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IGN Review of Transformers: The Game
I'm a Transformers fan. I grew up with them as a child of the '80s, owned billions of toys during the entire decade and have every last season of the television show in my DVD collection. Hell, I'm even looking forward to Michael Bay's live-action popcorn flick despite all the loud, elitist hate floating around. I may even get the new "Barricade" action figure simply because it looks cool and reminds me of "Prowl" from back in the day.
Activision's videogame adaptation of Bay's motion picture, however, will remain on my local store shelf.
Honestly, I'm not sure who Transformers: The Game is going to bother more. Longtime Diaclone fans that have dreaded what the "Hollywood Blockbuster Machine" would do to their beloved robots, or LEGO Star Wars freaks that enjoyed Traveller's Tales' work on that series with its addictive and charming gameplay.
Can we call it a tie?
While it's not a complete disaster, Transformers is a cluttered mess. Despite reminding me of Hulk's Ultimate Destruction with its "obliterate everything" motto and open world design, its quality isn't anywhere near as comparable. Structures crumble and blow up, yes, but they'll do so from even the slightest touch. I can't tell you how many times I walked past buildings with Prime or Ironhide, only to watch those environments fall apart in a fiery heap because I happened to brush against them. Wreaking havoc is nowhere near as fun when it happens by accident just as frequently as it does on purpose.
Transformers' "open world" isn't really that freeform either. When compared to Hulk, Grand Theft Auto, or Activision's own Spider-Man franchise, the environments and mission selection are as small and linear as it gets. Most of the stages that players explore (be it the city, military base, or whatever) have only a handful of primary missions and even fewer sub-quests that can be completed with little trouble. Sure, the developers tried to add some extra replay by scattering 100 "AllSpark" collectibles in each level (and five hidden faction shields), but 80% of these extras can be found easily with a 10- to 15-minute dedication.
The game also suffers from a number of strangely designed tasks and poor pacing. Take Optimus Prime, for example. The king of all Autobots and a true force to be reckoned with, Optimus is a giant badass with powerful weapons that could take out a small army. But rather than give players a reason to go out and use his kick-butt arsenal, TT Games neutered the keeper of the Matrix right from the get-go. For the majority of Prime's quests, he spends his missions driving around within time limits to seemingly random points on the map, or he fights bosses that can't be hurt with guns. What's the point in having someone who is that dominant when you never have a reason to let loose with him (especially since destroying things as an Autobot works against you instead of for you)?
That's one of Transformers' biggest mysteries actually -- why do we have primary and secondary weapons if they rarely matter? When playing as Autobots or Decepticons both, most of the higher-level robots you face are nigh impervious to your long-range weapons (especially boss characters). Even when an opponent has his back turned, he can somehow raise his shield to deflect your plasma shot or machine gun. This means that most of the "action" in transformers is played out via brawling; and when you only have one or two combos that with a throw (that are practically identical from robot to robot), things get old real quick.
Should you decide to play as the Decepticons instead of the Autobots, things definitely turn out a little better. Unlike the "good guys," who drive like trains and not sentient high-performance vehicles, the evil side sports much cooler transportation and better overall goals. Using Blackout and Starscream to fly through the air is much more satisfying than struggling with Jazz or Bumblebee on the narrow city streets. Plus, since the Decepticons are all about destruction and dominance, you're actually rewarded for maiming as much geography as robotically possible.
Of particular note are the Scorponok challenges. Though he can't transform into a humanoid robot, the giant mechanized scorpion does a lot of damage with his fast and stealthy "burrowing" ability that allows him to travel underground and pop up to surprise his targets. Taking out a bunch of tanks and other military equipment with him was some of the best (and only) fun I had in the entire game.
Keep in mind, though, that just because the Decepticons are more fun than the Autobots, it doesn't excuse the game's other nagging issues. Cutscenes have a terrible compression quality and look like they're from the early-PS2 era. Some stages, even in the daylight, are incredibly hard to see because of how dark they are and the various collision, camera and sound hitches bring down the overall quality of the game as well (but at least the 360 version has less shimmer and better lighting than the PS3 version). At least Activision managed to include a couple of hidden Easter Eggs for those willing to hang around.
