*Gasp* a good Transformers game!!!
Graphics: The graphics for the most part look great but there are still a few problems. Like always I like to start with the good. The designs for the Transfromers look awesome and are a good mix between the 80's cartoon and the new movies. The sound effects are also great (they even have the right sound when the Transformers switch between robot and vehicle), the metallic screams and crunches of enemies also helps set the mood. The voice acting is top notch, expically Peter Cullen reprising his role as Optimus Prime. The effects like the explosions look pretty well done and over all it is a great game to look at. Now what isn't so good is that the environments are not very varried. Most of the game feels all to the same so be prepared to see the same look futuristic cyber world and this can get kind of boring after a while. You will also get a few number of glitches and bugs that are a rather minor and may draw you away from the experience. All in all the graphics are well done and the game looks really nice.
Gameplay: The game feels like an old school third person shooter, no cover system, no regenerating health (sort of) and all of this in the Transformers universe how could you go wrong? well... They didn't. In the game you get four different classes: Leader, Scout, Soldier, and Scientist each has there own different strengths and weakness'. In both of the campaigns you will get to play as your favorite Transformers: Megatron, Optimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Starscream, Brawl, Jetfire and many more. Each has their own class and abilities. The basic gameplay is third person shooting, while it feels rather simple it is still a lot of fun. Unlike more recent third person shooters that have smaller areas and focus more on cover shooting, Transformers has a much larger area and no cover system at all and trust me this is a good thing because when there is a huge amount of enemies on screen you are glad that you have such a wide open space. Now in such a wide open space you need a fast way to get around these areas, and you are a Transformer right? Each Transformer has his own different vehicle form, most of them are either a truck, car, or a jet fighter. What I like is that the vehicle mechanic is not just a gimmick, it is vital if you want to survive, for example a scout is much faster when he is in his vehicle form as he can avoid enemy fire easier, or a leader's vehicle weapon is much more powerful than his normal guns. The last part of the game that I really enjoyed were the bosses. Most of them are huge and take up half the screen, while they may seem rather simple they are a blast to fight. Now lets go over what the game could have done better on. For starters the AI is pretty bad, your allies may be in another area as you are fighting off most of the enemies by yourself and when they are in the area they barely do anything. The enemy AI is also the same, they have no real strategy and just stand in the open and shoot at you. Another problem is that after a while the game does tend to drag on a little bit because you are doing the same thing a lot and this can get rather boring after a little while, mainly because there are not a whole lot of different weapons to chose from. While there are still a few bad spots here and there, the game is still a lot of fun and if you are a Transformers fan they you will eat this up.
Multiplayer: The multiplayer is also pretty good to my surprise. You will get a good amount of multiplayer modes that come standard with any multiplayer game such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag etc. But what makes it good it all the different classes there are and they all unlock their own different abilities. The maps are also pretty big too and allows you a lot of room to transform to and fro. The only down side is that there are not a whole lot of people who still play it so good luck finding any really good matches.
Over all:
Story: 8 While not amazing in any sense it is still a good origin story to the Transformers and shows a true war between brother and brother.
Graphics: 8.5 While the environments get rather boring after a while the game is still a great site.
Gameplay: 8 While not terribly new in any sense it is still a lot of fun to be had in this game.
Multiplayer: 8 Has a lot of good modes and maps while giving its own spin on all of them.
Enjoyment: 9 To be honest I really enjoyed my play through of this game and I recommend this game to any third person shooter fan or fan of Transformers. I also look forward to Fall of Cybertron in the upcoming Fall.
Final Score: 8.3 (8.5)