Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

Written by: Darren Cartledge Posted: 1st July 2009

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The Autobots take on the Decepticons.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Details:

Goto Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Game Page

	Action
	PC/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Nintendo Wii/PSP/Nintendo DS
	Luxoflux
	Activision

12+

Out Now

1-8

These days it seems inevitable that with every blockbuster movie a video game comes along to accompany it! However, as it has been proven over the many years this combination isn’t necessarily a recipe for success. So can this latest blockbuster movie, video game combination break this some what ill fated trend?

As you may have already guessed Transformers – Rise of the Fallen is based on the movie of the same title. The video game allows you to take on the roles of various Autobots and Decepticons across two campaigns, as the two rival factions battle it out to recover the remaining shards of the All Spark.

On the whole Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen plays like most other third person action games, with of course some notable differences. Mainly the fact that you’re playing as a giant transforming robot that can change into a vehicle at will! Like most games in the genre you are set a main mission objective and then some secondary tasks are thrown in order for you to score some extra points Or in the case of this title, Energon, which is used to upgrade the faction you are playing as.

You may have noticed so far reading this review that I’ve referred to the game been like other third person action games, quite a lot! This was my intention, as I was trying to convey this games biggest weakness! That is, it simply doesn’t offer anything new. It’s seems to be made up of the now generic ingredients found in almost any action game out there which is a little disappointing and makes it feel like a dozen games you’ve played before. The two campaigns in the game are very similar. Missions fall in to one of several types such has having to race through checkpoints or to clear an area of enemies. It’s all quite unoriginal and repetitive making it difficult to motivate yourself to play the game until the end of one campaign, let alone two.

This however, isn’t the games only problem! The control layout for Transformers is questionable! With most buttons controlling more then one ability, things can become confusing especially during intense action sequences. Making playing the game more difficult then it should be and somewhat inaccessible! There also seems to be several bugs with game, the fact some of the characters retain their vehicle mode abilities when reverting back to robot form being one of note. However, if you can over com these short comings, it can be good fun to stomp around the small city settings as a giant robot, albeit only for short periods of time.

Of course the game is mainly going to appeal to Transformers fans and it does provide some good features to satisfy them. You get to play as a good selection of characters including Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime and Breakaway. All of who have their own unique abilities and weaponry which adds to the variety on offer in the game. Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen also includes a good amount of unlockable content, awarded by achieving in games tasks. These include episodes of the original cartoon show, colour schemes for the games characters taken from the original cartoons and enough concept artwork to satisfy the most hardcore Transformers fans.

The single player campaigns in the game offer a good amount of playing time and this is complimented by being able to go online and take on other players in a number of fairly standard game types, including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. Whilst this may not sound immediately appealing the video games multiplayer mode has been implemented well. The game assigns each player to one of the main characters from the game, with each retaining that characters unique weapons and special abilities. Whilst this can give a player a distinct advantage in the free for all game modes it really does add a level of strategy to the team play based modes requiring gamers to work together to achieve success. This makes the multiplayer aspect of Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen a solid playing experience and one which stands out in a genre that is either hit or miss when it comes to online play.

Visually the game is something of a mixed bag! Characters look great both in robot and vehicle form, whilst animation is also spot on. However, when it comes to the environments the game falls somewhat short of the mark. These are fairly small in size, especially if you take into account the size of the characters, and also look a little dated by the standards set by some recent games. Most of the games areas look quite similar even though they are located in different world locations. Also, areas which look accessible often aren’t, with entrance into these areas blocked by a mysterious blue barrier. Which only seems to appear once you are inches away? Environments can also be the cause of much annoyance with you frequently getting caught and stuck on the various small objects that tend to litter the game world.

The games audio is solid throughout with only the odd support voice actor spoiling things. Other voices for the games main characters are all performed by the stars of the movie, so as you would expect are performed to a high standard. There is some questionable voice mixing however, most notably in the end of mission briefings which sound like clippings have simply been cut together randomly. The games soundtrack is very fitting with various tracks taken directly from the film. This of course is all fits in well with the on screen action.

Transformers – Revenge of the Fallen isn’t the greatest action game to ever grace the current generation of consoles and as such will only appeal to fans who will love getting to play as some of the favourite characters from the movies. This coupled with the fact the game contains a plethora of unlockable content and a solid online mode makes the game a worth while addition to any Transformers fan’s video games collection.