One shall stand…
Completed Transformers: WFC late Saturday night.
Given that it only came out on the Friday, you could be forgiven for thinking perhaps the game is not that long. Well, much as I’d have loved it to be longer, the truth is, I hammered the single player a LOT on Friday night and Saturday day/night. Once I got started, it was very hard to stop to be honest. The full game weighs in at around 10+ hours depending how you get on with the bigger battles.
As I mentioned in my last TF post, the gameplay is solid doing everything you would expect from a third person controlled shooter. The transformations add something a little new to the genre however with vehicle forms being just as useful in most situations as robot forms (In some cases vehicle forms are actually essential to avoid high levels of damage during some of the bigger fights). The system feels very balanced and I found myself constantly shifting in and out of vehicle forms enough that it felt like second nature… as it should in a Transformers game. Flip to jet mode, turbo across the room to grab some health, quickly fire a few missiles, flip back to robot form – use special abilities/gun, back to jet form for evasive actions. The system feels.. well, it just feels right.
The story was particularly interesting to me as a Transformers fan, and Hasbro obviously agrees as TF:WFC’s take on a prequel to the events of the original animated series (and the 1984 movie) is now officially declared cannon in the Transformers Universe. For good reason too.
SPOILER ALERT
The game takes place in the middle of a civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. Featuring two campaigns, played chronologically, the first features Megatron and his quest to obtain Dark Energon which he intends to use to control Cybertron. The second campaign deals with Optimus becoming ‘The Last Prime’ and his attempt to cleanse Cybertron of the corruption Megatron has unleashed.
It’s a basic plot, but along the way fans will find much to enjoy here. Omega Supreme’s involvement is nothing short of epic in my opinion. The fight goes on for a long time, and while not always in direct confrontation with Supreme, he affects every step of your journey through that level. Starscream’s defection to the Decepticons was of particular interest for me. I’ve long been a fan of Starscream and his treacherous ways so to finally see something of his origins was really great, plus all his trademark attempts to overthrow Megatron and assume control are all present and accounted for.
High Moon have really done a great job at accurately portraying the characters largely as you remember them from the 80′s. The opening Decepticon cutscene shows Megatron annihilating one of his own underlings after being questioned on the logic of crashing his spaceship directly into Starscreams orbital station. If that doesn’t say ‘Megatron’ then I don’t know what does.
Having not played the Multiplayer much I can’t comment more than I did on the demo just yet, but the single player experience is everything and more any Transformers fan could ask for. I was happier with WFC than I was with the recent perversions to the franchise made by Michael Bay, as was a fellow Transformers fan who played the last 3 Decepticon levels with me. 3 Levels out of 10 convinced him it was better than Bay’s Transformers. Not only in terms of story, but also visually.
5/5 – I’d highly recommend this to any TF fan. Up there with Batman Arkham Asylum in terms of setting the bar for quality in licensed games.
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