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This thread has been linked to the game 'Transformers: War for Cybertron'.
Being a massive Transformers fan in the 80’s, any game is going to have to be ultra-impressive to get me excited. While both the movie licensed games had me fuming over such poor gameplay, Transformers War for Cybertron is a different bucket of bolts.
The first thing that struck me when I started the game was Peter Cullen’s voice. Ok, so he’s in the movies, but he is Optimus and the game just wouldn’t feel the same with another actor. The voice of Megatron does a good job at sounding like something between the 80’s original (Frank Weller) and the movie version (Hugo Weaving) and Starscream is especially good.
All this would be for nothing if the game and story weren’t up to scratch, of course, and I’m pleased to say this is a Transformer fanboy’s dream come true for the most part. The story is set in the time before the Autobots and Decepticons come to Earth. They’re battling for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The story gives way to 2 campaigns, firstly the Decepticons, where you can play as Megatron and his co-horts, trying to use Dark Energon to gain powers and then the Autobot campaign which sees Optimus and friends fighting the good fight.
Occasional plot holes aside, the story is faithful to the original and it’s clear a lot of effort has gone into providing a game for fans. People new to the series needn’t feel too left out, though as the story is self contained. Added to this, the game itself is in some respects a pretty generic 3rd Person shooter. It’s feels a bit like Gears of War but without a cover system. In it’s place, though, is the ability to transform at will and use your abilities (driving or flying) and weapons the different modes bring with them. Limited weapons seem to spoil the fun at first, but soon provide a much needed sense of strategy to the proceedings.
The 2 single player campaigns are great to play through, partly because of the story and partly because there are some great battle set-pieces later in the game. There’s very little difference between the campaigns aside from the story though, but the Autobots levels have the edge. Points can be deducted for some laziness on the developer’s part though as you find every other level has the habit of developing in to small rooms and corridors ad infinitum. But then I guess the fact is that I’m not really viewing this subjectively because the Generation 1 licence is being used so well and I’m a Transformers fanboy at heart.
As it stands, the single player part of the game would stand up pretty well on it’s own, but War for Cybertron steps up to the crowded Multiplayer arena and shows another side which will melt a fan’s heart faster than a blast from Megatron’s cannon. It’s nothing new or original, all the modes have been seen in other games and it feels very Unreal Tournament in places but one thing sets this apart; Transforming. Planes flying over head then transforming in front of you, Autobots rolling out in teams to smash into their foes, tyres screeching. It’s all here and perfectly realised with the sort of open world environment a Transformers game has been crying out for all this time. There’s even a Horde-style game called Escalation which sees you fighting ever increasing waves of enemies, it’s pretty intense.
Visually, War for Cybertron is great but not quite outstanding. Maybe it’s because it feels a little too close to the grittiness of Gears of War but with big metal machines. I suppose having clean, gleaming metal would go against the gritty story and might show the graphics up in a less favourable light, but it’s definitely the prettiest Transformers game since the PS2 Armada classic and does all the robots in disguise justice far better than anything that has gone before. The backgrounds range from impressive to boring corridors of metal that all look the same, which is probably a space saving issue but does grate a little after your fifteenth corridor.
As an overall package, Transformers War for Cybertron blows every other Transformers game out of the water and makes G1 fans go weak at the knees. The single player is good but it’s really the multiplayer that will keep you coming back for more. If you’re in any way a Transformers fan then roll out and grab a copy now!
9/10
The first thing that struck me when I started the game was Peter Cullen’s voice. Ok, so he’s in the movies, but he is Optimus and the game just wouldn’t feel the same with another actor. The voice of Megatron does a good job at sounding like something between the 80’s original (Frank Weller) and the movie version (Hugo Weaving) and Starscream is especially good.
All this would be for nothing if the game and story weren’t up to scratch, of course, and I’m pleased to say this is a Transformer fanboy’s dream come true for the most part. The story is set in the time before the Autobots and Decepticons come to Earth. They’re battling for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The story gives way to 2 campaigns, firstly the Decepticons, where you can play as Megatron and his co-horts, trying to use Dark Energon to gain powers and then the Autobot campaign which sees Optimus and friends fighting the good fight.
Occasional plot holes aside, the story is faithful to the original and it’s clear a lot of effort has gone into providing a game for fans. People new to the series needn’t feel too left out, though as the story is self contained. Added to this, the game itself is in some respects a pretty generic 3rd Person shooter. It’s feels a bit like Gears of War but without a cover system. In it’s place, though, is the ability to transform at will and use your abilities (driving or flying) and weapons the different modes bring with them. Limited weapons seem to spoil the fun at first, but soon provide a much needed sense of strategy to the proceedings.
The 2 single player campaigns are great to play through, partly because of the story and partly because there are some great battle set-pieces later in the game. There’s very little difference between the campaigns aside from the story though, but the Autobots levels have the edge. Points can be deducted for some laziness on the developer’s part though as you find every other level has the habit of developing in to small rooms and corridors ad infinitum. But then I guess the fact is that I’m not really viewing this subjectively because the Generation 1 licence is being used so well and I’m a Transformers fanboy at heart.
As it stands, the single player part of the game would stand up pretty well on it’s own, but War for Cybertron steps up to the crowded Multiplayer arena and shows another side which will melt a fan’s heart faster than a blast from Megatron’s cannon. It’s nothing new or original, all the modes have been seen in other games and it feels very Unreal Tournament in places but one thing sets this apart; Transforming. Planes flying over head then transforming in front of you, Autobots rolling out in teams to smash into their foes, tyres screeching. It’s all here and perfectly realised with the sort of open world environment a Transformers game has been crying out for all this time. There’s even a Horde-style game called Escalation which sees you fighting ever increasing waves of enemies, it’s pretty intense.
Visually, War for Cybertron is great but not quite outstanding. Maybe it’s because it feels a little too close to the grittiness of Gears of War but with big metal machines. I suppose having clean, gleaming metal would go against the gritty story and might show the graphics up in a less favourable light, but it’s definitely the prettiest Transformers game since the PS2 Armada classic and does all the robots in disguise justice far better than anything that has gone before. The backgrounds range from impressive to boring corridors of metal that all look the same, which is probably a space saving issue but does grate a little after your fifteenth corridor.
As an overall package, Transformers War for Cybertron blows every other Transformers game out of the water and makes G1 fans go weak at the knees. The single player is good but it’s really the multiplayer that will keep you coming back for more. If you’re in any way a Transformers fan then roll out and grab a copy now!
9/10
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Being a massive Transformers fan in the 80’s, any game is going to have to be ultra-impressive to get me excited. While both the movie licensed games had me fuming over such poor gameplay, Transformers War for Cybertron is a different bucket of bolts.
The first thing that struck me when I started the game was Peter Cullen’s voice. Ok, so he’s in the movies, but he is Optimus and the game just wouldn’t feel the same with another actor. The voice of Megatron does a good job at sounding like something between the 80’s original (Frank Weller) and the movie version (Hugo Weaving) and Starscream is especially good.
All this would be for nothing if the game and story weren’t up to scratch, of course, and I’m pleased to say this is a Transformer fanboy’s dream come true for the most part. The story is set in the time before the Autobots and Decepticons come to Earth. They’re battling for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The story gives way to 2 campaigns, firstly the Decepticons, where you can play as Megatron and his co-horts, trying to use Dark Energon to gain powers and then the Autobot campaign which sees Optimus and friends fighting the good fight.
Occasional plot holes aside, the story is faithful to the original and it’s clear a lot of effort has gone into providing a game for fans. People new to the series needn’t feel too left out, though as the story is self contained. Added to this, the game itself is in some respects a pretty generic 3rd Person shooter. It’s feels a bit like Gears of War but without a cover system. In it’s place, though, is the ability to transform at will and use your abilities (driving or flying) and weapons the different modes bring with them. Limited weapons seem to spoil the fun at first, but soon provide a much needed sense of strategy to the proceedings.
The 2 single player campaigns are great to play through, partly because of the story and partly because there are some great battle set-pieces later in the game. There’s very little difference between the campaigns aside from the story though, but the Autobots levels have the edge. Points can be deducted for some laziness on the developer’s part though as you find every other level has the habit of developing in to small rooms and corridors ad infinitum. But then I guess the fact is that I’m not really viewing this subjectively because the Generation 1 licence is being used so well and I’m a Transformers fanboy at heart.
