After enduring a critical beat down from reviewers, Activision finally admitted that Transformers: The Game fell short of its expectations. That means the sequel, Revenge of the Fallen, shouldn't be a rusted pile of scrap metal, at least in theory. We didn't get a chance to beat the newest game in the Transformers family, due out for multiple platforms June 23rd, but we did complete a single player mission and blast enemies to bits in various multiplayer modes. The verdict? Not bad.
This game's two biggest features are the ability to transform seamlessly from robot to vehicle and the aforementioned multiplayer. The first works wonders in a fight, as we plowed down a city street as Bumblebee's Camaro and instantly morphed into his bipedal form, shooting a few Decepticons, then transforming back into the car and speeding off. It looks amazing, feels great and works exceptionally well, especially with the flying Transformers. Using Starscream to tear through Autobots and then take off as the jet will impress even the most jaded fan.
Four versus four online multiplayer, however, will be the game's biggest star and for good reason; it's actually fun. Activision lets you choose sides and select one of 13 robots with differences in endurance, firepower, speed and special attacks. The seven Autobots include Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Breakaway, Bumblebee, Ratchet and two multiplayer exclusive Transformers, the Aerialbot (finally, a flying Autobot) and the Protectobot. On the Decepticon side, you have Megatron, Starscream, Sideways, Grindor, Long Haul and the multiplayer exclusive Seeker. If the roster disappoints you, don't worry. Activision plans to release new Transformers via downloadable content after the game launches.
Whom you choose will most likely depend on which Transformer's your favorite (it's possible to have all Optimus Primes versus all Megatrons) as well as the type of robot you prefer to play as. Optimus, for example, is a powerhouse character with fast firing weapons, a dual laser rifle and the ability to use a blue shield to increase melee damage. Yet he's slower than Bumblebee, who can fit into tighter spaces and pelts enemies with a micro missile launcher while incapacitating them with an EMP blast, despite falling to pieces after significantly fewer shots. But there's also Ironhide and his dual shotguns, Ratchet's sticky grenades, Breakaway's sniper rifle, Starscream's Gatling gun, Long Haul's dual flamethrowers and Megatron's fusion arm cannon that takes time to charge but destroys anything it touches. We only messed around with a few characters, but each one brings something unique to the fight. Having solid controls this time around only enhances the experience.
As for the multiplayer modes, Activision didn't exactly reinvent the wheel. You have Deathmatch (every Transformer for itself), Team Deathmatch and three more colorful modes: One Shall Stand, Control Points and Battle for the Shards, cute little marketing names that almost cover up the fact that the developer just renamed the same old modes found in other online games. One Shall Stand is a team leader mode where the goal is to protect your leader while destroying the opposing team's lead. You'll re-spawn so long as your leader is alive (the leader cannot re-spawn), and if yours croaks, you have 60 seconds to kill the opposition's leader or you'll lose the round.
In Control Points, your team must capture five areas of the map. The only downside is Activision's lame decision to force you to capture them in numerical order. We attempted to like this one, but kept wandering off. On the positive side, snagging these points in order always ensures crazy firefights.
Finally, Battle for the Shards sends you on a search and retrieve mission, where both sides attempt to grab pieces of the AllSpark and return them to their respective base. If you ever played Capture the Flag, then you already know what to expect.
Just because Activision borrowed these modes from other games, of course, doesn't mean they're a disaster. On the contrary, we found the Deathmatch modes to be a guilty pleasure worth indulging in. Besides, who doesn't want to race/fly around, climb up buildings and destroy giant robots?
Keep in mind that there's a whole single player campaign to enjoy, divided into Autobot and Decepticon portions that greatly differ from each other; whereas the Autobots rescue and prevent destruction, their rivals cause it. In the mission we played, we guided Long Haul through a factory area, destroying buildings with flamethrowers and capturing the humans inside, depositing them on tops of buildings and watching them get beamed into space, presumably to some Decepticon detention facility. As expected, a bunch of good-natured Autobots attempted to thwart our schemes, and we made short work of them with dual charger grenades.
As they exploded, we noticed numbers over their busted carcasses. In Revenge of the Fallen, the more elaborate the kill, the higher the points. Combine this with collected Energon left behind from fallen enemies, and you can use this stuff to purchase weapon upgrades. In addition, each mission features a timer that gives you the opportunity to earn medals depending on your performance. From there, you can compare mission times with others via a global leaderboard.
At this point, it remains to be seen whether Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will make us forget about its prequel. Multiplayer's cool and we dig the transformations, but if that single player mission is any indication of the entire game, we're in for a by the numbers shooter with cookie cutter objectives that force us to rescue this person/destroy that building. But with more characters, promised DLC and online play, it might just eclipse the original. Look for our review June 23rd.
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