Like any summer blockbuster franchise, Transformers has continued its
invasion of home consoles to coincide with its theatrical release. Typically, these movie-to-game adaptations
are met with considerable skepticism among both savvy gamers and jaded critics. Even more eyebrows tend to be raised when
these film adaptations are released for handheld platforms, since handheld
software is regarded as simpler in nearly every way. However, the development team behind
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen appears to have invested considerable work
into their task of bringing the heroic robots to the DS.
Anyone who has noticed Transformers: RotF for the DS
in their local game shop has likely observed one thing right away: there are
two different versions of this game.
This is no longer considered outrageous for the DS software library, as
other titles have been similarly successful in releasing multiple versions of a
game, such as Pokemon and Nintendogs. This divergence offers not only an aspect of
choice for the consumer, but a fairly ingenious way to sell more copies of the
game to diehard fans, particularly when the differences between the versions
are largely cosmetic. Sadly, this also
appears to be true for Revenge of the Fallen.
One version is based on the film’s protagonists, the Autobots, while the second version tells a tale through the
eyes of the villains, or Decepticons. Interestingly, players will actually utilize
the same character for either title, while the events of the story play out a
bit differently.
For the Autobots version of the game, the player
takes on the role of an honorable defender of Earth. Optimus Prime takes
center stage as your main guide, which is a good thing – after all, he’s
the most popular of the Transformers, and hearing Bumblebee cobble together
sound bytes to communicate ideas throughout the game would have been
unimaginably annoying. This is still
largely superficial. No matter which
version of the game you purchase, you are going to get the same gameplay experience,
just with a bit of variation in the levels and missions. It’s not really enough to warrant a
double-purchase, unless you’re a very hardcore fan of the movies.
Gameplay is somewhat predictable for an action-oriented film adaptation, so
there shouldn’t be any confusing strategies or challenges that young
players will have too much trouble with.
One of the best aspects of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the
ability to acquire upgrades. Many games
utilize such a mechanic, but to keep things authentically centered in the
Transformers universe, objects can actually be scanned in order take advantage
of their capabilities. This acts as a
continuous reward loops for the player, granting the sense of building strength
through a persistent character. Granted,
this mechanic is intended to be simple enough to remain accessible even to
younger audiences, so providing the upgrade system RPG-like layers of depth
would have been inappropriate. Fans of
the film will be thrilled with the association between upgrades in the game,
and the upgrades used by characters in the film.
The gameplay itself is nicely varied, combining elements of ground combat
with aerial battles and driving missions.
There’s quite a bit of shooting going on, though incoming fire
from the enemies sometimes feels like it tracks your character with unfair
precision. The controls aren’t
quite as refined across each gameplay engine as Grand Theft Auto, but they
function adequately and are not difficult to learn. Both versions of the game have considerable
visual density, and while the game is not always pretty, it does make good use
of the graphical capabilities of the DS.
The audio also quite good for an action game,
and even the high quality voice acting is unique in each version.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also features four-player
Wi-fi online multiplayer.
These are essentially your basic deathmatch
style of gameplay modes, which provide a fairly hefty offering of mindless
fun. The online modes differ slightly
depending upon the version you are playing, but the gameplay is consistent
across titles. Downloadable missions
help to extend the replayability, but the game might
have reached new heights if an online cooperative mode had been
incorporated. Utilizing the factions
from the film suggests that much opportunity existed here; such a framework
could allow future Transformers games to introduce some really amazing
multiplayer modes.
The graphical flaws in the game can get distracting, but the clunky elements
of the gameplay keep Revenge of the Fallen from being an outstanding DS
title. This game could have definitely benefited
from further time in development. As it
stands, the experience should still provide plenty of excitement for fans of
the movies.
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Gameplay: 7.0
Some decent variety, but a lot of bugs
can bog the experience down.
Graphics: 8.0
Messy in many
areas, but still fairly striking for a DS title.
Sound: 8.0
Authentic sounds from the film, with great
voice acting.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Decent challenge,
but the game keeps you from feeling too frustrated most of the time. The boss battles need some work, too.
Concept: 6.0
Movie games don’t
win points for originality, but the execution here isn’t half bad.
Multiplayer: 7.0
A nice smattering of multiplayer fun, although an
expansion of this aspect would have really made the title soar.
Overall: 7.0
Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen isn’t exactly a must buy, but it will certainly
satisfy that itch to experience robotic combat in a handheld title. Future iterations can certainly improve upon
these offerings, particularly if multiplayer is given more attention.