©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Activision's videogame adaptation of Bay's motion picture, however, will remain on my local store shelf.
Honestly, I'm not sure who Transformers: The Game is going to bother more. Longtime Diaclone fans that have dreaded what the "Hollywood Blockbuster Machine" would do to their beloved robots, or LEGO Star Wars freaks that enjoyed Traveller's Tales' work on that series with its addictive and charming gameplay.
Can we call it a tie?
While it's not a complete disaster, Transformers is a cluttered mess. Despite reminding me of Hulk's Ultimate Destruction with its "obliterate everything" motto and open world design, its quality isn't anywhere near as comparable. Structures crumble and blow up, yes, but they'll do so from even the slightest touch. I can't tell you how many times I walked past buildings with Prime or Ironhide, only to watch those environments fall apart in a fiery heap because I happened to brush against them. Wreaking havoc is nowhere near as fun when it happens by accident just as frequently as it does on purpose.
Transformers' "open world" isn't really that freeform either. When compared to Hulk, Grand Theft Auto, or Activision's own Spider-Man franchise, the environments and mission selection are as small and linear as it gets. Most of the stages that players explore (be it the city, military base, or whatever) have only a handful of primary missions and even fewer sub-quests that can be completed with little trouble. Sure, the developers tried to add some extra replay by scattering 100 "AllSpark" collectibles in each level (and five hidden faction shields), but 80% of these extras can be found easily with a 10- to 15-minute dedication.
The game also suffers from a number of strangely designed tasks and poor pacing. Take Optimus Prime, for example. The king of all Autobots and a true force to be reckoned with, Optimus is a giant badass with powerful weapons that could take out a small army. But rather than give players a reason to go out and use his kick-butt arsenal, TT Games neutered the keeper of the Matrix right from the get-go. For the majority of Prime's quests, he spends his missions driving around within time limits to seemingly random points on the map, or he fights bosses that can't be hurt with guns. What's the point in having someone who is that dominant when you never have a reason to let loose with him (especially since destroying things as an Autobot works against you instead of for you)?
That's one of Transformers' biggest mysteries actually -- why do we have primary and secondary weapons if they rarely matter? When playing as Autobots or Decepticons both, most of the higher-level robots you face are nigh impervious to your long-range weapons (especially boss characters). Even when an opponent has his back turned, he can somehow raise his shield to deflect your plasma shot or machine gun. This means that most of the "action" in transformers is played out via brawling; and when you only have one or two combos that with a throw (that are practically identical from robot to robot), things get old real quick.
Should you decide to play as the Decepticons instead of the Autobots, things definitely turn out a little better. Unlike the "good guys," who drive like trains and not sentient high-performance vehicles, the evil side sports much cooler transportation and better overall goals. Using Blackout and Starscream to fly through the air is much more satisfying than struggling with Jazz or Bumblebee on the narrow city streets. Plus, since the Decepticons are all about destruction and dominance, you're actually rewarded for maiming as much geography as robotically possible.
Of particular note are the Scorponok challenges. Though he can't transform into a humanoid robot, the giant mechanized scorpion does a lot of damage with his fast and stealthy "burrowing" ability that allows him to travel underground and pop up to surprise his targets. Taking out a bunch of tanks and other military equipment with him was some of the best (and only) fun I had in the entire game.
Keep in mind, though, that just because the Decepticons are more fun than the Autobots, it doesn't excuse the game's other nagging issues. Cutscenes have a terrible compression quality and look like they're from the early-PS2 era. Some stages, even in the daylight, are incredibly hard to see because of how dark they are and the various collision, camera and sound hitches bring down the overall quality of the game as well (but at least the 360 version has less shimmer and better lighting than the PS3 version). At least Activision managed to include a couple of hidden Easter Eggs for those willing to hang around.
©2007, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved