Transformers: The Game

"More or Less Than Meets the Eye"

I cannot possibly convey in words just how sacred Transformers is to me- I grew up on Generation One and have enjoyed (more or less) every series since. I have a huge collection of toys, DVDs, soundtracks and games (including imports), so my love of giant, sentient robots with the ability to become other mechanical objects is well-known to anyone who has entered my inner- sanctum. Naturally, my excitement for the live-action movie was immeasurable (even before the first trailer hit) and thus I eagerly got my hands on any related merchandise I could, including the Cybertron Edition version of Transformers: The Game.

The plot pretty much follows that of the movie, except it is told through perspective of the Autobots and Decepticons- The Allspark, a mystical object of untold power (and the very heart of Cybertron) is lost during the war between the Autobots and Decepticons. After scattering to the four corners of the Galaxy in search of it, both the Autobots and Decepticons eventually end up on Earth and their war begins anew. This nice thing about the game is you get story details not presented in the movie, like how Bumblebee chose his car form. Granted it doesn't expand on the plot much, but it's at least better than a simple rehash.

Graphically I found Transformers: The Game to be a mixed bag. On one hand, the Transformers themselves (at least, the main characters) are the same animated models used by Industrial Lights and Magic for the movie, so the transformations look sharp and the robotic warriors move just like they should. On the other hand, pretty much everything else is pretty bland. The environments aren't even close to the same level of detail- buildings are drab looking and offer little visual appeal while movable objects (such as cars, trees, signs, etc.) feel like they were imported from an almost entirely different game. Maybe I'm nitpicking too much as it still looks better than most of the other games out there, but when you see the Transformers in all their detailed glory standing next to what looks like a cardboard box painted to look like an apartment building, you'll see why I'm upset.

Sound-wise, the game fails to raise the game much beyond a "solid effort" despite the great amount of effort put forth by the developer. The soundtrack is composed by the same man who brought us the movie score and features over two hours of new music. While this sounds good on paper, I sometimes found myself annoyed by the same loop of music repeating over and over and over until I finally beat the level I was on. The audio effects are your standard selection of action-packed bangs, crunches and explosions (with a few notable Transformers specific sounds thrown in least you forget what license this game is sporting), so nothing terribly exciting here. In fact, only the voice actors get high marks. But, how could they not when they got many of the voices from the movie plus the original cartoon Optimus Prime and Megatron reprise their roles.

The controls are where I have a lot of issues with the game. First of all, when I transform (or convert as the instruction booklet refers to it), I want to be able to do it anywhere. In the Transformers Armada game on the Playstation 2 a few years back, I was able to boost off of a cliff and transform midway down, landing on my feet guns ablaze. Not so in this game- In this one all four tires or both feet must be touch terra firma in order to 'convert'. Doesn't make for terribly exciting action, does it? Another gripe is the lack of camera control while in vehicle form. Sure you can get a rear-view camera, but why can't I look around while cruising the levels looking for collectibles? Lastly, the targeting system is terrible, particularly in vehicle form, with a piss-poor lock-on system that is barely passable even when you're holding down the appropriate button. The controls aren't completely broken, but when a last-generation game does a better job, you can't help but complain.

The Grand Theft Auto sandbox design serves this game well, but having the areas broken up in to levels rather than a larger "world" to play in takes a little fun out of it. Still, the maps are pretty big and full of some unique areas (many you'll recognize from the movie), but I can't help but wonder how much cooler the game would have been if they took the San Andreas design approach. One interesting feature of the game is the destructible nature of the levels- As an Autobot you have to watch how much damage you do to the buildings and objects around you. But as a Decepticon you are given free-reign to demolish to your little black heart's content. Unfortunately, the building seem rather touchy as all it takes is nick on the corner to cause a chain reaction that'll bring the whole thing down. One sorely lacking feature is a multiplayer mode- Giant robots fighting in destructible environments would have made for a great game of online death-matching, but alas we are left with nothing but a story mode and a dream...

It's really not even worth mentioning the extras included in the Cybertron Edition as all the really worthwhile stuff is in the other versions of the game as well. Aside from the Generation One skins you may have heard about (which are honestly nothing more than repaints over the existing character models), there are two unlockable levels based on Cybertron (one level for each side), and a ton of cool galleries showcasing various aspects of the Transformers game and movie. But the best unlockables require you to find all the Transformer emblems- Both the original Generation One Optimus Prime and Megatron are playable characters! These aren't just new skins either- These are completely different characters and they look like they were ripped straight from the cartoon.

I really think you have to be a fairly hardcore Transformers fan to overlook its shortcomings and find the decent game hidden beneath. Casual gamers (or those whose love for Transformers began on July 3rd, 2007) probably won't find much to like here and just save your money to buy some of the Generation One box sets instead.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/09

Game Release: Transformers: The Game (Collector's Edition) (US, 06/26/07)