Transformers: War for Cybertron multiplayer preview

Transform and roll out.

Tranformers shaped my childhood. As toys, television series’ and movies, Hasbro’s ingenious creations captivated me utterly. Yet the gaming offerings have been almost entirely naff, with only the 2004 PS2 action game and Glu’s iPhone G1: Awakening title able to stand proudly. And thus, when a new Transformers game was announced, I was hardly thrilled.

How wrong I was. Whilst Transformers: War for Cybertron takes place in an entirely unique continuity, set on the home planet of the intelligent shape-shifting robots during early wars between the diametrically opposed Autobots and Decepticons. Its versions of the characters are unique; a smart blend of the colourful, bold Generation 1 designs and the angular, stylised look more similar to the Michael Bay movies, resulting in modern, yet familiar and distinctive designs for the cast.

Not that you get to see them in the multiplayer modes that we got to try, though. Instead you’ll be playing as a custom character, from one of four available classes that can be further configured with unlockable weapons, skills and special attacks. Each class has their own skills and weapons available to them, but of more importance is the vehicle they get to transform into – which you can do at any time just by clicking the left analogue. Leaders of course get to be trucks, scouts are speedy cars, scientists are jets, and soldiers cannon-packing tanks. The demo we played only allowed play as the scout and soldier classes, but there is a notable difference in play styles between them, enough to differentiate the two roles within the levels but without an obvious skew in favour of one side or the other.

And what about that gameplay? War for Cybertron plays as a third-person, over-the-shoulder shooter, though the pace of the game is more Unreal Tournament than Gears of War, and the large-scale industrial environments of Cybertron that make up the levels certainly have echoes of both. Weapons are distinctive and well-designed; from standard assault rifles and shotgun-style blasters to rocket launchers that can home in on Transformers in vehicle (but not robot) mode and energy-draining EMP rifles, and characters in vehicle modes have their own weaponry as well. Combat is fast and the mechanics are rock solid, health goes quickly but can be replenished by collecting Energon cubes, and whilst you have two weapons initially you can collect firearms from fallen foes. The levels are clearly designed to heighten the action, and whilst we only got a taste for the Team Deathmatch and Conquest modes, the latter of which sees the Autobots and Decepticons vying for control of a number of battlefield objectives. Both are intense and instantly gratifying, but the abilities and transformation adds a surprising amount of variety even over these modes.

Abilities and skills are unlocked through experience, gained from each battle and specific to each class. They confer special abilities mapped to the Left and Right Bumpers, from spinning melee Whirlwind attacks to invisibility cloaks and short-term hovering. There are some shared abilities between classes, though- such as transforming, melee attacks, grenades, and speed boosts in vehicle form- that ensure that it always feels like you’re playing as a giant transforming robot.

The Unreal Engine is put to good use; the Cybertronian environments are darkly metallic and brimming with smartly placed details and the character models look superb, with strong artistic designs that give each character a distinctive look and makes Autobots and Decepticons easy to distinguish from one another thanks to colour-coded glowing sections. Weapon pyrotechnics are especially impressive, and the HUD and menus are put together in a cohesive, easy-to-follow way that makes War for Cybertron easy to pick up and play. We didn’t get a taste for the soundtrack in the demo, but the voice and sound samples felt just like the TV series, especially thanks to the voice talents of Peter Cullen providing the narration for multiplayer matches.

Written by :

James Hall