Stomps the movie into the dirt.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen the game shares pretty much all the strengths and weaknesses of Michael Bay's film. That is that the story is a mess, the acting and characters are atrocious and it's too bloody long. On the other hand, the action sequences are cool and lots of stuff explodes really nicely. Fortunately for Activision and Luxoflux's game, the weaknesses of the film are not as well noticed in the game because not everyone plays a game expecting a great story, acting or for it to be too long (unless it's a Bioware game or something) so the game doesn't really suffer for it. So the single-player storyline is still awful and Shia La What ever his name is and Megan Fox still struggle with the basic concept of acting.
It's alright though because, like the film, the action is fun and explosive and the robots themselves look freaking awesome. Also, the 2 and a half hour length of the film also applies to each of the game's campaigns. Whilst short games usually garn negative receptions, it doesn't affect Revenge of the Fallen too much because if it was any longer the single-player would become extremely dull. Anyway, enough comparisons with the film, what's the actual game like?
Revenge of the Fallen is a third person action/shooting/driving hybrid with two single-player campaigns and a surprisingly robust and addicting online multiplayer component. The two campaigns follow the Autobots and the Decepticons, allowing you to play as a variety of robots and vehicles. The single-player missions aren't very inspired and the objectives are dull and become repetitive, but the way in which you can tackle them keep the game's campaign's from becoming dull. Playing as different Transformers allows you to approach objectives in different ways; you could climb a building and snipe enemies from above, ram them over with a truck, blast them with rockets or rain down fire from above via a helicopter or even a jet. The variety of different play styles is great and the single-player ends up feeling like a training ground for the intense multiplayer. This is because the controls can take some time to get used to; each of the triggers puts your robot into either shooting or vehicle mode. Doing neither will just allow your robot to move around, jump, climb and all the basics. The shooting feels good with a variety of nice weaponry and the vehicles are also fun to use, if a little inconsistent.
The reason this turned from a rental into a purchase was the online multiplayer. Up to 8 players can battle it out in a variety of modes and maps. Like the single-player, the maps and the objectives are pretty uninspired but the Transformers are well balanced and it's fun to play. It plays differently to any other competitive online game out there and it's this variety and flexibility of the ways in which you can play the game which keeps the multiplayer so entertaining. Hopefully this game can gather a strong multiplayer community because it seems like the type of game that could go under the radar. However, if it does manage to get a communtiy going this could turn into a surprise online favourite on PS3 and Xbox 360.
Revenge of the Fallen's presentation is a mixed bag. It's a licensed game so there's plenty of polish in the menus and what not. The Transformers themselves look amazing and animate really well, especially during the transformations from robot to vehicle and vice versa. The other characters don't hold up so well and the cutscenes are pretty bland. The environments, both in single and multiplayer, are pretty dull and don't have the best textures in the world either. The voice acting is appaling from all concerned apart from Optimus Prime who is voiced by the original actor from the cartoon, I'm sorry to say that his name escapes me. Other sound is OK with some decent music and sound effects. So, great looking robots and explosions with with a badass sounding Optimus Prime - makes up for the rest of the presentation I guess.
You know what, despite the bad press that movie licensed games get there's been a few shining lights recently; Quantum of Solace, Ghostbusters, Wolverine and now Transformers. I think the fact that I'm not a huge Transformers fan shows how enjoyable this game is on its own merits. Sure it's a little uninspired but the action is explosive and the variety in the play styles really makes the single-player more fun than it should be. These play styles come to the fore front in multiplayer and it's fantastic. Fans of Transformers should definately pick this game up and fans of action games or people looking for something a bit different for their competitive online needs should consider it too.
By Tom Acres - Systemlink Blog
