Transformers: The Game Reviews

You know when an incredibly hyped-up film like Transformers is released there's going to be a heck of a lot of side merchandise following it - and so the release of this game on the Xbox 360 wasn't really a surprise to me.

--Synopsis--
The synopsis for the game will probably appeal to anyone with a destructive side and a tendency to want to root for the bad guys - you can either play a campaign as the Autobots, the goody-goody robots trying to protect Sam, the film's protagonist (the game contains major spoilers so I would watch the film first if you haven't already) or as the Decepticons, the evil robots hellbent on seemingly blowing everything up. Add in a few...extremely...deep...yet...painfully...
overpronounced...voices like someone out of CSI and you've got your game.

--Gameplay--
You start off with a nice little intro that clears everything up. Instantly you'll be hit with the graphics - excellent. You then choose which side you'll be playing on, and then it shows you the controls for that Transformer. One thing I like about this is it actually lets you read these controls before you progress, rather than just hoping you've got some kind of photographic memory and can take it in in 5 seconds, which is nice of them.
If you play as the Autobots you start off play as Bumblebee but will also get to play as Optimus Prime and a few others. You basically are just given the missions of destroying Decepticons, which starts to wear thin after a while. Sometimes game play is broken up with something a bit different like a car chase, but otherwise its all a bit 'same-y'. You have a map in the bottom right hand corner which is clear and easy to read and you also can pick up power-ups like life and 'secrets' of which there are 100 scattered all over the game (for each character, I believe). At the beginning of each chapter you get a cut screen which tells you your mission.

During the game you are given a 'rating' - as an Autobot you are expected to kill enemies and not destroy things -although this is hard to help as everything acts like it's made out of polystyrene. The more you act good, you are given a heroic rating. The opposite, a destructive rating.
Of course, when you play as the Decepticons you try and do the opposite - cause as much destruction as possible. Your first task is simply to completely DESTROY an air base. Great fun, but quite difficult, actually.

Although the game seems quite simple on paper its actually quite tricky - your time limits aren't exactly generous. But I don't usually play games like this so maybe I'm just not used to this type.

--Graphics and Sound--
I must admit the graphics are a lot better than I had thought - everything does look very realistic, apart from the whole falling-apart-town thing. Every little thing is thought of - when you walk around you shatter the concrete of the pavements and the controller vibrates, for example. The voice overs are well done, even if a little annoying.

--Controls--
The controls aren't really that bad - they're simple but that's not necessarily a good thing as you tend to spend a lot of time pressing the same button and not playing with many of the others. The camera controls tend to get a little hairy at times, but nowhere near as bad as some games I have played.

--Extras--
This section is quite short as, really there are no extras. There is no 2 player, no Xbox live capability, and most of the achievements are 'secret' so you don't really have anything to work to.

--Summary--
This game is a very acquired taste. If you love blowing things up, love Transformers and yet love a rather simply controlled game (yet with a bit of a challenge overall) then this game is for you. If not, I would either borrow it or not bother as you'll get bored very easily.