Quick take, 5 hours in: Solid
I tried to jump right into Escalation, the game's version of Firefight/Horde, but the game called me out. It "strongly advised" I play some of the campaign before entering Escalation. I conceded, mostly because I ALWAYS do what I am told. Besides, I had to wait a few days before my mates picked the title up. Escalation can wait... for now.
So on to the campaign I went. They split up the single player into two campaigns, and you can choose either to get your murder on. The Decepticons campaign is chapter 1, with the Autobots' story falling to 6, so I chose to start with the Decepticons campaign, and I am now just 6 hours into it.
The overall feel of the game is retro-cool. It takes me back to my childhood and those 80's cartoons and toys that captured my imagination and demanded all my free time. While there have been other Transformers games, none has ever captured the magic.... before now.
This game feels like a love letter to all the 80's "gen 1" fans, and I am thrilled it High Moon Studios was responsible for it. This dev group must be fans of the original series, as they took on the project with such obvious dedication and devotion. Worth the price of admission, this one. Voice acting is top-notch, the script seems very solid so far, and High Moon executed all very well.
Transformations are cool and slick and easy to accomplish by a simple click of the left thumb stick. It becomes second nature after the 2nd or so time you do it. Which brings up an important issue.. most of the important actions require the same buttons as with all my other faves such as Borderlands and Call of Duty. The right trigger shoots, left trigger zooms in, x reloads, right thumbstick is melee, y swaps weapons, etc etc. All of which is only important if the controls handle well, and they absolutely do.
They used the very competent Unreal Engine, so it looks dope. There's a great sense of space and textures are great looking in HD. Even as you sit idly by, the little gears and gizmos on each Transformer move and spin, which is a good looking effect. The scenery looks amazing, and the organic metal planet is always shifting/transforming slightly, too.
Controls are very tight and responsive, with a Gears feel. Even the left-trigger zoom-in feels similar to Gears. But unlike Gears, there is no cover system. I suppose this makes sense, because why would a 50 foot tall robot with a bad attitude and an addiction to energy feel the need to hide?
In addition, Escalation could be the game mode that keeps me playing. I am a big fan of Horde, Firefight, and Nazi Zombies, and Escalation has all the promise of taking up a lot of my time this summer. Can't wait to give it a go.
Like I said, this review comes in with less than 10 hours of the game played. I can't wait to play the rest of the campaign(s). Thus far, everything has been solid and well-told, and each area brings more nostalgia and satisfaction.
If you are a Tranformers fan like me, you owe it to yourself to play this bit of nostalgic magic.