Just what could have transformed this game from middling status to infamy? Some transforming, that's what!!
After firing this game up and passing the title screen, you will have to choose which game save slot you want to use for your game, from the three slots available. After doing so you come to the game's main menu, which contains five options for you to choose from. The first of these options is called "Story Mode" and is the main single player mode of the game, where the events of this prequel story will unfold in their entirety. There are eighteen missions in total in this game, as follows: "Having A Blast", "Infiltration", "Hacking the System", "Optimus Charge!", "Satellite Reception", "Extraction", "Diversionary Attack", "Counter-Espionage", "Saving Lives", "Devastating News", "Trashing Dreams", "Sound of Success", "Optimal Escape", "Siberian Storm", "Hour of Defense", "Shockwave's Return", "Megatron's Stand" & "Final Showdown".
You play the game mostly as the Autobots, but from time to time you will switch sides and play as the Decepticons as well. The playable characters in this game that you will get to control include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Mirage, Megatron, Soundwave, and Lockdown. Although you will encounter many enemy Transformers and be tasked with blasting them to bits, as well as partaking in the odd boss fight, most levels will see you concentrating mostly on executing a main objective outside of fighting. Objectives like protecting generators so the humans can evacuate a hospital, protecting satellites so a virus can be uploaded in to a computer system, or destroying gate locks so you can break out of an enemy base. The tasks can be pretty varied. The only difference with this game from normal Transformers games is that you cannot transform, you are always in vehicle mode. However, you can convert to Stealth Force mode, with is an alternative vehicle mode where you bristle with weaponry . . . this is how you fight in this game. Master the art of Stealth Force combat, battle through the eighteen missions, and you have completed this game!
Second on the main menu is the "Missions" option. It does not appear on the main menu originally, only after you've completed the game. When you select it you have the choice of going back and replaying any of the Story Mode missions you'd like, once again only after they've been defeated previously.
Third is the "Co-Op" option, the multiplayer mode of the game. In this mode you and a friend can team up and take on some of the game's Story Mode missions as a duo. The missions that are included in this mode are a new one called "Autobots Charge!", as well as "Satellite Reception", "Diversionary Attack", "Trashing Dreams", "Optimal Escape" & "Siberian Storm". The playable characters you can choose from in this mode include the bunch I mentioned earlier, as well as an extra Decepticon named Crowbar. In this mode, if one of you dies the mission is over.
"Options" is the main menu's fourth offering, here you can adjust sliders that control the Music, SFX, and Voice volumes, as well as toggle the rumble feature on/off. And the fifth and final option from the main menu is called "Credits", where you can view the names of the people who produced this game.
Once you are out and about in the environments this title has to offer, there are a number of things to look out for. First and foremost are the Energon pickups, of which there are two different varieties. A small Energon pickup looks like a cluster of blue Energon particles, they almost look like a small Milky Way or something. These pickups will help refill both your Health gauge and Stealth Force gauge only slightly. The other Energon pickup is a large blue Energon cube, which helps to fill your gauges a lot more substantially. Another important pickup to watch out for are the secondary weapon ammo pickups, which take the form of a missile located inside of a blue icon. These help replenish your ammo and keep you as destructive as possible. The final three pickups are six sided icons that come in different colours. The green pickup completely fills your Health and Stealth Force gauges and provides you with a temporary shield, the orange pickup gives you unlimited Stealth Force for a limited time, and the yellow pickup tops up your ammo fully and gives you unlimited ammo use for a short spell.
The game screen isn't too busy for Transformers Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force edition, but it does offer up some key information. In the top left corner of the screen a powerup icon will appear whenever you obtain one of the powerup pickups (the green, orange or yellow ones). In the top right hand corner of the screen information on the progression of your mission objective will be displayed, if applicable, such as the condition of the generators you are trying to protect, etc. The bottom left corner of the screen is where you'll find your Transformers' vital statistics. On the far left you'll find his health gauge, just to the right of this is his Stealth Force gauge (a bot can only stay in Stealth Force mode while this gauge has a minimal amount of Energon in it), and just to the right of that are icons representing how much secondary weapon ammunition you currently hold. Finally, in the lower right hand corner of the screen is a small map that will be littered with various types of red icons, indicating your various enemies and/or objectives. As for the pause menu, this screen offers up four options, including: Resume, Restart, Options (same as from the main menu) & Quit.
The game controls are fairly simple, but at first they can take a bit of getting used to as converting between the various vehicle modes can be a bit challenging. To steer/accelerate/reverse your vehicle you simply use the control stick. To convert between vehicle mode and Stealth Force mode, press the C button. When in Stealth Force mode you use the B button to fire your primary weapon (guns and blasters), and the Z button to fire your secondary weapon (more explosives based weapons). While in this mode you can also use the control pad to spin/strafe with your Transformer. In either mode you can do a quick 180 degree spin and reverse direction by pressing the A button. Lastly, the – button will bring up your current objective and display it in the middle of the screen, while the + button pauses the game action.
The presentation behind this game is moderate. It's not great, but it's not awful either. The graphics during the cutscenes are pretty lacking, the characters look blocky and way underpolished, a lot more could have gone in to this aspect of the game. However, during the actual gameplay sequences the graphics were way beefed up compared to the cutscenes, so that is good. Still not the best I've ever seen, but a definite improvement. The music and sound effects are well done, as is most of the voice talent. I believe Prime's voice was the original, but Megatron's was a bit off the mark. Gameplay is good as well, the controls respond well and are simple to use once you get used to the manner in which they function.
In terms of the pros and cons involved with this title, it's a mixed bag for sure. What I like about this game is the story behind it. I like the prequel aspect to it, and how it leads you pretty much right up to the events that kick off the Dark of the Moon movie. I also very much enjoyed my in game experience, this game is actually quite fun to play in spite of it's drawbacks, and the difficulty level is right where it should be as well. There are also some cool pieces of artwork you'll see throughout the game, when your characters complete their missions and during the cutscenes, it's almost comic book like. As for the cons, there are many unfortunately. First of all, there is really only one game mode in this title, the Story Mode. Although it is fun to play with two players, the missions offered in Co-Op are the same as from Story Mode, and there aren't that many of them available. Although there are eighteen total missions in this game, the bulk of them are fairly short, I bet they mostly take only 5-7 minutes to complete. All of this means there isn't much game to play in the grand scheme of things. On top of this there is absolutely no unlockable content to be found in this title, which sucks. Finally, this is a Transformers game and you aren't technically able to transform. I'll admit the Stealth Mode thing is pretty cool, and this not transforming issue didn't bother me nearly as much as it did a lot of other people. But it's a Transformers game, so some actual transforming probably would have helped it's chances a little.
As for some tips and tricks, I have come up with a couple. First of all, if you sit still in this game you usually pay for it, as you are a sitting duck. Keeping on the move and avoiding enemy fire will greatly help you stay alive for as long as possible. Also, if you are struggling with a level, take some trial runs through it to find out where all of the various pickups are located. These pickups respawn after a time, so if you plan your route through the level, stay on the move, and keep yourself healthy and stocked up by revisiting these pickup locations regularly, it will help your chances of eventually completing the level big time. Other than that this game is pretty straightforward. There is a lot of trial and error involved, but if you stay alert and learn from your mistakes you'll complete this game no problem.
In summary, this game definitely has a lot of drawbacks. However, despite it's low score that isn't to say it's a total write off. If you know what you're getting going in to this game you will actually get a lot of enjoyment out of it as the fun factor is pretty decent. The developers could have put a lot more in to Transformers Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force edition, but it is what it is . . .