As it stands, the single player part of the game would stand up pretty well on it’s own, but War for Cybertron steps up to the crowded Multiplayer arena and shows another side which will melt a fan’s heart faster than a blast from Megatron’s cannon. It’s nothing new or original, all the modes have been seen in other games and it feels very Unreal Tournament in places but one thing sets this apart; Transforming. Planes flying over head then transforming in front of you, Autobots rolling out in teams to smash into their foes, tyres screeching. It’s all here and perfectly realised with the sort of open world environment a Transformers game has been crying out for all this time. There’s even a Horde-style game called Escalation which sees you fighting ever increasing waves of enemies, it’s pretty intense.
Visually, War for Cybertron is great but not quite outstanding. Maybe it’s because it feels a little too close to the grittiness of Gears of War but with big metal machines. I suppose having clean, gleaming metal would go against the gritty story and might show the graphics up in a less favourable light, but it’s definitely the prettiest Transformers game since the PS2 Armada classic and does all the robots in disguise justice far better than anything that has gone before. The backgrounds range from impressive to boring corridors of metal that all look the same, which is probably a space saving issue but does grate a little after your fifteenth corridor.
As an overall package, Transformers War for Cybertron blows every other Transformers game out of the water and makes G1 fans go weak at the knees. The single player is good but it’s really the multiplayer that will keep you coming back for more. If you’re in any way a Transformers fan then roll out and grab a copy now!
9/10
The first thing that struck me when I started the game was Peter Cullen’s voice. Ok, so he’s in the movies, but he is Optimus and the game just wouldn’t feel the same with another actor. The voice of Megatron does a good job at sounding like something between the 80’s original (Frank Weller) and the movie version (Hugo Weaving) and Starscream is especially good.
All this would be for nothing if the game and story weren’t up to scratch, of course, and I’m pleased to say this is a Transformer fanboy’s dream come true for the most part. The story is set in the time before the Autobots and Decepticons come to Earth. They’re battling for control of their home planet, Cybertron. The story gives way to 2 campaigns, firstly the Decepticons, where you can play as Megatron and his co-horts, trying to use Dark Energon to gain powers and then the Autobot campaign which sees Optimus and friends fighting the good fight.
Occasional plot holes aside, the story is faithful to the original and it’s clear a lot of effort has gone into providing a game for fans. People new to the series needn’t feel too left out, though as the story is self contained. Added to this, the game itself is in some respects a pretty generic 3rd Person shooter. It’s feels a bit like Gears of War but without a cover system. In it’s place, though, is the ability to transform at will and use your abilities (driving or flying) and weapons the different modes bring with them. Limited weapons seem to spoil the fun at first, but soon provide a much needed sense of strategy to the proceedings.
The 2 single player campaigns are great to play through, partly because of the story and partly because there are some great battle set-pieces later in the game. There’s very little difference between the campaigns aside from the story though, but the Autobots levels have the edge. Points can be deducted for some laziness on the developer’s part though as you find every other level has the habit of developing in to small rooms and corridors ad infinitum. But then I guess the fact is that I’m not really viewing this subjectively because the Generation 1 licence is being used so well and I’m a Transformers fanboy at heart.
As it stands, the single player part of the game would stand up pretty well on it’s own, but War for Cybertron steps up to the crowded Multiplayer arena and shows another side which will melt a fan’s heart faster than a blast from Megatron’s cannon. It’s nothing new or original, all the modes have been seen in other games and it feels very Unreal Tournament in places but one thing sets this apart; Transforming. Planes flying over head then transforming in front of you, Autobots rolling out in teams to smash into their foes, tyres screeching. It’s all here and perfectly realised with the sort of open world environment a Transformers game has been crying out for all this time. There’s even a Horde-style game called Escalation which sees you fighting ever increasing waves of enemies, it’s pretty intense.
Visually, War for Cybertron is great but not quite outstanding. Maybe it’s because it feels a little too close to the grittiness of Gears of War but with big metal machines. I suppose having clean, gleaming metal would go against the gritty story and might show the graphics up in a less favourable light, but it’s definitely the prettiest Transformers game since the PS2 Armada classic and does all the robots in disguise justice far better than anything that has gone before. The backgrounds range from impressive to boring corridors of metal that all look the same, which is probably a space saving issue but does grate a little after your fifteenth corridor.
As an overall package, Transformers War for Cybertron blows every other Transformers game out of the water and makes G1 fans go weak at the knees. The single player is good but it’s really the multiplayer that will keep you coming back for more. If you’re in any way a Transformers fan then roll out and grab a copy now!
9/10