Given the exponential increase in playability of Transformers games from one generation to the next, the third installment of the hit movie-video game adaptation was the most anticipated release yet. Oddly enough, it was actually the only game in the series that wasn’t tied to the movie’s plot at all, diverging from the exploits of the Transformers on Earth, to the works of their original homeworld of Cybertron (for if anything the title does not warn you).
Fans and critics alike were mostly in awe of the vast mechanical structures that spanned the planet Cybertron, itself, and the series’ consistent increase in graphical ability. We never see Earth in War for Cybertron, and given the repetitive nature of the environment in both Transformers: The Game and Revenge of the Fallen, maybe that’s a good thing.
High Moon Studios produces War for Cybertron
Once again, the developers at High Moon Studios stuck with what worked in previous games: the campaign split. You can start with the Decepticon campaign, which focuses on a dark new source of Energon discovered by the relentless Megatron, and the powers and abilities it wields; or starting out as an Autobot which is obviously a response to the Decepticon threat.
As with their predecessors, there is a premium to the Transformers’ ability to fluidly transform from robot to alternate mode; War for Cybertron takes it wonderfully further – there are actually levels based on the Transformers ability to transform! As in, you should practically use this ability to make things easier for yourself and achieve certain goals.
Multiplayer has gone up a notch even from Revenge of the Fallen, where it was already good enough to be one of the few redeeming qualities of the previous game. There is the added attribute of developing your own Transformer completely from scratch, which could be a game unto itself. When combined with the surreal graphics, sound effects, and game control, hey, they even got it right this time, War for Cybertron makes the other games obsolete and serves as a reminder of how far they’ve come.
In short, the developers finally got it right. In fact, they did better than that; War for Cybertron may be the best game of the year. If there is something wrong with War for Cybertron, it is that the game probably represents the fiery twilight of the video game adaptation; it is not likely to be better than this. I would put this game against Black Ops and Gears of War any day. I would lose; but still.