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250px-Transformers,_Fall_of_Cybertron_PC_box_art

Publisher: Activision

Developer: High Moon Studios

Release Date: 8/21/2012

Available On

War for Cybertron was the first Transformers game that was actually good and not based off of any of the three movies (hey, I liked them!). It’s based on the characters of the Generation One cartoon series and even brings back some of the original voice actors. Fall of Cybertron continues in this fashion, but brings out some of the lesser-known Transformers and puts them in the campaign. The game is overall the same as the last one, but with more polish and fine-tuning.

The story is decent and entertaining, but nothing memorable. It picks up from the last game, where Megatron is still trying to wipe out the Autobots, but this time prevents them from escaping on the Ark. Optimus Prime and his gang are desperately trying to gather enough energy to power the Ark, but Megatron and the Decepticons, as well as the Insecticons, are causing problems for everyone. The planet is pretty much lost at this point, and all Optimus cares about is getting his autobots off the damn planet and to safety. You play through thirteen chapters of various different Transformers from both sides to experience this pretty cinematic and entertaining story.

You play as regular Transformers and the larger ones. Bumblebee is your first one in the first chapter. Optimus Prime and Megatron are used quite a bit, but also Cliff Jumper, Bruticus, Jazz, Vortex, Grimlock, Starscream, and even for a brief moment in the final chapter, Jetfire. I preferred this over choosing between just a few different ones, like in the last game. It made the campaign more unique and less repetitive and boring. Each chapter is completely different, with different gameplay elements, thanks to each Transformer being unique. Sneaking around cloaked as Cliff Jumper, grappling as Jazz, flying around as Vortex, and stomping things into the ground as Bruticus was awesome. The vehicle forms are better controlled, and I used them a lot more than I did in the last game. Even the gunplay is tighter.

The enemies are smarter this time around, and there’s a bit more of a variety. The insects add to this variety and are spread throughout the campaign. Even the objectives are more varied instead of just pulling levers all the time. There’s a new upgrade system via Teletraan 1, which allows you to use Energon Shards to upgrade weapons. These upgrades are actually useful and make a huge difference. I still wish I could upgrade my vehicle, but it is already powerful enough. The campaign just stands as a solid cinematic Transformers story and is just so much better than the last game. There are still a few issues, like difficulty spikes and minor collision detection issues, but they aren’t nearly as abundant as in the last game. This game is hard, and if you don’t take cover and watch out, you will die in a few hits. Using shields and energon packs helps, but at least you won’t die every 5 seconds like in the last game.

The graphics are really good, but it still uses Unreal Engine 3 based on the consoles, and it could look better. I was hoping the PC version would have some enhanced visuals, but it doesn’t. There are some ugly muddy textures here and there, but overall, it looks way better than the last game. War for Cybertron already looked dated when it came out. The art style is gorgeous, and the voice acting is just top-notch. The multiplayer comes back again, but not much else has changed besides being able to build your own robot. After a while, you will get bored with the last game, but hardcore fans may stay. If it makes you feel better, you get to be a T-Rex as Grimlock later in the game. I just can’t tell you how many surprises this game can throw at you. There is just a ton of love put into this game and tidbits for fans.

As it stands, Fall of Cybertron improves immensely over the last game, but still doesn’t offer enough variation and diversity to make this game of the year worthy. There is more variety here than in the last game, with different Transformers used in each chapter, but I really wanted something even more epic. What’s here is great, and this really is the best Transformers game ever made, but I know it can be even better.

Reviewed On

Keyboard & Mouse

Publisher: Activision

Developer: High Moon Studios

Release Date: 6/22/2010

Available On

Transformers has always been one of those licenses that has struggled in the gaming world and produced mediocre to abysmal products that were quickly forgotten. The fine men and women at High Moon Studios have finally delivered the first excellent Transformers game that brings us back to the beloved cartoons we grew to love and embrace in our hearts.

You play both the Decepticon and Autobot campaigns, but you start out as the Decepticons trying to use Dark Energon to hijack the core of Cybertron and destroy the Autobots in the process. When you start each chapter, you can choose one of three Transformers to play as, and in the Decepticon campaign (minus the Star Scream mission), you can play as either Megatron (yes!), Soundwave, or Breakdown. Each one has unique abilities and starts out with its own weapons. Once you jump into the game, controls play out like a standard third-person shooter, but the game does a bit more for us here.

You can carry two weapons at all times, and of course, you have to reload and acquire more ammo, but sometimes you’ll find a really big weapon that you can carry, but switching to other weapons will drop it. You can use your abilities, such as sucking the life from enemies or hovering, but as you can see, the abilities are pretty lackluster, and you never really use them! To regenerate your abilities, you must collect fallen energon from dead enemies. You can also transform into your vehicle form, but once again, you never really have to do this unless you’re traveling long distances or you’re almost forced to. The transformations are seamless, but there’s just no reason to really do it since your firearms are sufficient.

You can throw grenades as well, and one such grenade called the healing grenade is excellent since it creates a healing bubble that comes in handy a lot. The weapons are pretty versatile and very useful, and High Moon did a good job giving a nice selection. You really have to decide what’s the best weapon for the situation, especially during boss fights.

While the gameplay is solid, it needs to be more cinematic. The game is very straightforward and stays the same throughout. It’s just killing wave after wave after wave, then killing this boss. Each chapter replays the same formula but offers just enough diversity to keep you playing. I wanted the game to be more cinematic and varied in gameplay, but maybe next time around. The game looks very good, but some of the textures are on the low-resolution side, and it could have also looked so much better. However, the art style is spot on and really makes you feel like you are fighting this massive war on Cybertron. The voice acting is top-notch, and everyone sounds like, or almost like, their cartoon counterparts’ personalities and all. I do have to point out that the AI is pretty solid and gives you a good challenge, but the difficulty is poorly balanced due to easy sections and then a sudden section that you die in 10 times.

The multiplayer side is fun with the escalation mode that pits you against wave after wave of enemies, but the competitive side is pretty standard and not very exciting after a while. With a compelling story and solid enough gameplay and variety to keep any Transformer fan or newcomer alike busy, you won’t have a reason to come back to play through Cybertron again unless you just want to hear your favorite metal men talk.