Introduction:

The Transformers show was one of the best things that ever happened to popular culture. The 1980s cartoon series started one of the greatest fads in the world... giant robots. With numerous spin-offs, toy lines, reboots, and movies, the robots in disguise have never left pop culture. But with a lot of media the series has produced, there has never been an amazing sensational Transformers game... until now. Transformers: War for Cybertron will have leave you in awe if you are a skeptic, and leave you breathless if you are a fan.

Story: 9/10

The story for War for Cybertron is outstanding. Instead of basing it off a movie, a comic book, or even the cartoon series, the creators of the series, High Moon Studios, have gone before the original cartoon. The game takes place on the Transformers home world of Cybertron at the beginning of the civil war. If you play the game in chronological order, you will be playing the first chapters as the Decepticons, learning how Megatron got his rise to power. You could start with the Autobots, but would be left out of the loop in some of the information. The total time of the campaign is about 8-12 hours long, and the best way to play it is on hard.


Gameplay: 9/10

The gameplay is outstanding. Since this is Transformers, the developers wanted to make the player seamlessly transform from car to biped, which they did extremely well. Just the click of the left analog stick will make you turn into a car, truck, tank or plane, depending on the class your character is. The gun play is very well done, and you have to utilize the transformation ability to overcome a lot of the battles, but the learning curve is just right for a game like this. The mix of car and bipedal combat will leave you coming back for more.

The online play is done well, with the game playing like a mix of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, which is expected, since this was made using the Unreal Engine. The Escalation mode is similar to the horde mode in Gears of War 2, with the ability to open other rooms, and buy new weapons, like the Nazi Zombies of CoD. The gameplay is rich, and the online will keep you entertained when you complete the game.


Graphics and Sound: 8/10

The graphics for this game are very good, and the detail on the robots is outstanding. Seeing the gears on the back of them turn is one of those little things that make you say "Wow, that's cool!". The look of the planet is great, and looks like something out of a movie. The acting is very well done, with the voices of Nolan North of Uncharted, Fred Tatasciore from Mass Effect, and Peter Cullen reprising his role of Optimus Prime. The sound quality is nothing to right home about, since it is just a video game, unless you have a surround sound system, which makes the game sound great.


Play Time and Replayability: 9/10

The total play time is about 10 hours long, as stated above, with online adding to the replayability. With each level of the campaign, you can choose from 3 Transformers, so you could probably play each of the levels three times. Playing with friends is an amazing feature, and with up to two extra friends for the campaign, three if you play Escalation, the fun could be endless.


Final Recommendation:

This game is what Transformers fans have been waiting for for a long time. If you are a Transformers fan-boy, this is a must buy. If you are a fan of games like CoD, Gears of War or Unreal Tournament, you should definitely check this game out, and if you don't like anything about Transformers, than you are missing out. I'm giving this game a 9 out of 10.

Review by: notoriusbjk