Transformers: War for Cybertron review

The touch, the power.

Whilst there are various concepts that spring to mind when considering a game based on the legendary series of shape-shifting toys, foremost amongst them for most developers seems to be that of the third person shooter, at least if the 2004 Transformers game and the Michael Bay movie spinoff titles are anything to go by. And whilst the former was decent, if saddled with a rubbish storyline (save the Minicons from an army of Decepticlones!), the other two were almost as bad as the films themselves.

And yet, High Moon Studios –the developer behind DarkWatch and the Bourne Conspiracy- wants to give it another go anyway. There are some things on its side, though, most notably the decision to focus on a previous untold part of the Transformers storyline. War for Cybertron takes place, uncannily enough, on Cybertron, the metallic homeworld of the Transformers, some years before war force the giant shape-shifting robots to come to Earth to continue their battle. By echoing the approach of BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic in picking a period of fiction largely undeveloped, High Moon has freed itself from the shackles of canonical fiction and has pretty much a free reign to do what it likes.

And what it likes is to introduce some rubbish storyline about a powerful energy source called the Dark Energon that the maniacal Megatron, leader of the evil Deceptions, is able to control to rain down destruction on the heroic Autobots. Set against the backdrop of the beginnings of a massive civil war, it’s hard not to feel a little underwhelmed by the rather cheesy concept, especially when the events explored in the rest of the storyline are far more interesting. But what all that Dark Energon guff does do, though, is set the scene for some truly dramatic set pieces and action environments.

The single-player Campaign comprises of Autobot and Decepticon storylines. The Decepticon campaign comes first chronologically, but you’re free to play through the Autobot campaign first if you like, though its notably harder. You can choose from a limited number of available characters for each mission, which are grouped into rough classes based on their capabilities- the Decepticons get Megatron as the leader type, along with Brawl, the soldier, Soundwave, a Scientist, and Barricade, a scout. The Autobots, meanwhile, have Optimus for leader, with scientist Ratchet and scout Bumblebee rounding off the pack, though others might be available for one-off missions. You only control one, but at least a couple of the other characters accompany you through the levels, controllable by pals in online drop-in, drop-out co-op or by modestly capable AI if you’re going solo. You’ll then shoot, jump, drive, fly, melee, and explode your way through the levels in pretty linear fashion, funnelled from impressive set piece to ambush site to impressive set piece via Cybertronian corridors inhabited with an assortment of nameless opposing Transformers. Other characters do make appearances, of course, but for the most part you’ll be using one of your two swappable weapons to smash your way through the levels. In truth, War for Cybertron cribs quite heavily from the other shooters on the market; some elements bear more than a passing resemblance to Halo- like the two weapons plus grenades setup, vehicular sections and detachable turrets- though other aspects of the game crib from various sources of inspiration -the four-block (partially) regenerating health system comes straight from Chronicles of Riddick, for example, and three’s a bit of Team Fortress-like class abilities peppered on top.

Really, though, it’s all about the action, and whilst WFC might crib from other sources liberally, it’s hard to complain when the result is a journey this enjoyable. The unique setting allows for some remarkably imaginative scenarios, with some stunning set-piece moments- the desperate siege of Autobot capitol Iacon is epic and more than a little reminiscent of the Decepticons blitzing Autobot City in Transformers the Movie, whilst journeys through prison encampments, Cybertronian moons and the industrial depths of Cybertron itself each have their own challenges and memorable encounters. There’s a good balance between exploration and action, though it’s the action that is more taxing; even on Normal difficulty you’ll find that health doesn’t last long –well, we all must die sometime, I guess- making tactical approaches to battles a better option than charging in guns blazing, especially since ammo is at a premium and pausing to reload can bring untimely deaths. Mercifully, High Moon has avoided adding a Gears-aping cover system, so strategies come from the varied instruments of destruction (from EMP shotguns to assault rifles to fusion cannons to mortars) and, of course, from transforming. Switching between modes is as simple as clicking the analogue stick whenever you like, and it’s a feature High Moon has absolutely nailed- there are few things more rewarding than speeding up to an enemy in car form, transforming and leaping over them to smash them over the head with a melee attack, or lobbing an EMP grenade to stun an opponent before transforming into tank mode and shooting them in the face. The bosses are probably the weakest aspect, with interesting ideas spread over a little too much time to be as thrilling as they should be.

With the campaign spread over 5 missions each for the Autobots and Decepticons, and each mission part of a continuing storyline – you’re not just seeing the same events from different sides- it’s a pretty meaty affair, and you’d be forgiven for expecting the multiplayer offering to be nothing more than a tacked-on addition. It isn’t, though, and the six modes on offer – Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Conquest, Power Struggle, Countdown to Extinction, and Code of Power- cover the range adequately. Deathmatches are straightforward, whilst Conquest pits Autobots and Decepticons against each other for control of battlefield objectives, reminiscent of the Battlefront series. Power Struggle is a Capture the Flag affair, Countdown to Extinction tasks you with delivering a bomb to the enemy base, whilst Code of Power has both factions vying for possession of a massive melee weapon. You play as custom transformers in these modes, using the same class-based system to determine available abilities, vehicle modes and weapon selection, all of which can be customised through an experience system. Multiplayer matches are fast and satisfying, with solid-feeling mechanics and weapons. The other multiplayer mode is Escalation, which is War for Cybertron’s version of Horde / Firefight, and plays pretty much as you’d expect, though you can control the main characters in this mode.

It’s worth sparing a moment to comment on the new character designs that High Moon has developed for War for Cybertron, because they’re absolutely superb. Sitting somewhere between the blocky, colourful look of the original G1 characters and the angular live action movie designs, they’re instantly recognisable but daringly modern, and the details on them in-game are sublime- panels shift and clamp into place and pistons move even whilst your character is standing still- and the transformation animations are even better. Longtime fans of the series will be hard pushed to ignore the fan service scattered throughout, with references to the original series and particularly the animated movie coming infrequently enough to entertain but never dominate.

Moreover, the Unreal Engine has been put to fantastic use bringing the characters and Cybertronian environments to life. The metallic setting should get very dull very fast, but thanks to inspired designs it doesn’t: there are sections of dank industrial environments, yes, but also moments of sleek beauty, and glorious lighting effects really make the most of the reflective surfaces. The sense of scale is immense- navigating broken sections of a Cybertronian moon in the opening Decepticon level treats the player to breathtaking views of the planet far below, for example. There are only a couple of technical hiccups holding it back; the framerate can take occasional nosedives, and the Unreal Engine texture pop-in is back with a vengeance. But these are only minor issues in an otherwise visually impressive title. The soundtrack hits all the right notes, as does the astounding voice cast- Peter Cullen is always resplendent as Optimus Prime, but Fred Tatasciore’s portrayal of Megatron is achingly enjoyable, even if he does sound rather more like Leonard Nimoy’s Galvatron than Frank Welker’s original. Steven Blum, Nolan North, Crispin Freeman and Richard Epcar also provide superb voice work for the game.

Written by :

James Hall