Following two moderately disappointing games based on the Michael Bay films, Activision took a turn for the better with last year’s War For Cybertron, developed by High Moon Studios. Featuring a completely different storyline and stellar gameplay revolving around both Autobots and Decepticons, the game set the standard for what a licensed game needed to be – and, to boot, it also became the best Transformers product in years. Now the publisher and developer are back with another outing, this one having the same name as the upcoming Bay film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Not too much has been revealed about the storyline as of yet, probably to avoid spoilers that would lead into the film. We do know that the in-game events take place before those happening in the movie, and, once again, you can choose between Autobots and Decepticons, either going all in for the side of good or succumbing to the forces of evil. Each side has specific robots to the campaign, armed with particular abilities and able to transform from robot to car and back again with a click of the left analog stick.
This game does have a lot in common with War For Cybertron when it comes to gameplay, and we can’t blame either High Moon or Activision for that – after all, if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it. However, there are mild improvements in this department when it comes to the number of robots available. Optimus Prime is once again a badass, and Bumblebee is swift in battle and good for skirmishes. Likewise, Soundwave can deliver some damage with help from his trusted Lazerbeak, which attacks from afar, and Mirage can dish out pain with a few stealth abilities. Playing around with each of these Transformer types in multiple stages give you a little something different to go through each go-around, even if you’re just demolishing enemies for the most part. We also like the varying firepower each of these robots have. Some have multi-fire cannons that can really turn an enemy into scrap metal, while others use slow-firing plasma bursts to decimate their opponents. Either way, it works really well, and even in vehicle formation, you can let loose with some machine guns or cannon blasts. Grenades can also be thrown, and tapping the right analog stick will execute a powerful melee move.
Prime’s is definitely our favorite, as he swings a cyber blade at whatever’s in front of them, similar in fashion to what he does in the latest movie trailer. We only got a glimpse at some of the stages in the campaign thus far, but they’re looking excellent thus far. While the detail is a slight bit less than War For Cybertron’s, it matches the grittier tone of the story, so that’s no biggie. One stage in particular really stood out, taking us into a South American town, starting out in the foothills and eventually downing a fleet of Decepticons while stomping through a village. The levels are huge, with plenty of room to roam and get the advantage on opponents. The robot animations are splendid as well, as the transformations look top-notch and movements are fluid. Occasionally, the camera angle needed to be reset, but nothing to throw you off from the action. We couldn’t hear that much from the sound (the demo we played was in a jam-packed room with most of the TV’s turned down), but we expect Dark of the Moon will have a few familiar voices, including Peter Cullen making a return as Prime. The in-game music should have a serious tone along the lines of War For Cybertron as well.
This feature preview concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see more of our thoughts on Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
