DaMisfit 
So I’ve been meaning to get back to writing my short game reviews but I’ve been focused on everything else. I’m slowly finding my groove again so you’ll see more reviews of popular or lesser known games in the coming weeks.
Now…this review came about randomly. I was recently on a flight to San Diego and I watched the most recent Transformers movie (Bumblebee). If you haven’t seen the most recent Transformers movie, be prepared for some slight spoilers! Long story short, it was a good movie. There were a few scenes at the start of the movie where they were on Cybertron and it reminded me of this game. From how the planet looked to how the Deceipticons and Autobots interacted. It immediately took me back to this particular game.
Transformers: War For Cybertron was released June 25, 2010 for PS3 and Xbox 360 developed by High Moon Studios. This game takes place prior to any Transformers making it to Earth. The Autobots and Decepticons are engaged in a brutal civil (much like the movies), and things are coming to a head. You can choose whether to play as an Autobot or a Deceipticon. The game as a whole revolves around Dark Energon which Megatron believes will return the planet to a “golden age”.
Gameplay
The game plays like a typical third person shooter with smooth transitions to and from robot and vehicle modes. Each character you control are labeled under four categories, categories, Leader, Soldier, Scientist, and Scout. Each of characters in the campaign and multiplayer is classified as one of these types with weapons and special abilities. While in robot form characters can also collect different weapons, reminiscent of those found in first-person shooters. (Source) Solid 8/10
Visuals
I know the picture above is a still but for the PS3, the graphics were pretty much ahead of its time. They even looked better on the Xbox 360. The details that were put into the functions of each character is amazing. One would expect a Transformers game to be clunky with reused character models but this game is very smooth and detailed. The environments throughout the game are well-lit and doesn’t seem to have much dead space. The characters don’t have much wasted animation and kind of makes you believe that this war is an actual event sometimes (I know it’s fake, let me immerse myself in this). Lighting is damn near perfect, the cinematic scenes are close to seamless and the textures are great. Let’s give the Autobots 8/10.
Multiplayer
Out of all the multiplayer games I’ve played, this was probably one of the most enjoyable. In 2010, there were a few games that came out that had fun multiplayer modes. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Starcraft 2, and Star Trek Online. I was big on Assassin’s Creed at that time and the fact that they added multiplayer threw me for a loop. I was also playing Killzone 2 multiplayer (which is absolutely amazing btw). War for Cybertron multiplayer starts out by allowing you to pick one of four classes (Leader, Soldier, Scientist, Scout) and being able to customize the colors and starting weapons. Each class has their own abilities and vehicle transformation. Like most multiplayer modes, War for Cybertron has a playlist of game modes.
Playlists include:
Team deathmatch: Kill 40 opponents to win. Games can range from four to sixteen players.
Deathmatch: Kill 20 opponents to win. It’s a free-for-all.
Conquest: Capture and defend several “power nodes” until your team gets 400 points.
Code of power: Capture the flag. Team with highest score after two rounds wins.
Countdown to extinction: Plant the bomb in the enemy’s base three times to win.
Power struggle: Control the active power node until you get 400 points.
It’s like playing COD but in third-person robot form. The customization is fun to play with to where you really do create your own transformer. The variety of weapons and strategies you can employ made the game that much more enjoyable. Especially when you have an active server and other players are challenging. While the multiplayer was fun and entertaining, it wasn’t perfect. After maxing out one class, you couldn’t really upgrade anymore and it kind of forced you to choose another class if you wanted to rank up and upgrade. Which isn’t a bad thing but it made a lot of people stick to one class and become over-powered when playing with players who were still ranking up. 9 deathmatch wins out of 10.
There is a long history of Transformers video games and most of them were bad….horrible actually. But the “Cybertron” series was probably the best Transformer game series that was created…until Transformers: Devastation came out (that’s a review for another day). If they were revisit this series on a next gen console, I wouldn’t be mad at all. Have any of you played this game or this series? If so, what did you think? Let us know in the comments! Until next time, Nerd out!
P.S: I’m still learning the format I want for my person game reviews so bear with me as I figure them out. Or suggest them if you would like! See you next time!
