Transformers: War for Cybertron.
Playstation 3, Xbox 360, PC
High Moon Studios: developer
Activision: publisher
Why do so many licensed games fail? Well, all too often, we see a product rushed to market to capitalize on popularity. Publishers, so concerned with a bottom line, crack the whip on their developers so that a game can come out “hot”, and the results are almost universally disappointing. Gamers are usually treated to choppy, unbalanced, gameplay, glitchy controls, poor and uninspired A.I., and whisper thin stories among other problems. In other words, we get terrible games for our 50 to 60 dollar investment. Not to mention that the bigger the property, the higher the expectations, and conversely, the bigger the disappointment. We have all seen this happen. War for Cybertron has a HUGE mountain to climb.
For some reason, when I first heard about this title, I actually had high expectations. Although I had never heard of High Moon Studios, and the overwhelming trend of licensed properties translating to mediocre games, and the fact that this particular license has been milked, butchered, and contorted (pardon the pun) for 25 years, there was something about this title that made me say “This will be one to pay attention to”. I could not be happier to be right. Transformers: War for Cybertron is a delight in almost every way.
So here’s how this all came down. High Moon Studios has a bunch of old school Transformers dorks like me over there. Disappointed with the films, and the games, and the way the property has been treated as a whole since, oh, about 1989, and recognizing the love they and other fans had of the original “Generation 1” Transformers they pitched an idea to toy company Hasbro, to tell a story, one that was unattached to any current movie or television or comic or any other entertainment channel. They were armed only with a few character sketches of a redesigned Bumblebee and an idea to tell the story of the end of the war between the heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons on their home planet of Cybertron. Hasbro loved the idea so much that not only did they green light the production of the game; they made the story that High Moon would tell into actual Transformers canon. This game effectively tells what DID happen in those last few days of the Cybertronian war.
So what about the game? Transformers: War for Cybertron is a squad based third person action shooter. You control a single bot that can be equipped with two main weapons, grenades of different types, two special abilities not to mention the ability to transform into a vehicle of some sort at any time completely on the fly. In the single player campaign, 2 indestructible AI allies will accompany your bot. There is a multiplayer co-op mode where you will be matched with other players over the internet. There is also online competitive multiplayer with the requisite deathmatch, team deathmatch, a territory capture/defense, and a few other modes. It’s robust enough but it doesn’t really break much new ground. It’s all executed very well however.
There are 4 “classes” you can choose from in single and multiplayer: a quick scout class (fast car transformation) that excels at stealth and long range weapons, a soldier class (tank) that deals well up close with heavy weapons, a scientist class (jet modes) that is very mobile, and finally a leader class (trucks and large vehicles) that generally can deal heavy damage or support and buff their teammates. The more you play multiplayer, the more abilities and kill streak rewards you can unlock a la Call of Duty. Now, I have a slight problem with this as I feel this unbalances gameplay towards those that have played the longest. New players may be overwhelmed not only by the learning curve (not so bad actually) but also by more experienced players that have maxed out their characters with the best weapons and equipment. I suppose we will see how the competitive multiplayer works out over time.
Personally the star of this show is the storyline. It’s great. Simple as that. The characters are full and colorful, and the story is presented clearly. I never had to really wonder what was going on. Certain characters did allude to events in the past periodically that were not a part of this story arc. It leaves a lot of room open for another prequel strangely enough. Longtime fans will be pleased to hear the smooth baritone voice of Peter Cullen as Optimus (not yet) Prime. We are missing a few other old favorite voice actors, but overall, it’s really good. The banter, jokes, and interplay between the characters while on the missions is fresh, sometimes corny in a good way, and really helps carry the sometimes lengthy levels along. It generally took me anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to complete each level.
Environment design is good overall. Cybertron feels and looks like a war torn technological hell. It is dark and gritty in a lot of places. I think it could have used a few more colors in the palette though as many of the levels lack their own feel with a few exceptions. It’s actually depressing. However I guess a planet that has been ravaged by millions of years of war won’t exactly look like Tahiti. Nevertheless, a little more difference in the look and feel of the levels would have been alright. The levels are well paced, with numerous checkpoints along the way. Basically, if you hammer at it long enough, you will progress. I did find that ammo would sometimes be a little scarce but there’s usually enough. Try not to waste your shots though. I played through on medium difficulty and sometimes got a little nervous about my ammo. However, you can always transform ant take advantage of your vehicular weapon as well.
Transforming is essential. It doesn’t feel like a gimmick in any way. It’s smooth and fluid and fun to switch at a moments notice from robot to car/jet/truck/tank. The land-based vehicles are all hover cars so you can move and strafe in any direction. This is a good design decision because you don’t feel awkward at all having to line an enemy up in your sights. The jets operate similarly. I was really relieved by this because I felt this would be a major issue the developers would have to answer. Luckily, High Moon did a great job integrating transformations into the gameplay.
I am so glad I got this game. It’s a great diversion from Halo and it shows my favorite childhood property a lot of love. High Moon cares. I almost boycotted this game because I have questioned Activision’s business practices in the past. But I’m glad I didn’t. High Moon deserves to see a major return on their investment here. This game is a must buy. Even if you don’t play online, the story is totally worth it. Now if someone can get around to Thundercats…….
The breakdown:
Graphics: 8 of 10
The look is great. Smooth where it need to be. Gritty where it needs to be. Awesome character designs and models are throughout. I noticed some texture glitching and the aforementioned environment design was a bit of a letdown. But overall, it’s all good.
Sound: 10 of 10
The voice acting is awesome. Really. And the sounds of the transformations are close enough to the original show while being slightly updated to be moth nostalgic and fresh. The sounds of your guns are solid too. There is a real feeling of metal on metal clashing all the time. It’s really fantastic.
Gameplay & Control: 8 of 10
The ability to transform at a whim is just handled superbly. However I think this game could have used a dedicated cover system. At least the ability to duck would have been welcomed. As it stands now, you’re kind of sliding around a little bit. You can hold your left trigger to focus lock though which helps. I also got hung up a few times on the geometry. The physics engine is pretty good, and I dig the way the vehicles control. I haven’t delved enough into the multiplayer to get a real opinion on that, so watch for an addendum later. But I am concerned about the potential imbalance of having the most experienced players having access to the best weapons and abilities. It may turn a few new players off for the sake of keeping other players playing to get their upgrades and rewards.
Overall Experience: 9 of 10
More than the sum of its parts, this one. The single player campaign is about 10 hours. It was fun. I wanted to play it. I’m glad I bought it. I recommend it. I’m looking forward to playing a little multiplayer, but I don’t think it’ll replace Halo 3 in my main multiplayer rotation. We’ll see though. I think I’ll be just fine with fighting a War for Cybertron all summer.
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