It wouldn't be the first time that I would get burned by nostalgia - especially after the two disastrous games that were the previous Transformers' movie-tie-in video game, however, there was hope - this game wasn't tied to anything.
When I popped in the disc I had to wait for a long period of time for the game to install, and when I say long - I mean long! I could have gone to the store, buy every single ingredient I could think for a sandwich, make the sandwich, toast it, eat it, clean the dishes, take a shower and the game still wasn't finish installing. Things weren't looking well to begin with.
Things don't improve with a tutorial that neglects to tell you how to switch from robot to vehicle. Reading the in-game tutorials (on the select menu, because the instructions don't bother pointing it out in an obvious way) wasn't helpful at all. I figured it out by chapter 2 after accidentally pressing the L3 button....
When the game starts you can chose between starting with the Autobots campaign or the Decepticons. It makes sense story wise to start with the Decepticons campaign - just in case you were wondering, because the Autobots' campaign follows straight after the Decepticons' story chronologically. Playing first as the Autobots is similar to start watching a movie halfway through and once it's done rewind it to see the beginning.
When the game starts you can chose between starting with the Autobots campaign or the Decepticons. It makes sense story wise to start with the Decepticons campaign - just in case you were wondering, because the Autobots' campaign follows straight after the Decepticons' story chronologically. Playing first as the Autobots is similar to start watching a movie halfway through and once it's done rewind it to see the beginning.
During the first level I wasn't impressed. Transfomers is a third person shooting game where you can't use cover, at least not in the same fashion as you can Uncharted. Here, if you want to avoid getting hit then you must stand behind certain items. It takes a while to get used to and to find the right angle to take cover, but it slowly becomes second nature. Things started picking up and it was really fun to switch from "robot" to "vehicle" on the fly. You can start a jump as a car, switch mid-jump to robot, shoot someone and switch back again to a car before you land.
As I said at the beginning of this review I watched the Transformer's as a kid, in the 80's. Twenty years later, age has got to me and some story details are more than fuzzy. In other words, I didn't think the story was that great, but maybe it's because I've missed on a lot. I feel that someone who has been following the Transfomers from comics to cartoons will appreciate it more. I truly felt there's a lot of commendable fan service here, even though I couldn't appreciate it myself.
The cutscenes in Transfomers: War for Cybertron look amazing, High Moon Studios really did a great job here. It even makes me wish they could use that same style and release a full feature film. However, when it comes to actually in-game graphics, nothing is ugly per se, but it' is all rather boring. Environments are bland and repetitive. There's no variety what so ever from locale to locale and mission to mission. Hopefully for the sequel, because there will be one, High Moon Studios will add a bit more of variety.
The offline mode of Transfomers will keep you busy for about 10 to 12 hours, but thankfully there is also an online feature. The online portions of this game are pretty solid, I won't lie - I didn't try them all, and the ones I tried weren't for long. I'm not known for being an online player. If you do enjoy online multiplayer and playing co-op missions Transfomers: War For Cybertron has you covered. Just don't expect this online mode to keep you coming back as much as any Call of Duty games, Uncharted 2 or ModNation Racers.
The Gaymers Verdict: Boyfriend Material
Alejandro Torres
> Transfomers is a third person shooting game where you can't use cover
ReplyDeleteThis pretty much sold the game to me. Too many games, these days, shove in some half-assed cover mechanic and it's an absolute nightmare. I'm sick of it.
When I play a shooter, I want it to be a flowing ballet of destruction. With cover mechanics, even the best games become slow, ponderous exercises in sticking your head over or around obstacles. Not only is it interminably boring, destroys flow, and makes a level last 10x longer, but also means that you have reduced your game to the mechanics used by fucking space invaders back in the 80s. Shooters should not be about standing against an obstacle, occasionally pushing a button at the right time while your enemies stay in exactly the same place and fire at said obstacle.
Cover mechanics are the worst curse to have blighted games since quick time events.
I can't believe that cover mechanics have even made it into Deus Ex 3. I blame the Unreal Engine for making it too easy to implement.