Post by Onix Solo on Jun 23, 2010 10:45:28 GMT -5
So I've beaten it. After playing from morning till night, and then a little more this morning I finished War For Cybertron. I'm only going to review the Campaign because that really what is important here, and I've not had time with the multiplayer.
Campaign
The campaign runs a surprising 12 to 14 hours played on the hardest difficulty. It is broken up into ten chapters, 5 Decepticon chapters and 5 Autobot chapters. Chronologically, the Decepticons chapters are chapters 1-5 and takes you through the events leading up to Optimus taking the helm of the Autobots. You can start on the Autobot campaign first, but I suggest otherwise. Not only because the logical flow of the story, but because it trumps the Decepticon campaign and will make the Decepticon campaign all the less entertaining.
Each chapter allows you to play single player, or 3 player co-op. Playing single player offers you the choice between the 3 Autobots or Decepticons that the level has to offer. I will get into the choices when I talk about each campaign specifically. Hitting it Co-Op would be great, especially with all 3 players. The characters offer up some great opportunities to make co-op a blast. some chapters give you a scientist(healer), some give you a character able to put out a turret or a shield wall. All of the choices are set up to give you an advantage if you tackle it with friends. Playing it single, you will not get these supports from the AI for the most part besides scientist, who still heal but are less effective than a human could be. Most of the chapters have about 9 or 10 checkpoint in them. You choose your character at first and then you play through the whole thing as that character. If you change your minds though, you can back out of the game, go to the chapter select menu and choose a new character and pick the most recent unlocked checkpoint and just right back into the chapter you were working on.
The entire game, for the most part, shares the same enemy types. You have your basic ground units, heavier missile units, snipers, fliers/seekers, and then more advanced, less common fodder of the brutes and tanks. Brutes come in two forms, one that carries a large shield and another that carries a turret. Tanks are giants and I won't go much further into that, but they are tough. Out of all the enemy types, the one I found the most difficult to deal with were the Fliers/Seekers. When in numbers there is almost nowhere to hide from them, they have a devastating strafe attack, and in robot mode they have miniguns which you don't get the pleasure of using until the last two levels as it is one of the more powerful weaponry.
And speaking of weaponry, there is a good variation. Missile launchers, 3 burst rifles, assault rifles, miniguns, EMP grenades, healing grenades, shotguns, and more. One of the most interesting thins I found were the turrets that you can mount, or more accurately, transform and combine with. Everything in this game is like that. Guns you pick up transform into your arm. You can detach the turrets for a heavy powered gun that is attached to you at the elbow and supported by the other hand. Interfacing with a terminal sees much of the same effect. It truly is a world of Transformers.
Now, If you have ever wished for a more mature Transformers experience, and you didn't find Bay's potty humor, sexual innuendos, and out of place cursing to be what you consider a mature transformers experience, than this is your ticket. While the game keeps the classic look, and the dialog is clean and family friendly, the events in the game, the robot-on-robot violence is the dream coming true, not to sounds sick in the head or anything. Transformers die in this. In the aftermath of a bombing run, robots crawl on the ground for their lives, or lay defensively on the ground just waiting for the inevitable, and what do your fellow AI do, they start capping them, leaving no man alive. It has put the war into the Transformers civil war. You feel like you are fighting for the Autobots or the Decepticons.
Decepticon Campaign
So, the Decepticon campaign is the first in the logical flow of the plot, though it might not have been the first in their original plan. The Decepticon campaign sees Megatron as he works to overthrow Cybertron and bring the world to its knees. How is he going to do this? Dark Energon, that's how. Dark Energon is the main pushing point inf the first few levels of the game. Dark Energon is a powerful derivative of energon produced by the ancients, but unable to be tamed. This leads him to everyone's favorite backstabber, and eventually to the final torn in your side, Omega Supreme.
Boss battles are common to the ends of each chapter, and I was impressed, for the most part, by their execution. In a lot of games boss battles can be tedious, and with only one major exception, WFC's boss battles were challenging but never really frustrating. The Decepticon campaigns boss battles were pretty decent, but they really don't compare with the Autobots. I felt that they really weren't as dedicated to the Decepticons as they were the Autobots. In the Decepticon campaign you only ever get two really iconic Autobots, and you only get to fight one. Boss battles in the Decepticon campaign were more of giant security systems or loads of cannon fodder AI.
The players through the Decepticon campaign are Megatron, Brawl, Barricade, Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Breakdown and Soundwave. Unfortunately, in both campaigns, you only get to use the fliers in one chapter. The fliers are a blast to play. In vehicle mode they can transition between hover and flying in a pull of the trigger, and they aren't the goofy slow jets like in ROTF either. In the rest of the Decepticon campaign you always have Megatron, and 2 of his lackeys. I opted for Megatron in all of these levels as he get his Iconic fusion canon and other useful abilities. Once again, having 2 other players would make a world of difference as it open up a lot more strategy with the skills. All the characters are very accurate to their G1 selves, or the ones you can actually compare. Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave sound and look the part. The bickering between the seekers is classic, and the whole game is just a fanboy's dream.
Autobot Campaign
The Autobot campaign picks up right where the Decepticon campaign ended. Optimus meets up with Bumblebee who has a message for him and it eventually lead to Optimus taking up the helm of the Autobots. After, he is tasked to undo the damage that Megatron has done. Oh, and that all leads to the battle with the biggest, baddest city sized dino we know.
The Autobot campaign is complete fan service. It really is the more compelling of the 2 halves. I encourage you, no matter how much you want to play as the Autobots, to tackle the Decepticon campaign first. I was enjoying the Decepticon campaign a lot, and it wasn't until I played the Autobot campaign that the Decepticon campaign just didn't seem as inspired. There are other reasons as well, like the elevated difficulty of the Autobot campaign. Yes, there are harder points in the Autobot campaign than in the Decepticon campaign comparatively. So, do yourself a favor into not lessening your enjoyment of the Decepticons, and play as them first.
Boss battles in the Autobot campaign are where it is all at. You will battle with 3 very iconic Decepticons, or should I say 6? Most of the boss battle in the Autobot campaign were at the same level as the Decepticons boss battles. They were challenging, but never really frustrating, the Autobots are better though, because of WHO you are fighting. One boss battle is another story, and that is the final boss Trypticon. Trypticon is the bane of the otherwise great Autobot campaign, and the only time I almost threw my controller. