Transformers: War for Cybertron has nothing to be hiding from in this shallow but rambunctious ride through Cybertron.
War for Cybertron is the prequel to the all of the Transformer games, movies, and shows that it represents; telling the story of how the Autobots left Cybertron and in a way how they got to Earth. The story in War for Cybertron is lack luster Hollywood action but if you were expecting a Hollywood B Movie ending you may be surprised by how the story is able to tie all the characters together and the stories behind the main characters of Optimus and Megatron. The story won't be compelling as all the main characters are left alive and none of them are killed which makes the overall story have no heart and no class. The story is saved somewhat by the voice actors mainly the actors for Optimus, Jet Fire and even Bumblebee. Peter Cullen revises his role of Optimus and sounds good but at the same time you can distinguish his voice as being of somewhat elderly and while Optimus is old he's not that old. Jet Fire is played by Troy Baker who sounds a bit laid back but when he's serious he is serious, but not too serious. Bumblebee is played by Johnny Young Bosch who nails Bumblebee's personality of being young and rebellious. Sadly though the voice actors that do hold back the story are some performances such as Starscream who sounds just way too serious on his role, Warpath who sounds like he's trying too hard to be badass, and Megatron who also sounds too serious and too laughable in his dialouge, these voices hinder the experience but don't diminish the story by one bit.
One aspect of Transformers that has always been a staple of the franchise is the amazing sound designs from the Transformation sounds to the incredible clunks that axes, swords, and such make on a metal surface. The sound in War for Cybertron is simply the best, capitalizing on all the great effects the Transformers make and adding in some refreshing musical notes. The sound design is flawless as each sound of transformation and gears grinding is a splendor to hear and a trip down memory lane, sadly though the sound designs and effects are so loud that you may miss out on the stellar musical score that is combined with the action. The sound effects that aren't amazingly hot is sadly the guns, while the energy gun and tank guns sound exceptional the weak fires of the shotgun like guns and machine guns sound weak with little to no oomph in them. These guns are cool and still are great use like the other guns out there in the shooter action genres but the sound just doesn't stand a chance against the other sounds in the genres. One problem the audio has is lack of different audio tracks, music from previous levels may pop up, a line that one of the characters said was already said three checkpoints back or one level back, so on and so forth. These problems help diminish the stellar audio by dragging you back into the game world rather than immerse you in the war. While guns are weak, audio tracks play back, and music is sometimes drowned out the by guns, gadgets, and gizmos; sound design lives up to its name so fans can have something to remember the Transformers by, which they will need given the deviation in game play from the Transformers series.
The game play is ironically like a the Michael Bay movie of Transformers, its fast, loud, and oodles of fun, but it lacks any originality and is a shallow shadow to its source material. The game play I straight forward combat and nothing else, no puzzles to throw in at you, no freedom, no choices, nothing but good ol' run and gun. The system works well and it is a constant rush of adrenaline as you move from one area to the next gunning down opponents, simple mindless fun ensues. Transformers fans who want a bit of challenge will certainly find it here but not exactly the way that they wanted it. The enemy AI ranges from downright blindness as you come right up to them and bash them in the head to always seeming to hit their target dead on all the time. This constant change in pace forces you to change up your tactics especially when you think you're going in for a melee axe on your AI enemies head and in reality his friend snaps to challenge mode and bombards you with rockets, shotgun shells, bullets, etc. etc. Sadly though this system can work against it as you can be expecting to get an easy one kill wonder on the next bot and realize your mistake when you stare at the screen indicating you defeat.
This is a system that makes War for Cybertron have some of the worst AI intelligence ever seen for quite some time. What also doesn't help is that High Moon Studios forgot to give the friendly AI's brains also. It doesn't exactly look "realistic" when your AI partner falls off a platform into an insta-death chasm or space and reappears right behind you a few seconds later. This reappear tactic always seems to be in effect because if when you activate a lift or a device that requires all your party to be there, they will somehow magically teleport into the lift with you or teleport right above you. These simple flaws sadly helps sap away the nonsensical shooting fun that you would otherwise be having with some mindless robot fun. Friendly AI also has some amazingly pathetic choices in all of video game history when it comes to combat. The AI is just klutzy using no grenades to their advantage, no energon repair beam when "you" need it the most, they won't even use the turrets even if they will say to use the turrets. These fundamental problems make War for Cybertron feel a bit too stuck in the past to be of real any fun.
