For a sound concept that could translate well into videogames, the Transformers haven’t had much luck in becoming an entertainment interactive experience (save, arguably, for the Transformers on the PS2 that’s based on the Armada cartoon series). From Transformers: Convoy no Nazo to that one PS1 Transformers Beast Wars fighting game, the majority of them range from below average to slash-your-own-eyes awful.

High Moon Studios, a bunch of developers who are self-proclaimed Transformers fans, knew this and took it to themselves to make the single best licensed game based on these mechanical wonders. Did they succeed with the action-heavy Transformers: War For Cybertron? Well, it’s an admirable effort that paid off, particularly if you have like-minded friends who happen to love the early variations of the TV/toy franchise.

Seeing as it’s an entire concept of two robot factions shooting each other with fancy laser guns, it’s natural that the game borrows the third-person shooter backbone and paints a tech-heavy motif onto it. The twist to this formula is novel: your characters can transform into an alternate vehicle mode that either gives them added mobility, firepower, or flight. There’s no extra cost to transform; just press one button and off you go in your jet/car/tank/truck form.

Each of the four alternate modes are fun to experiment with, with the jet mode being the pinnacle of greatness. Instead of having the jet constantly be on the move, they instead hover on one spot and move like any hovercraft would.The tank and truck are solid, but I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more Autobot and Decepticon flyers on the online scene soon enough.

I do have to nitpick: perhaps the oddest thing about the car transformation is that it doesn’t seem to deal any collision damage when you use its turbo boosters. This makes that particular transformation not that useful apart from making a quick getaway and using its extra firepower.

Still, the overall shooter structure and the alternate transformed modes do shine cohesively when you consider the prospects of having  two other people playing with you either on the campaign or on Escalation (think Gears of War 2’s Horde Mode, but with robots). Having one player take point as a distracting flyer while you and another person outflank the A.I. can make or break the session you’re trying to complete.

Each character also have their own energon powers and skill based on their class: Optimus Prime can use a War Cry which buffs up every friendly unit’s damage around his vicinity while Breakdown can do an area-of-effect Shock Wave that gives him space when he’s overwhelmed by enemies. As you get overwhelmed by numbers and even heavily-armored minions, using these powers while making sure every shot counts is important.

You’d be surprised as to how Optimus Prime, Megatron, and the rest of the robots control; for a bunch of metal-based beings, they sure move fast and fluidly. Transforming into vehicle mode is as easy and seamless as a click of the left thumbstick (or the Y button if you wish to change it up). The responsive speed of transforming feels just right. You wouldn’t get caught with your pants down when you’re doing a double jump straight into a truck to ram down two to three robots in front of you, or when you’re up in the air in jet mode and wish to make a grand entrance by jumping down and using a Shock Wave attack on a group of enemies.

However, it wouldn’t mean jack if the A.I isn’t up to the task of challenging players. Short of the special boss fights which are enthralling to fight in and are challenging in their own right, the standard grunt A.I are 50% competent and 50% blank-staring dumb. At one instance, I got mauled strategically by a combination of flying Seekers and ground units, while at the same time I manage to blindside two enemies in a row with my melee attack right in front of their faces. The challenge going from one end destroying things to another, well, destroying even more machinery is uneven and sloppy. It’s even made worse at how the majority of the missions don’t deviate too much from “destroy all Autobots/Decepticon grunts to proceed”.

Though there was one mission which forces you to defend a single Autobot so that he can work on his objective, High Moon Studios could have at least added a bit more variety in mission structures. That said, the aforementioned boss battles help ease the boredom and the flying sections where I had to navigate tight crawlspaces while blasting Autobot/Decepticon jets are well-done.

I have yet to play through multi-player in more detail, but I’ll say this: it’s a shame that there’s no local split-screen co-op for both Escalation and multi-player mode. As much as it’s easy to connect online, nothing beats having a friend or three by your side playing on the same screen; it feels wasted that this was omitted in the final game.

Storywise, rather than tying this game to the recent Michael Bay travesty, TF:WFC is a modified origins story of how the Autobots  got ousted from Cybertron thanks to the Decepticons. Think of it as another version of the old Transformers: War Withins storyline. If you don’t know your Cybertronian lore, you’ll not find that much interest in the story.

Still, it’s simple and straight to the point; we’re not looking at Hemingway-like material, but it serves as a well-narrated excuse to make spare parts out of countless drones and giant robots standing in your way. Speaking of lore, fans will find a lot of fan service here and there, from lovingly-rendered vistas and pathways of Iacon and Kaon, to even the universal greeting mentioned by one Wreck-Gar from the 1986 movie.

The Bottom Line

TF:WFC isn’t what we call a ground-breaking concept of a game; rather it lets fans of shooters and Transformers lore let out their linear-structured destructive inhibitions. If you’re down with the war between these space automatons, then it’s a no-brainer of a purchase. Those not in that particular category might give this a rent first before deciding whether you’re comfortable playing the role of a axe-wielding robot that transforms into a red truck.