Review | Transformers: War for Cybertron

Back in 1984 one of the biggest toy brands in history was launched, Transformers. The story of the heroic Autobots in their struggle against the evil Decepticons captivated kids of all ages. It spawned its own cartoon series, several toy lines, and comics and has seen several reboots over the years including two massive box office movies. However for some reason any attempt at creating the same universe into a game has always fallen flat, never capturing the essence of the franchise. Now Activision has teamed up with High Moon Studios for a new game – Transfomers: War For Cybertron. Is there more than meets the eye with this latest game…

War For Cybertron is a very bold move in the scheme of things, instead of basing the game on a well know story within the Transformers universe, High Moon have instead opted for a completely original story line set before the events of the G1 cartoon.  In fact for fans, the story proves one of the best parts of the game – answering a few age old questions and putting everything into place for the cartoon series.

The story sees the civil war between the Decepticons and Autobots begin, with Optimus Prime just a soldier, not yet the leader we know and love. The whole game is based on Cybertron, with the home planet lovingly recreated, expert lighting and visual techniques make the home world shine and stand out – giving the game a premium glow which will leave you wanting to see more.

The actual transforming is seamless and adds a lot to the gameplay.

The actual Transformers themselves look just amazing – they look different yet characters retain some of their original features that they were best known for in the cartoon series. Mixing old styles with new has never looked so good and the nods to the traditional cartoon series just make you take a double take the first time you see them. A childhood memory remembered as you notice Bumblebee’s original horns, a warm glow builds inside as you realise this has been built by fans for the fans.

There are two campaigns to fight your way through, one Decepticon and one Autobot. Showcasing the same story but through the eyes of factions, hero or villain your choice. The main game comprises of a third-person shooter format, with each level offering several different tasks to complete as you fight through different waves of the enemy. With boss fights at the end of each level, this is a frag fest from start to finish. Being Transformers you do get to change form – from robot to vehicle and back again with just a touch of the button. There are plenty of options for weapons as well, from sniper rifles to machine guns (albeit with different names) every taste has been catered for.

The game can be played by yourself or you can join forces with two friends online to complete the game co-operatively. If you choose to not play co-op then the computer will control the other two characters. Normally I get worried about this as generally the AI for computer controlled units on your side is rather lacking – however in this the AI proves quite intelligent. They hardly ever get in your way and actually prove useful at times.

Another big thing for the fans will be the voice acting – which although certainly not the best I’ve ever seen, it proves to be more than adequate. Also fans will instantly recognise the voice of Optimus. There has only ever been one person who has been able to bring Optimus to life, one Peter Cullen. Peter was the original voice actor from the 80’s cartoon series and thankfully he has been bought back in to voice Optimus in this game. The rest of the cast is suitably impressive creating some very iconic lines which fans will instantly recognise.

The visuals are refreshingly good.

The controls are your standard shooter setup, with left trigger fire, camera controlled with the right stick even the melee attack is auctioned with the push of the right stick. To transform into vehicle form simply push in the left stick. The controls work well and respond pretty quickly to your directions. The soundtrack has a few decent tunes to hum along too although nothing very inspiring, sound effects are average but work well.

Onto multiplayer a rather nifty addition to the game – although rather familiar. Yes a lot of it has been seen before you have your usual death match modes and you gain experience points to level up your selected Transformer. In fact you would be surprised at how familiar it is, for example ending a player’s death streak earns you extra xp. However this proves not to be a bad thing, making it rather fun to play. However there are few nice touches you can customize the colours of your selected Transformer, select different skins for it. As well as this you can pick up health recharges, shields and more powerful weapons as you traverse the maps. This helps to add a little twist to the games, helping to keep them fresh.

As well as the above you can also team up with friends to take on waves of enemies in the Escalation mode, again another nice addition adding extra value to the title.

High Moon have managed to capture the 80’s Transformers magic within this title, there are so many little parts harking back to childhood memories that you can’t help but feel like you have been taken back in time. This has obviously been crafted by fans and the love and dedication shows. However there is one snag – if you aren’t a big Transformers fan than what you are left with is an above average third-person shooter, which offers nothing real in gaming terms.

A must buy for fans of the series and easily the best Transformers game yet, but one for the fans only.

[review pros="Great story; nice visuals; brilliant multiplayer" cons="Shooting mechanism is no better than average." score="88"]