However, what it lacks in AI's brain intelligence it more than makes up for in graphics. The graphics are always sometimes a bit jagged and sometimes seem to simplistic with just some shiny glitter thrown on it, but it's more than that. The graphics make the entire backdrop move as if something in the backdrop is happening at the same time as your running along your way or racing to the next checkpoint. This system takes from the amazingly stunning game of God of War 3 as backgrounds have something happening all the time and while God of War 3 had more of these fantastic moments War for Cybertron does the system justice and is a feast to behold. Another visual treat is the transformation sequences, the never hitch and are so splendid to look at. Each transformation is different and the smooth animations make it easy to be driving along a road and then transform right up to an enemy and melee him in the head. The sound and animation makes the transformations believable and will get you hooked in using it in clever ways. Animations are smooth throughout War for Cybertron but sometimes it may feel as though you've already done that animation before a thousand times. Still though, even with the limited animations at its disposal War for Cybertron makes them look good, sound good, and overall it's just great. One drawback from the graphics is the visuals, the murky brown, black, murky red, orange, and even washed out yellows make War for Cybertron look downright ugly. The idea behind this is how the Transformers are in a war and so the visuals represent a dark, murky war where "no one will live". Sadly, the bright colors of reds, blues, yellows, and purples in the cinematic cut-scenes contrast dramatically with the damp in–game visuals making it constant change in visual pace which doesn't exactly help War for Cybertron.
------------------------------SPOILER ALERT---------------------------
What also doesn't help the visual design is the end credits where the Transformers theme song somewhat plays during the credits and the cell-shaded robots come onto the screen. The small little nooks and crannies of this system makes the end feel rushed and ugly.
-----------------------------SPOILER ALERT----------------------------
The game-play is a shallow shooter game but that doesn't mean it's bad at all, it just means that if you were wanting something fresh, new, and something that throws you back in shock then you won't find it here. The simple objectives are basically destroying one objective then move to the next to destroy that objective or just fight a boss. These objectives are really just excuses to go out and shoot enemies and destroy the tried and true autobots/decepticons bosses that we know and love. The objectives aren't that good but the action is where it's at, even with the AI's terrible intelligence you can still have fun in beating a hard semi-boss and gunning down you opponents with an EMP shotgun or an assault rifle. Even with standard guns they are still quite fun, even with the guns that don't feel like they have a lot of oomph in them they still will satisfy your taste buds. As you're destroying your enemies be aware of the energon they drop and remember to pick it up. Energon energy helps fuel up an energon special move that when activated they will give you an edge in battle. These range from a battle cry to an intense whirlwind attack where you swing your melee weapon around and "blow away" the competition.
One aspect that you may not like in War for Cybertron is how you can't get energon if it's far away. For example, you grab a sniper gun and destroy the snipers above you or far away, if you're a land based vehicle good luck getting over to that area to pick up some energon. At the same time if you destroy flying vehicles in the sky and they fall into the abyss below then forget about those energon goodies. It's these terrible game-play choices that make you wish there was more choices for flying based vehicles or that you could automatically collect far away energon. Still the core action remains untouched as heat rises and you're desperate for health or you just grin with satisfaction at the destruction you caused to the decepticons or autobots.
One thing that can have you seeing that this game is an old fashion shooter is the lack of variety in AI enemies. They range from gun and gun shooters, missile masters, warriors, big gun fighters, air born adversaries, snipers, and giant flipping tanks! However, the AI always repeats on these and even though they are fun it lacks variety and challenge. After all, where's the challenge in fighting someone a thousand times over? The boss fights do their job but at times it seems linear and not at all fun, the basic thing is to hide behind cover and come out attacking specific areas. The formula stays the same and grows old and stale very fast. Dodge the beams that will kill you, dodge the attacks, refuel on energon and ammo, attack the targets, and win the fight. The action is hot and tense but the repetition does detract from the experience making every boss fight one that is simplistic and long. Even with the lack of AI variety and same old same old boss fight tactics you can still have a mildly good time fighting for Cybertron in the war that started it all.
