Transformers
War For Cybertron
So i had heard of
this game from long back, considering this was a famous Transformers game and
the one game which saved the grace of the transformers after a long time. After
releasing one after another disastrous titles on various consoles, the only
thing which made these games sell was the fact that they were transformers
games and that’s it. Nothing much special could be said about them. When i
first saw the game trailer, it blew me away. The backdrop of the game with a
full on war with Cybertron was just great. Having a war torn mechanical-robotic
world as its setting and the plot with the start of the Transformers Autobots
vs Decepticons war era, the rise of Optimus Prime and the corruption of
Cybertron which finally made them leave it for eons to come. Now the game has
been played by me on a PS3, although the difference between the specs of Xbox
360 and PC don’t have much difference at all. Being a High Moon game the graphic
difference in the pc is simply as low, medium and high. So playing on any
platform is virtually the same. Graphically this is the best Transformers game
ever. The cut scenes and even the in-game engine scenes are a treat to look
at. Ok now let’s look over why this is
probably the best Transformers game till now.
PLOT
The game story is
divided into two sides , the Decepticons and the Autobot side perspective. But
unlike the movie games, playing each side is important to understand the whole
story. Chronologically the Decepticons side should be played first and then the
Autobots. The main story is on the starting era of the fight between the two
warring factions and why the Decepticons
gained the upper hand which forced the corruption of Cybertron
eventually and the desertion of Cybertron. This game is a nice throwback to the
original mythos of the transformers. Old
fan favourites of the Gen 1 are here and yes the humour is not much here at
all. I mean yes, why not a planet is being destroyed and the whole existence of
a race is at stake so i guess the fun part is at dire stake here (no pun
intended). But on a non spoiler note, the banter between megatron and barricade
is worth noting. Fans of generation one will notice the similarity between the
characters and their personalities with the cartoon ones. It gives us a nice
glimpse and overall idea about the two warring factions and the ultimate fate
of cybertron. The story is not that long, completed the game in about 8 hours
in normal mode but there is no moment the story actually feels boring and yes a
bit rushed maybe, but trying to not go into the spoilers, the game actually
does a pretty decent job of telling the backstory of the Transformers War.
The feel of the
vehicle and Robot mode are completely Cybertronian and not earth type
Graphics
The games graphics
are beautiful and detailed, the graphic settings as said earlier do not have
much of a difference between the console and pc versions. The consoles running
at 720p and the pc having low,medium and high settings only. The look of the
Transformers are heavily based on the Generation one series but with the
detailing of being in Cybertron. They do not resemble their earth vehicle
counterparts and both robot and vehicle mode feel like they are aliens(ok bad
pun again ) and are made to drive in Cybertron only. The environment is not
that interactive at all and not much can be destroyed. Ok lets say maybe for
the sake of the story Cybertron is strong enough for the big hulking
Transformers to fight among and nothing be destroyed (again another bad
joke). But unless u look at the
Transformers from near close, the graphics seem pretty impressive and only a bit choppy. The original voice actors
return and Peter Cullen with his iconic voice is the Optimus prime we all love.
The movies are not all rendered in the in-game engine but are pretty good and
the movie that are shown are damn impressive. The space for the ps3 took 5gb
during installation (don’t know about xbox version though) . The damages done
by the weapons and all aren’t shown that much and damages done by hits aren’t
seen until the killing shot is hit. But graphics don’t mean everything and yup
what matters in the end is the game and not the graphics. I mean heck, its not
like the master race debate actually makes any sense does it. But not going off the topic and talking about
the game, its actually a pretty decent
graphical quality game and fans and gamers alike will not be complaining about
how they look and stuff at all. Maybe I shouldn’t have been even talking about
this, but then something has to be told na.
Basically this is
an over the shoulder third person shooter game. The combat in terms of melee is
virtually non-existent, only a single melee attack of the same lunge type is
available for all characters. During the starting of the game this feature felt
useless, but as the game progressed and at times bullets felt scarce this was a
very fast way to take out close enemies and yes when hordes of robotic spiders throw
upon you I guess machine guns basically don’t make the cut out here. Every
chapter is divided into few parts/levels and each one can be completed with any
of the given characters. Basically there will be 3 to choose from, choosing any
one doesn’t make any difference to the story at all. The characters are all
different in terms of weapons and specialability only. No difference in their
movements in any manner. Each character can carry upto two guns at a time. The
guns are found throughout the game and some special ones are dropped by
particular enemies. Some characters are required to have a particular gun
always and as such can only interchange one gun only. The shooting mechanics
feel tight and responsive and there are even headshots counted for extra
damage. Being big robots and stuff while shooting it goes on a top over the
shoulder view and except the jumps everything feels tight and fluid. Robot to
vehicle and vice-versa transformations can be initiated anytime (except in
close tight interiors where there isn’t any place like inside the pipes and
stuff). The vehicle controls are great and yes they will be required for a
large part of the game as it requires you to travel through long roads and
paths and yes if it’s a Transformers game and they actually use the vehicles what’s
the point, eh. Even the vehicles can use a fixed weapon. Throughout the game
you ll find boxes containing health, ammo and powerups. But in my point these
powerups aren’t that much use at all, considering I completed the game without
using them at all for a large part of the game. At times , when a large number of enemies come
and it gets a bit overwhelming as the shooting mechanics aren’t top notch. Yes
they are great, but movement feels very restricted and shooting while moving
continuously always gets you as a shooting duck since they get to know your
position and while shooting movement is like a sluggish pace. Yes, there’s the
occasional side lunge boost, but u have to combine vehicle use along with robot
mode to defeat some tough bosses especially while playing in the higher
difficulties. Each chapter has one boss
and always it’s a different type, relating to the story a nice job has been
done here in placing the different bosses. Well they weren’t exactly memorable
but yes for this game , they were just great.
Note there is multiplayer content for this game too. With
deathmatch and team based modes, but considering here in our country bandwidths
are still a bit costly luxury, I didn’t get to try it out. But from what I
hear, its enough to take your boredom away for a few hours, not the 24/7
addiction type, but fine enough.
VERDICT
Considering die
hard Transformers fans have played all games and even the debacle of the movie
ones though so it’s a no brainer for them to try this game. But evem though the
shooting mechanics could have been smoother and a bit of improved combat
system( come on , remember the intense fights between the bots using their
axes,jumps and what nots in the movies and tv shows) , this is actually a great
game. With a strong plot that doesn’t feel short nor too dragged enriching and
throwing a different perspective on the Transformers mythos, this is one game
no one should miss if hes a fan. If not, well upon you but it’s a great game
anyway. High moon has done a great job in this first part of the series and
this is one game if u pick up you won’t mind having spent the money.
v
Probably
best Transformers game in a long time
v
Interesting
plot
v
A bit
short but refreshing
v
Stiff
shooting mechanics
v
Virtually
no melee combat
v
No
skill upgrade system
v
Not
much difference between classes
SCORE-
8.5/10
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