Transformers: War For Cybertron

I must first start this review by getting a few formalities out of the way.   I am a child of the 80’s, and the biggest part of nostalgia from my childhood is without question the Transformers.   I had the toys, watched the cartoon everyday after school, had huge battles with my friends and cousins after hauling said toys to their houses.   It was simply a great time to be a kid.   So to say I have a certain bias towards this franchise is an understatement.   Now, I don’t automatically think every product released under this banner is amazing, and in fact it is not a heavily disputed statement that most Transformers games have been lackluster at best, save for the PS2 Armada game, which I have not played.  

That introduction aside, let’s delve into the product I now hold in my hands and with which I have spent a solid week.   The first thing I fired up was the Campaign, and from a fiction standpoint, this is as good as any the franchise has released, be it in TV, comic, or game form.   It doesn’t have many twists or turns, but where it shines is in its characterizations, and some of the lesser-knowns really steal the show.   Breakdown particularly in the Decepticon campaign has some great one-liners, and continuously, but cautiously, reminds Megatron just how insane he is.   The banter between Ironhide and Warpath is similarly great, as they compete to rack up the most kills and show off for Optimus.   Thundercracker is soft-spoken and interested in the events he is taking place in, while Skywarp could care less and just wants to get on with the action.   Air Raid is brash and outspoken, while Silverbolt is reserved and soft-spoken, yet a solid leader.   Matt Tieger and High Moon have done a fantastic job in focusing on just a few characters and making their appearance in this game meaningful, rather than trying to bring in an enormous cast who each have one or two throwaway lines.   If you’re into the fiction, and are a fan, then this WILL connect with you, and you’ve got no worries.   Stop reading and go get this game now.   The sly nods to fans via Achievements, the references to movie and show lines, and the inclusion of some larger than life characters will be enough for you to enjoy this game.

Let’s say you’re a little more skeptical.   You jumped onboard with Transformers with the release of the 2007 movie, and for the most part, who could blame you?   Giant robots are awesome, more so ones that change into vehicles.   If you’re a little more skeptical of the quality of this game, this paragraph is for you.   License aside, is this a good game?   I can answer this question with an unequivocal yes; this is a solid, well-crafted, designed for all walks of life, third-person shooter.   There are three difficulties for the campaign (easy, medium, and hard).   Having played all three, I can say no matter which one you pick for your particular tastes, you will feel like you are accomplishing something.   Easy is as it says, and enemy fire won’t take you down right away, and enemies don't have as much resistance.   However you will always feel like you’re under constant fire, and since the firefights allow for levels of strategy not seen in other games (such as the ability to chuck a stun grenade, transform, flank around the side and ram your opponent while stunned) the fun factor is always there.   Medium ups the ante, and in this difficulty you will find rooms where you are overwhelmed and instantly killed if you do not find cover or fire strategically.   This is what most players will play, and it is a very satisfying ride throughout.   This is the mode I beat the game initially on, and found the boss encounters challenging, certain ambushes frustrating, and ultimately felt satisfied beating the campaign.   Hard is as advertised, though after playing through medium, it is less so since you know what to expect.   Enemies take more damage, you take less, and in certain instances one or two shots means the end of you.   A few spots did feel a little cheap, and the boss fights simply take too long and become a bit tedious, but if you’ve got 2 other chaps to play with, then this is the mode to play.  

The campaign is a great ride, and is that much more fun cooperatively.   It’s also of note that the designers clearly intended this to be played cooperatively, since the AI is of little to no help.   At certain times I found my “teammates” way back in another zone, or randomly shooting at walls.   Maybe this will get patched, but I was more than a little annoyed when I burst into a room alone, receiving all of the damage.   Overall, the campaign mode alone makes this title recommendable, maybe as a rental, and the fun cooperatively play mixed with the strategic combat and nice nods to Halo, Team Fortress, and Gears of War style gameplay sets this a above other titles of the same ilk.

What makes this game a BUY to me is the Xbox Live multiplayer, which I have not even touched on yet.   Besides the online co-op play, there are 6 different Xbox Live match modes, and an Escalation mode that is similar to Gears of War 2’s Horde and COD 5’s Nazi Zombie modes.   There’s Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, king of the hill with one and three locations, capture the flag, and “plant the bomb” modes you are already familiar with from other games.   What makes the multiplayer interesting is, like Modern Warfare 2, you can create a persistent character that gains experience for pulling of certain feats in combat, and apply that experience to certain class-specific skills.   I think this is where this game really shines.   I wasn’t sold on this game until this multiplayer style was revealed, and it works so well that I believe even the most jaded player will have to at least say “yeah, this is good.”   It may not be for everyone, and it will be difficult to get those MW2 players to stop playing that game for a few minutes, but it appears a solid online community is springing up for this game and with a patch coming out soon, it also appears High Moon is interested in maintaining the community.  

There are so many cool moments and touches in this game, from flying into battle, transforming, deploying a turret while falling and smashing an opponent with your melee, all in the span of 1 second, to cloaking, flanking the enemy, and backstabbing them, sending the group into a tizzy, that it is impossible for me not to recommend this game.   It is not perfect, and certain issues keep it from getting a 5.   A proper cover mechanic would have been nice, but the usual “A” button is used for jumping here, which is sometimes equally as evasive.   The button layout is very intuitive, and the decision to map the transformation to clicking the left analog stick works brilliantly (just be careful if you’re one of those players who, like me, press on the analog control a little too hard at times, or you’ll find yourself transforming when you don’t want to).   There are too many guns in the game, and some of them are pretty useless.   The inclusion of very “gamey” elements, such as finding 25 hidden symbols throughout each campaign, or killing enemies in certain ways to earn achievements, shows that the development team knows how to make a game first, and apply the license second.   The fact they did so with such finesse gives me high hopes for the future of this franchise.   I hope it’s not just a one-off, as this is some of the best Transformers work in years, and some solid, SOLID work from a strict gameplay perspective.   Matt Tieger has already said that he is very interested in working on a sequel if sales allow it.

The worst reviews for this game call it average.  Some are over the top calling it outstanding and the next Arkham Asylum.  I have to rate it somewhere in-between.   I believe it is certainly above average, and spend some time with this gem of a title and you will begin to appreciate the little touches and depth that are present compared to “filler” and cookie-cutter games like the Transformers Movie games.   I’ve been playing games for almost 25 years now, and what I see here is a very promising start to a great franchise.   It’s clear to me that so much could be tweaked with this game to raise it to that rarefied air.   Whether that happens has yet to be seen.   As it stands, this game is loads of fun and should provide you with some quality entertainment this summer.   So what are you waiting for? Roll Out!