Monday, November 26, 2007

Transformers: The Game




Transformers shines graphically and is one of the few Wii games available that actually matches -- and perhaps even surpasses -- some of the late-gen GameCube efforts. The opening cinematic really sets the pace, with some gorgeous CG and a pretty slick title menu. More CG is peppered in cutscenes throughout the game, and they likewise look really slick.

The in-game engine also impresses, both on land and in the air. The various Autobots and Decepticons are rendered in great detail, and their transformation animations are fluid and fun to watch. Weapons look great and feature a whole gamut of spectacular effects, from peppering gunfire to blue EMP blasts. Even taking a hit is fun to watch, as some of the characters, such as Bumblebee, will tear into the pavement as they reorient themselves after being blown backward.

The game’s world looks great, too, benefiting from some well-implemented bloom lighting that gives the game a real polished look during both the day and night sequences. The game spans residential areas, bustling business districts, military installations and some other major locales that are both detailed and often destructible. Light and darkness are handled well with some nice shadow work on display during the day and plumes of streetlights at night. Travellers Tales really looked into the little things too, as the giant robots will puts cracks into pavement and pull earth from the ground with each massive step.

The spit and polish Traveller’s Tales put into the graphics and sound did not translate into equally-inspired gameplay. To be sure, the game makes a good first impression, using a sandbox style that allows for some open space to get acquainted with one’s Transformer and their finer qualities. Shooting through the sky as Blackout and Starscream or racing through the streets with Bumblebee and Jazz is fun for a little while, at least.

When the player decides to get down to business, though, one will quickly discover that there isn’t a lot of meat on the bones. Transformers is a short game; notwithstanding some frustrating mission designs that require too many repeated attempts, a seasoned gamer will clock out after about eight hours, if not sooner. The missions are divided between Autobot and Decepticon campaigns, and while neither side is engrossing, the bad guys are at least allowed to destroy everything in sight. The game’s sandbox style is quite linear, mostly acting as a staging area to move from one mission to the next.

The various missions range from unimaginative to silly. Several missions, for example, require a player to beat up an opponent, chase the opponent to a given rally point within a time limit and beat up on the opponent again. Other missions require blowing up a certain number of buildings or picking up and throwing a given number of glowing green objects. Still other missions, especially many boss missions, require some sort of cumbersome or unorthodox attack method.

This last example highlights one of the fundamental gameplay gripes of Transformers. Every Transformer has a powerful light and heavy ranged weapon, and some of them are truly awesome to behold. Unfortunately, most Transformers in the game can generate invincible energy shields to block ranged attacks, and because bosses successfully do this without fail, ranged weapons are useless during the most critical parts of the game. This was no doubt a design decision made to encourage melee combat and make boss battles harder, but it winds up feeling contrived -- after all, what kind of energy shield blocks a military grade explosive or Gatling gun, but fails to stop a tree or a robotic punch? More than just being a head-scratcher, this decision takes the run-and-gun element out of boss battles (and many standard battles, too) and makes them into a chore. The epic clash between Optimus Prime and Megatron should be about trading gunfire, not tossing lampposts at each other.



Posted by wii-play at 3:38 AM
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