'Transformers' has impressive action
Tom Bennett
Issue date: 5/28/04 Section: Entertainment
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Children of the 1980s have long waited for a decent Transformers game. Takara first attempted to create a Transformers game for the Sony Playstation under the Beast Wars label with a truly awful result. The other Transformers game, Beast Wars: Transmetals, was even sparser, as the fighting game - yes, that is not a typo - was only available as a rental, probably to assure no one purchased the monstrosity. Fortunately, the third Transformers game in the United States, released May 11 by Atari, is nothing like its predecessors and is a fairly enjoyable game in its own right.
Transformers is based on the newest cartoon series, Transformers Armada, in which the Autobots and Decepticons battle each other for control over the Mini-cons, miniature Transformers that can become equipped by their larger counterparts for special abilities. The game has three playable Autobots - Optimus Prime, Red Alert and Hot Shot - and each character has its own strengths and weaknesses.
The game itself is mainly a third-person shooting gallery, as your particular Autobot takes on hordes of Decepticlones, the army created by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. The game's fundamental concept is to enter an area, take out as many Decepticlones as needed, find a few Mini-cons and then fight a Decepticon. Although hand-to-hand combat is an option, the experience is generally slow and not too entertaining, leaving your character open to attacks from nearby enemies. The most efficient way to take out enemies, however, depends on the particular style of the gamer, and the Mini-cons allow for plenty of custom-tailoring.
As the game goes on, various Mini-cons can be obtained to provide different special abilities such as a stealth shield and homing missiles. With up to four Mini-cons, one for each shoulder button, attached to your Transformer, many combinations are available.
Strategy comes into play as well, as each Mini-con has a power rating and a color code. The total of all the power ratings cannot exceed the maximum power rating for the Autobot you choose, and certain combinations of colors will provide boosts towards the character's statistics. Mini-cons cannot be switched on the fly, however, as the Autobot needs to return to base before swapping, encouraging players to at least think out a strategy before running into battle.
Transformers is based on the newest cartoon series, Transformers Armada, in which the Autobots and Decepticons battle each other for control over the Mini-cons, miniature Transformers that can become equipped by their larger counterparts for special abilities. The game has three playable Autobots - Optimus Prime, Red Alert and Hot Shot - and each character has its own strengths and weaknesses.
The game itself is mainly a third-person shooting gallery, as your particular Autobot takes on hordes of Decepticlones, the army created by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. The game's fundamental concept is to enter an area, take out as many Decepticlones as needed, find a few Mini-cons and then fight a Decepticon. Although hand-to-hand combat is an option, the experience is generally slow and not too entertaining, leaving your character open to attacks from nearby enemies. The most efficient way to take out enemies, however, depends on the particular style of the gamer, and the Mini-cons allow for plenty of custom-tailoring.
As the game goes on, various Mini-cons can be obtained to provide different special abilities such as a stealth shield and homing missiles. With up to four Mini-cons, one for each shoulder button, attached to your Transformer, many combinations are available.
Strategy comes into play as well, as each Mini-con has a power rating and a color code. The total of all the power ratings cannot exceed the maximum power rating for the Autobot you choose, and certain combinations of colors will provide boosts towards the character's statistics. Mini-cons cannot be switched on the fly, however, as the Autobot needs to return to base before swapping, encouraging players to at least think out a strategy before running into battle.
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