Transformer Games Preview !!!

System: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Dev: High Moon Studios
Pub: Activision
Release: August 28, 2012
Players: 1
Screen Resolution: 480p-1080p

Leaving Cybertron
by SIFA Blogspot

At E3 this year, the guys from Activision told me that their newest Transformers game, Fall of Cybertron, was going to be the "definitive Transformers game." Now, this is a pretty bold claim, but Activision actually has a halfway decent shot at making good on it. I mean, the Transformers certainly haven't had a flawless run in the video game world, and Fall of Cybertron is a direct sequel to what might currently be the best Transformers game out there, War for Cybertron.

And Hasbro is fully onboard with this sequel, working in conjunction with the game's writers and going as far as to say that Fall of Cybertron's story is officially part of Transformers canon. It tells a darker story than what you're probably used to from the Transformers franchise, in which Optimus Prime decides it's time for he and his fellow "Robots in Disguise" to leave Cybertron once and for all. Yeah, this is once again a "pre-Earth" Transformers story.

Throughout the campaign, you will get to see events unfold from both the Autobots' and the Decepticons' perspectives. You'll be hopping back and forth between various Transformers as the campaign dictates rather than just picking a single character and spending the duration of the game as that particular Transformer. While this will allow players to see things from a multitude of perspectives and ensure that most players will get to spend at least a little bit of time with their favorite Transformer, let's cross our fingers and hope that the story doesn't feel disjointed as a result.

So who's present? Well, first of all, we were assured that all the Dinobots would make appearances, including Grimlock, who is being voiced by Gregg Berger. In fact, Fall of Cybertron will be explaining the origin of Grimlock, so longtime fans of the fire-breathing T-Rex are definitely going to want to see this one through. (In case you weren't paying attention when I mentioned this earlier, this story is canon, meaning this is the official Grimlock origin tale.)

We got to spend some time watching Grimlock slice his way through a bunch of Insecticons, and as he destroyed enemies, he would build a "Rage Meter." Once this meter was full, he was able to transform into his T-Rex form and stomp and chomp through Insecticons on a prehistoric rampage.

Now, the interesting thing is that this "Rage Meter" mechanic makes Grimlock the only playable Transformer in the game who isn't allowed to transform at will. As any other character, you will be able to swap between various forms whenever you feel like it. In fact, there will be parts of the game that you will only be able to get through in a particular form, so you'll be doing a lot of transforming. And really, the thing we love about Transformers is that they transform, right? High Moon's insistence on giving us flexibility in this area (as opposed to last year's Dark of the Moon game, which didn't let us transform at all) is a good sign that they've been given the time they need in order to prove to gamers that they actually care about the franchise. (I'm pretty sure they're still embarrassed about that whole Dark of the Moon thing, and it looks like they've at least learned something from it.)

And the maps are large enough to cater to this "transform anywhere" gameplay style. They're freakin' gigantic.

Speaking of gigantic, another fan-favorite Transformer is joining the action. Metroplex—you know, Scramble City—shows up in all his city-sized glory and is able to be piloted by Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen). Yeah, we saw this in action and it was incredibly cool.

Other Transformers we got to see in action were Starscream, Jazz, and Bruticus (yup, the gigantic combined form of the Combaticons). But this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as character selection; we can fully expect a fairly impressive roster of all our favorites.

On top of all this, the popular four-player Escalation cooperative gameplay is back. (For those who don't remember how this mode played out, it's basically a Transformers-style Horde Mode.) This time around, though, you earn currency for kills, and you can spend this on skills, upgrades, and traps. It basically takes the Escalation mode from War for Cybertron and makes it even more intense and rewarding, which is good news for anyone who wants to enjoy this game with a group of friends.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is definitely shaping up to be the "definitive Transformers game" that Activision is bragging about. Let's hope they prove themselves right when the game launches at the tail end of August.