Transformers: The Game – 360 – Review

Being an
80’s child, Transformers (along with Thundercats, He-man, and Ninja Turtles)
holds a very special place in my heart. Needless to say, I kept my ear to the
ground once I discovered that the robots in disguise were going to get their own
live-action movie. Yes, I was initially disturbed when I discovered that Michael
Bay would be helming the project (ugh) and I was heart-broken at the omission of
Soundwave (the best Decepticon EVER), but I developed a newfound hope for the
project after seeing some promising trailers, experiencing a renewed vigor that
the movie could actually kick some ass. I had the same hope for the game based
on the movie.

Unfortunately, Transformers: The Game didn’t deliver the way I wanted it to. In
fact, I can only hope that it doesn’t foreshadow what’s to be expected from the
film. The mission structure is uninteresting, the controls are frustrating, and
the overall presentation is rushed and unpolished, an unfortunate pitfall of
many licensed games. Even if you’re a fan of Transformers or if you catch the
upcoming movie and love it, you might want to steer clear of Transformers: The
Game.

Transformers: The Game starts you out by selecting between the Autobots or the
Decepticons, who mean to protect the earth and humanity or destroy it,
respectively. You can play as a couple different Transformers through each
campaign, with Bumblebee, Jazz, and Optimus Prime lining out the Autobots and
Blackout, Starscream, and Megatron hitting the field for the Decepticons. Either
campaign feels pretty different from the other, especially considering that both
Bumblebee and Jazz are ground vehicles while Blackout and Starscream take it to
the skies.

Taking
that into account, the game’s vehicular controls are both a hit and a miss. The
ground vehicles on the Autobot side are a chore, not handling very intuitively
and just being a general pain. They handle quite poorly with floaty physics and
weird steering, and don’t react to collisions that realistically at all. Hitting
a tree will do the same thing as hitting a car, bouncing it into the air. You
can plow through many objects in the environment, and they’ll all do the same
thing. Being airborne, the Decepticon vehicles handle a bit better, but still
not as well as you’d hope.

The
mission structure is very boring. Basically, if you’re an Autobot, then your
goal is to destroy the Decepticons, and if you’re a Decepticon, then your goal
is to destroy everything. To get around you simply get to the green reticule and
get into a brawl. There’s not a whole lot of variety to the missions leaving
either campaign, Autobot or Decepticon, feeling pretty uninspired.

The
graphics are another area in which the game is a mixed bag. The character models
look pretty detailed, the transformations look cool and the environments are
very destructible, which is a nice touch. Unfortunately it’s the little things
that bring Transformers down and glare its lack of polish. Shadows will flicker
in and out of existence, the framerate stutters often, and pop-up is very
prevalent. Also, the color scheme seems very dark and murky for some reason.

Another
thing that shows a lack of polish in the game’s presentation is the way that
pedestrians are handled. Whereas the environment can be completely and utterly
decimated, including any vehicle that you find on the street, pedestrians won’t
take damage from your reckless driving whatsoever, instead being gently skirted
to the side of your vehicle, regardless of how fast you may be driving. Granted,
the game is going for a T for Teen rating, so it’s perfectly understandable that
the powers that be would want to avoid something that shows the wanton
destruction of human life. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but the
way that it’s presented in the game just plain looks goofy and unpolished. I
almost think they’d be better off without any pedestrians at all.

The area
where I did quite enjoy Transformers: The Game was the sound. The sound is quite
crisp and clean with nice sounding explosions and a good score to keep the
action moving along. However, the voices really take the cake, since it never
gets old hearing Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime) or Frank Welker (Megatron) doling
out orders to your character, no matter how repetitive they can be about it.

Transformers: The Game is pretty disappointing. The tedious mission structure
and general lack of polish are perhaps the most unfortunate shortcomings of the
game, since they showcase all-too common failings of a licensed title.

Review Scoring Details for Transformers: The Game

Gameplay: 6.0
Repetitive
missions, weird collision physics and floaty controls line out this weak
licensed game.

Graphics: 6.5
While the
character models do look pretty good and the environments display a good degree
of destructibility, the overall look is bogged down by lots of little things
that show a lack of polish.

Sound: 8.0
The score is pretty
good and the sound effects are clean, but the great voice work make this one
worth listening to, even if the dialogue gets a bit repetitive.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 5.5
The mission
design is very weak and the game has a lack of polish overall, making it
apparent that this one was rushed out the door to make it in time for the film’s
release.

Overall: 6.0
Another rush-job
that doesn’t live up to its license, Transformers: The Game will likely
disappoint fans of the franchise. I can only hope that the movie doesn’t do the
same.