Transformers: The Game

Transformers: The Game is a tie-in for the recent Hollywood movie. Presented in the third person format the game lets you play through the storyline of the film using locations from the movie. The general idea is to defend someone in the Autobot (good) campaign and destroy everything in the Decepticon (bad side robot) campaign. The story as far as the game goes is simply two groups of robots can morph into vehicles come from space to Earth and fight. It’s that simple. For this playtest we are trying the PC version.  When starting the game you pick to play as one of the two sides both with their own separate campaign. Once in the actual mission area you have a set time limit to complete the mission otherwise it’s failed. This is the worst thing in the game without a doubt. It totally ruins any ideas of experimenting.  That being said the general make up of a mission is to get to the mission start point and then in the Autobot campaign stop the bad guys by defending someone or something and in the Decepticon missions taking out Earth’s defence forces etc. A lot of the time you have to face a robot from the other side. This is done by picking up poles and other things, throwing them, then hitting. Although its very mindless and some things have no effect when they should destroy the enemy it is very fun combat. Plus transforming is a joy even with difficult controls.  The game duration is not that long but since it is on consoles too and a movie tie-in you can say it’s not a surprise. The campaigns in general are good and bad with the Decepticon campaign coming out on top as a seriously entertaining affair. Transformers is almost worth a purchase to play the bad guys alone.  The graphics are average for any game but the robots do stand out. The destructible environments are better than expected also. The shame is that for a game like this crying out for multiplayer carnage there is no multiplayer mode.  Overall Transformers: The Game cannot be rated like other PC games coming out. Since it is based on such a loved franchise from years gone by the ability to finally play as one of the Autobots or Decepticons will be a huge selling point. Since the game is a mindless brawler you know not to expect the longest game or the most high tech. What can be said is if you are after an afternoon of robot carnage you don’t have to think about, this is for you. But try the demo first.