Transformers: The Game - Hands On Preview

Just over a month remains until Activision's Transformers: The Game arrives on a multitude of platforms across Europe, and it's fair to say that the publisher has been somewhat hesitant to release too much on the title. Whether that's a result of some screws being turned at Paramount Pictures (the studio responsible for bringing the Transformers movie to cinemas this summer), or due to the last time the game was demo'd to the press it left a lot of raised eyebrows, is unclear. However, the curtain is now starting to be opened, and with that, TVG recently got the chance to go hands on and play through some early sections of the game from both the Autobots' and Decepticons' perspectives. So was there more than meets the eye to the Robots in Disguise?

One shall stand, one shall fall

Following a short introductory sequence created by visual effects studio Blur explaining why the Transformers factions are on Earth in the first place - their on-going search for the infinitely powerful "All Spark" - it was time to get on with the game itself. Demo-ing the game on Xbox 360, we first got to grips with the Autobots storyline, beginning with Bumblebee's first movements on the planet. The VW Beetle-turned-Chevrolet Camaro remains the scout of the Autobots, and as such is given the early task of destroying Decepticon grunts near to 'The Suburbs'. Very much the tutorial stage of the Autobots strand, the mission introduces various aspects of gameplay including transforming between the robot and vehicular state, and both weapon-based and melee-based combat. Many objects in the environment can be used as a melee weapon, from lampposts and cars to the masonry from destroyed buildings and fallen enemy Transformers (before they're totally destroyed), and can be used as makeshift baseball bats or throwing weapons. Even though Bumblebee is a significant size, objects in the game do feel decidedly light; the physics engine doesn't manage (in its current state, at least) to reproduce an object's mass, and there is certainly a lack of tangible sound effects when the likes of lampposts or smaller objects are brought down.

It was quite a relief to see the Decepticon grunts pick up objects from the gameworld, showing that whilst they may not be able to last particularly long in a fight, they are at least aware of their surroundings - a feat that after our first experience with the game a couple of month ago, we were surprised at. After despatching a couple of waves of grunts through our fists and weapons easily enough, despite the game's currently clunky targeting/lock-on system, the early action was over leaving another cut-scene to follow.

As an Autobot inclined to protect "sentient" life, it's not in Bumblebee's interest to destroy the environment. Demolishing buildings and causing destruction on a huge scale isn't in the Autobot rulebook - so where's the fun in playing a five-storey robot if you can't raze a few neighbourhoods to the ground? Well that dilemma is rectified in the Decepticon storyline, but why play an Autobot if you can have more fun as a villain? Developers Travellers Tales is implementing a system that rewards them for crossing the line with a Transformers mask icon. For Autobots, this means destroying Decepticons, reaching top speeds in their vehicular states, or power sliding around a corner. Achieving a full set of five 'masks' opens up Bonus Features from trailers to Generation One Transformer models. Activision are unsurprisingly reticent to unveil exactly which will feature on the list, but it's probably a safe bet that a 'G1' Optimus Prime will be amongst them - though with General Motors' stranglehold on Bumblebee's new Camaro persona, don't expect the Gold Bug to be there...

TT Games obviously has to focus on both robotic third-person action, as well as vehicular dynamics (together with aerial sequences with some of the Decepticons like Starscream), as such the mission variety will be trying to balance everything out. Following on from our decimation of the grunts, Bumblebee receives orders from Prime to protect Sam Witwicky, the teenager in possession of the All Spark. Other missions in the Autobot thread sees the Camaro chase down a series of Decepticon grunts, forcing them to transform before they can get to Witwicky himself. Driving the Camaro around the streets of The Suburbs map gave a strong indication of what the end game will be like in just a few weeks time - and that's pretty average so far. Taking corners pushes the car into a turning circle of sizable proportions, though a quick tap on the brakes and nitros seemed to help.

Our time with Bumblebee ended with a confrontation with Barricade, a Decepticon police car and the first mini-boss of the game. Taking place across several sections of the suburbs, which seemed to be significantly largely than the gameworld was suggested back in April, the showdown begins in the American Football field of the town's High School before ending in the literally explosive Power Plant; cue lots of fire and shockwaves before the Decepticon finally falls. Completed missions will be available to replay, this time as either an Autobot or from the other perspective as a Decepticon, in essence creating a whole new game (at least, that's how Activision would like to see it). Staple sandbox collectibles will also get scattered to the four winds in the game, with over a hundred Energon Cubes to find.

Rolling back to the start of the storyline, this time siding with the maniacal Decepticons, the game flips onto its head. In this side of the narrative, players can be as destructive as they like...

It's over Prime...

Set in the desert surrounding the US SOCCENT Military Base in Qatar (which has already been hinted at in the Transformers Movie trailers), players find themselves behind the sticks of Blackout, which can transform into a Sikorsky military helicopter. Clunky control systems also seem to be threading through, this time changing the altitude of the chopper is linked directly to where the camera is pointing. Look up, and up you'll go. Look down...and you can guess the rest. Armed with heavy missiles, perhaps it's no surprise that the 'tutorial' mission sees players decimate the entire base before the time runs out. Even against standard military helicopters and tanks, Blackout's mission turned out to be straightforward, reaching 100% demolition in a handful of seconds. Besides missiles and twin Gatling guns, players will also be able to use Blackout's helicopter blades as twin samurai swords during close-quarter combat.

However, the job was only half done, as the US military dispatched several mobile radar units out into the desert to radio for support. Cue Blackout's minion, Scorponok, who is tasked with hunting down the radar units and destroying them. Stuck in the form of a robotic scorpion, the character is balanced out with the somewhat eerie ability to burrow under the sands of the desert, which certainly helped to avoid incoming fire from the tanks. A race against time, additional time extensions supplemented the ever-decreasing countdown.

Confirmed as being a single-player game only on the home consoles (and presumably the PSP version too), Transformers: The Game will offer a different experience on Nintendo DS - not least because Activision will be releasing two versions, one for the Autobots and one for the Decepticons. The publisher has also confirmed that head-to-head combat over Wi-Fi connected DS units will also feature.