The first Transformers Official Video Game didn’t exactly do well and thankfully Activision realized this and started from scratch. I will admit that I didn’t purchase the previous game based on the first Transformers movie. With so much bad press about it, why would anyone? Movie tie in games have not succeeded in recent years, although May saw the release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine that really set the bar for future movie-released games to come, and coincidentally was also published by Activision. So, with this new sequel release, is it possible for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen to even hold a candle to X-Men Origins: Wolverine in terms of production? Yes and no, read on to find out.

Gameplay

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the latest sequel in the Transformers franchise being brought to the big screen in live-action glory and directed by Michael Bay. As you would expect, publisher Activision took the opportunity to build from scratch after the poor reception of the first release of Transformers: The Video Game. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is what we are given, with developer Luxoflux brought on board to save the franchise.

The game loosely follows the plot of the movie, taking its own liberties and filling in its own parts when it can, as shown in the Decepticon plotline for instance. The Decepticons returned to Cybertron to regroup and made their way back to Earth to cause more havoc and bring Megatron back to life. You can play as either the Autobots or Decepticons, with both storylines not being very different from each other. If you didn’t see the movie, well be prepared to be confused along the way. The story is told through pre-rendered cut scenes and satellite imagery for mission briefings. The game is a lot easier to follow, narrative wise if you see the movie, though not particularly required if you’re itching to just battle as your favorite Transformer. The game isn’t exactly linear which a good thing is as you’ll be fighting on open world maps, giving you the ability to roam where you want too for the ensuing battles. Though you end up being restricted once you find yourself escorting allies or have a strict objective in front of you.

Both campaigns are lengthy providing you with 23 missions for both the Autobots and Decepticons which are spread across 14 different locations. The mission objective for both sides is pretty similar, and is surprising considering it would’ve been nice to see some variety for each side. The biggest part of every mission is fighting off waves and waves of robots until you trigger the next objective or you’re entry into the boss fight. After every mission you get bonus energon to upgrade your abilities depending on how fast it takes you to complete the mission or special objectives. After about the first mission the game becomes pretty repetitive, getting boring fast and not leaving room for much enjoyment in the long run.

On the multiplayer side of things, it’s much more satisfying when playing against real people. Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and variants of the modes are all present and accounted for. One mode that is especially interesting is One Shall Stand; here one player is randomly chosen to be Optimus Prime or Megatron with the other players standing in as the other Transformers. You’ll have to battle it out and destroy the team’s leader before they do the same. Keeping your leader alive as long as possible helps your allies respawn as much as possible, though if he’s dead then your teammates stay dead. The other modes in multiplayer don’t exactly fill the void of a break between the solo campaigns considering the 8 player limit is a little disappointing.

After getting used to them, the controls in Revenge of the Fallen become common practice as you’ll be running, gunning and transforming all in one shot. Depending on which transformer you are using, you could be anything from a helicopter, jet plane or car. If you’re using a car, there is a little extra boost with a super jump to get you where you need to go faster. For Ariel transformers, you could pull off moves to dodge attacks or transform to Robot mode and blast away enemies one by one. Unfortunately it will take a while for you to master the basics to pull off the advanced moves. This is where Revenge of the Fallen suffers a bit because it’s where the combat is more rewarding and satisfying. It may feel useless in the games solo campaign, but when you take the right online you’ll certainly be proud you took the time to learn it all.

Graphics

Sticking consistent in art direction, the Transformers in Revenge of the Fallen continue to stick close to Michael Bay’s visual style from the movies. So, if you liked them from the movie, you shouldn’t have a problem appreciating them in the game despite the fact they look a little off putting. Transformations are probably the coolest thing about your characters and manage to run fluidly without much hiccup. Environments are nicely structured and thankfully varied. Destruction is the name of the game here and with the gameplay engine being used here, we are grateful that this is at least one thing the game has going for it.

Sound

There isn’t much to the sound here; production lends itself to the quality of the movie. The Transformers are voiced fine, though it’s the humans that come up falling way short. Shia Labeof and Megan Fox voice their characters from the movie but come up bland and un-interesting. At times during cut scenes you may notice a fade in and out of characters and if you have the volume turned up, watch out when Optimus Speaks as his voice seems to be the only one taken with care.

Plasma Factor

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen as I mentioned before has the only bonus being the multiplayer. The combat controls take some time getting used to, so if you have the time to invest in the game then you’ll find it more rewarding in the long run. Playing against real people manages to bring more challenge then the brain dead enemy AI that is just there to fill up the screen during each mission.

Another plus is the Transformations that have been given an overhaul and run smoothly. It doesn’t take much other then the press of the right trigger to switch between your two modes. Just make sure you know what you’re doing before you are easily overwhelmed by the enemies in front of you.

Conclusion

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen isn’t a bad game; it just doesn’t break down any barriers or start off a new genre of games. What you do get is the feeling of beating down robots and playing as your favorite Transformer. You have two long single player campaigns to keep you busy whether you choose to play as Autobots or Decepticons. Your best bet is to play the game as you see fit and definitely not for long periods of time as you’ll surely get tired of it one way or another. Activision is close with the license to create the best possible Transformers game, it just hasn’t hit the mark quite yet.