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cin · 11-03-2008, 12:08 AM

Review by [SD]MasterWong from silkroadforums

Transformers: The Game

Details

Formats
PS3
PS2
Xbox 360
PSP
PC
DS
Wii
Genre:
Action
Origin
UK
Publisher
Activision
Developer
Traveller's Tales
Price
£49.99
Release
Out Now
Players
1

Rating

Anyone that has suffered the detestable claptrap that was Pearl Harbir will agree that Michael Bay is a director whose talents are ideally suited to glossy trash.
In that respect he is the perfect choice ti helm the new Transformers movie. We don't mean ri denigrate the licence, but it stands to reason that a cinema adaption of a kid's cartoon would be best served if treated like a music video - precisly the tactic that Bay employed with Pearl Harbor, and precisely the reason why it was so damn awful.
However, while nice effects are well-worn cliches are enough to hold a summer blockbuster together, a game requires much more - looks and one-liners are merely a window drssing for the gameplay. Transformers: The Game does remarkably well on these viscera elements. The robots feel nice and heavy , the pavements cracking beneath their mighty steps, transforming to and from a vehicle is as satisfying as you'd want it to be, and the game as a whole is finished with a highly professional sheen. Squint and you could belive that you were playing a movie licence that actually works. Look below the surface however, and the flaws begin to show.

The Open-World gameplay works well in theory, but developers Traveller's Tales provides little reason to explore, and the vast majority of the time you will just head straight for the next mission. The option to play as either the Decepticons or the Autobots is very welcome, particularly when each side has several unique levels, but the gameplay is shallow that the choice quickly becomes irrelevant. Most enemies can generate shields, rendering your range weapons virtually useless and forcing you to resort to button-bashing fistfights against all the weakest opponents. Drive, Punch, Drive, Punch, Drive, Punch, Drive, Punch - remember these words because, should you buy Transformers: The Game you'll be spending plenty of time doing both, and neither very convincingly.
The shame of it is that Traveller's Tales came so close to getting it right. There is a good game hiding in there somewhere, but is it drowned out by the flimsiness of the design and some horribly inconsistant physics - firing meteors at a door did't make a dent, yet a single punch ripped it from its hinges; drive into a npc tank and it will shoot into the air, but drive into a girder and you'll be stopped dead.
The nostalgic value of the Transformers licence cannot be ignored, and diehard fans will inevitably find something to enjoy despite the flaws. Unfortunately, we're not reviewing how much we loved a programme 15 years ago; we're reviewing a game in the here and now, and no amount of sentiment can raise this game above the average.

Source: Games™

11-03-2008, 12:08 AM	#2 (permalink)
cin Forum Furniture Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: the Netherlands Posts: 97	Review by [SD]MasterWong from silkroadforums Transformers: The Game Details Formats PS3 PS2 Xbox 360 PSP PC DS Wii Genre: Action Origin UK Publisher Activision Developer Traveller's Tales Price £49.99 Release Out Now Players 1 Rating Anyone that has suffered the detestable claptrap that was Pearl Harbir will agree that Michael Bay is a director whose talents are ideally suited to glossy trash. In that respect he is the perfect choice ti helm the new Transformers movie. We don't mean ri denigrate the licence, but it stands to reason that a cinema adaption of a kid's cartoon would be best served if treated like a music video - precisly the tactic that Bay employed with Pearl Harbor, and precisely the reason why it was so damn awful. However, while nice effects are well-worn cliches are enough to hold a summer blockbuster together, a game requires much more - looks and one-liners are merely a window drssing for the gameplay. Transformers: The Game does remarkably well on these viscera elements. The robots feel nice and heavy , the pavements cracking beneath their mighty steps, transforming to and from a vehicle is as satisfying as you'd want it to be, and the game as a whole is finished with a highly professional sheen. Squint and you could belive that you were playing a movie licence that actually works. Look below the surface however, and the flaws begin to show. The Open-World gameplay works well in theory, but developers Traveller's Tales provides little reason to explore, and the vast majority of the time you will just head straight for the next mission. The option to play as either the Decepticons or the Autobots is very welcome, particularly when each side has several unique levels, but the gameplay is shallow that the choice quickly becomes irrelevant. Most enemies can generate shields, rendering your range weapons virtually useless and forcing you to resort to button-bashing fistfights against all the weakest opponents. Drive, Punch, Drive, Punch, Drive, Punch, Drive, Punch - remember these words because, should you buy Transformers: The Game you'll be spending plenty of time doing both, and neither very convincingly. The shame of it is that Traveller's Tales came so close to getting it right. There is a good game hiding in there somewhere, but is it drowned out by the flimsiness of the design and some horribly inconsistant physics - firing meteors at a door did't make a dent, yet a single punch ripped it from its hinges; drive into a npc tank and it will shoot into the air, but drive into a girder and you'll be stopped dead. The nostalgic value of the Transformers licence cannot be ignored, and diehard fans will inevitably find something to enjoy despite the flaws. Unfortunately, we're not reviewing how much we loved a programme 15 years ago; we're reviewing a game in the here and now, and no amount of sentiment can raise this game above the average. Source: Games™ __________________ .: Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end :.