the forty mini-cons you can collect, is that the 'vortex projector' is disappointingly ineffective - it might have been more fun to have had a flamethrower or ice-beam to replace it. Every other ability has come in useful at some point, especially since there is frequently another, alternative use, for each.

Conclusion
There are a few reasons why this doesn't get a perfect score. It is a little short, taking about a day to complete and the levels could be more diverse, but it is still quite replayable. The control over two of the vehicles is quite unstable - there seem to be few environments suited to the sports car, especially. There are a few other slight annoyances, like the first-person mode not being particularly effective for anything other than the sniper-rifle. There are a few niggling bugs, too, like the charged shot being unaffected by an enemy EMP blast, but these are not to an especially detrimental effect, overall. It is difficult to find anything solid to criticise in the game, however. Finding new abilities is matched by putting them to use, since it usually involves destroying things in ever more spectacular ways. Anyone who's a fan of platforms, shooting, driving or flying will find a great deal of fun can be had with this game. It is by some distance the best game released in 2004 so far, and grips you even before you complete the first level. It still doesn't help to explain precisely why that bloke decided to dress up in a skin-tight transformer outfit, however. Since this has puzzled psychotherapists for decades, it is probably outside the remit of a Playstation 2 game. Very little else is, fortunately.

Gfx_________9/10
Music/Sfx____7/10
Playability____9/10
Longevity____7/10
Overall______9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/08/04