Transformers: War for Cybertron Review

The Transformers franchise hasn't bought us much joy with their gaming releases. Shoddy framerates, boring gameplay and an unfinished feel has left the gaming franchise in despair.

Then along came War for Cybertron (WFC). If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that the makers of this franchise instalment have decided to “borrow” from the Gears of War engine. Now, if you were going to “borrow” the gameplay of any third person shooter – then Gears is the one to clone. Smooth movement; an intuitive shooting system; and an intelligent AI makes battle sequences interesting and a lot of fun.

The story is told from both the Decepticons and Autobots side of the ware. Players get to play 5 chapters with each. In WFC the players can choose to be one of three “types” of characters, a medic, a spy and a heavy. Each have their own skills, weapons, transformation characters, and whichever character is chosen will affect how the game is played out. At the game's conclusion, there are enough differences to suggest restarting and playing through the campaign again using the different characters. These different characters can also be used in the co-op multiplayer mode. 

 Where this Transformers release has made a huge leap on previous versions is the use of the alter-ego vehicle modes. When the characters transform, whether it be into a car, truck, tank – the gameplay rises to a whole new level of fun. Each vehicle is fitted with its own set of weapons to allow players to continue their battle against enemies. All the weapons used in the game, both as a transformer character or their alter-ego vehicle, feel “right” … they have the right amount of power, reload time, accuracy & force. These are essential in any first/third person shooter and WFC nails it. 

Graphics: 8/10

Whilst WFC is a good game to look at, it still lacks the polished all-round look of some of the A-grade third person games.

Sound: 8/10

The sound effects are impressive, from the thundering firing of weapons to the articulated characters screams. However, the accompanying music fails to add to the tension and can seem a little tacky.

Gameplay: 9/10

The gameplay is WFC's strength. Characters feel solid; they react quickly and there are no loose controls in this game. Weapon use / performance is fantastic. 

Longevity: 9.5/10

You would expect a decent 10-12 hours showing in campaign mode. Given gamers can go back and redo the campaign with different characters yielding different results & the awesome co-op mode, this game has enormous replay capacity.

Overall: 8.7/10

EXCELLENT: This is the best game in the Transformer franchise and a surprisingly entertaining game that deserves to be take seriously.

Pavli