One feature that you will enjoy a lot is the campaign Co-Op and the inclusion of fun multiplayer. Co-Op is just as it is, simple online Co-Op that allows you and some people to go through levels and beat them again or get some help. Co-Op may be the best feature in War for Cybertron since the AI for friends is so terrible that it will be a rushing relief to have a partner who uses turrets to advantages, uses grenades to help, and it's great that with human intelligence that hard levels will be a thing of the past. Co-Op may be a great feature but it has its problems as well, War for Cybertron is a very heavy handed game of teamwork meaning that if one guy falls then you all fall. This system makes sense but in the end it is an unfair system to everyone else if you or someone else dies and the entire team is punished. A weird option in Co-Op games is if someone is farther ahead to a checkpoint than you are and gets to it first then the entire team follows behind. It's a neat system but it's just way to strange to be jetting your way to your buddy ahead of you and then end up on the ground with him moving to the next objective. Multiplayer is like the single player experience, shallow but fun as hell. With the neat tools to create your own characters for each class and the weapons you have and the challenge of human opponents makes multiplayer a great addition to the Transformers series.
You are given four classes, a scout who is fast and can cloak himself, a scientist who has the ability to repair comrades and zoom around as a jet, a leader who has full health and powerful weapons, and a soldier who is big and bad. Each class has its own strengths and playing each one of them will help you plan out on which one is the one for you. There is even a neat little character creation mode where you can change up your class to have specific weapons, abilities, attributes, and even color scheme. The creation tool isn't amazing but it's varied and helps give you some strategy in choosing a great combination to dominate the competition. Multiplayer is certainly a great feature as the human intelligence is better than the terrible enemy AI in single player. The action is tense and satisfying for multiplayer veterans alike; sadly only veterans. Newcomers to War for Cybertron will have a hard time having fun as there is no lobby for you to look for a game to join and there is no way of auto match making so that you can end up in a match suited to your levels. One strange thing to also note in multiplayer or a game with friends is that there is no chat talk with them. It is good that during the heat of battle you won't hear people talking smack to you but it also diminishes tactics and being good sports in making friends. Even with a few gripes the multiplayer component of War for Cybertron is fun for all gamers and all veterans.
Another component of player interaction is an interesting mode called Escalation. Escalation is basically the fancy term of saying Survival with friends but there is a neat little twist to the formula, instead of running around looking for ammo and health items the items must be purchased with the currency of kills you accumulate through the waves of enemies. This is an interesting system where instead of focusing on survival your real goal is to defeat many enemies and use the currency you got from them to get more cool stuff and more ammo and health to save your life. It's all good fun and what makes this mode a stand out of the others is how fully featured the player interaction is. Instead of running and gunning while other people are running and gunning you have to stick together so that when you are down out of luck and are about to die your team can revive you to get back up and keep going. One problem with Escalation that you may not like is how the enemy is once again like the single-player experience, lacking variety. Other than that, Escalation is a great way of having fun with a group of people fending themselves from the evil robots of the decepticons/autobots.
Pros:
-Heated action
-Stellar game-play
-Fun shootouts
-Simple mindless fun
-Story helps pave way for the Transformers series
-Peter Cullen returns
-Sound is incredible
-Graphics are decently detailed with a lot happening
-Animations are silky smooth
-Transformation
-Zoom around as jets
-Co-Op gives friends brains
-Multiplayer is great fun
-Customizing your character is fun
-Fun run and gun tactics
-Escalation is a clever twist to survival
-Cut scenes are well played out with great graphics
-Ending paves way for the Transformers future
Cons:
-Simple mindless shooting
-Lack of AI intelligence
-Boss fights drag on and use the same tactics
-Not many jets to fly around as
-Voice actors do their best but put up their worst
-Story isn't emotional or engaging
-One dies in Co-Op everyone loses
-Shallow, shallow, shallow
-Multiplayer for newcomers is not here
-Enemies have no variety
-Credits look disgusting
-Damp and murky visuals
-Not the best game meaning not many people online
-Repetitive objectives and tactics
-Can't collect all the energon
War for Cybertron is simply the best Transformers game, but that isn't saying a lot. The fundamental problems of simple game-play mechanics detract from the experience but overall it is genuinely a great game that makes great use of its license. If you're looking for something new then be disappointed. If you're looking for simple mindless fun with great action, fun multiplayer, and set in the Transformers universe then look no further than Transformers: War for Cybertron.