Transformers: War for Cybertron

This week, I sat down and played Transformers: War for Cybertron, a game NOT based on the movies, and therefore, an acceptable game for all gamers. Right? Well, this game was recently released by Activision and Hasbro and I can honestly say it is one of the best Transformers game in the history of mankind. Although, that may not be saying much…

STORY
Transformers: War For Cybertron is a stand alone game. It has nothing to do with the movie releases, and is a precursor to the 90’s animated show; so someone with no knowledge of Transformers lore is still going to be able to figure out what the hell is going on. However, this is a huge treat for the transformers nerds.
The story takes place in two parts, Autobots and Decepticons. The chapters are numbered, with the first half belonging to the Decepticon campaign and the second half belonging to the autobots; with one campaign story running after the other, as opposed to two parallel stories from different views.

The story follows Megatron and the Decepticon’s fight for control of Cybertron; home planet of all transformers. This involves their quest to obtain the element known as “Dark Energon” and their assault on the Autobot capital, Iacon.
This is when the Autobot campaign takes over; which follows Optimus Prime and his band of Autobot warriors fighting off the disaster that is befalling their homeworld. The entire story comes together really well; and its written with a particularly high quality, featuring some unexpected twists and turns, culminating in some huge boss fights.

PRESENTATION
War for Cybertron is a beautifully detailed game; with fitting dialogue and fantastic sound effects. The visuals in this game are so amazing; if a little unvaried. The game spawns a lot of clone enemies for you to take down; however, the playable transformers are all varied and detailed. The levels in the Decepticon half don’t change up much; however the Autobot half more than makes up for this.
The sound effects are all true to the series, from the gun effects, to the sound of each individual transformation. The sound of guns blazing and explosions going off really sets the tone, of a world in strife.

The dialogue is fairly well written, with most of the voice acting being really cool; particularly Optimus, Soundwave and Megatron. Re-used voices for miscellaneous soldiers bring down my opinion, but only a little. The soldiers seem to be recycled and re-used over and over again, which I suppose justifies the recycling of these voice recordings.

GAMEPLAY
War for Cybertron is a standard 3rd person shooter, at first glance. But this is transformers, and there’s always more than meets the eye. The controls seem very familiar, like Call of Duty style, and they work very well. Unlike most 3rd person shooters, there is no cover feature; though there is the Transform ability; allowing players to take vehicle form at any point during the game. These forms include Tanks, Cars, Trucks and Jets; each with their own advantages and weaknesses. This adds a lot of variety to the gameplay; with the ability to flee or evade fire fights by using the jet or car abilities available to you.

There is a variety of weapons to choose from, including charged plasma cannons, EMP Shotguns; and assault rifles which all allow players to take on combat any way that they choose. This is balanced by the variety of enemies to take on, from standard car or jet soldiers; to Brutes or the behemoth Tanks. This forces players to change up the way that they play, to combat the different threats.
Though there isn’t much variety in the missions, what Transformers does, it does very well. Enemy A.I. is nothing particularly special, they change forms whenever necessary, and know when to flank your sorry ass.

REPLAYABILITY
With an entertaining, but fairly easy campaign, you’re looking at about 6 or so hours of gameplay. However, with a plethora of trophies or achievements; as well as online multiplayer modes; hours of gameplay can be had with War on Cybertron. A lot of the online game modes are familiar; and can be found in most online shooters; including deathmatch, team deathmatch and capture the flag style modes. Along with this is Escalation; a game where multiple players work together to fend off waves of enemy transformers, whilst using points earned to open new areas, or gain new weapons.

OVERVIEW
Transformers: War For Cybertron is a fantastic game, which I recommend for gamers and Transformers fan boys alike. It is visually stunning, if a little “samey” in the Decepticon campaign; and its tight gameplay helps to convey a well written and interesting story. I had minor problems with the recycling of enemies and the familiarity of so many environments, but they don’t impact on the game that badly. I Highly recommend that everyone at least tries this game; if only by renting it. Those of whom who like a good online battle; you’ll enjoy this a lot.

So that's it for this week. As per usual, I'll be praying for comments and feedback; so please, answer my prayers. Right now I'm watching my girlfriend play Bayonetta for the X-Box 360; which I got her for her Birthday. I'm tempted to review this next week...
Byyyyye.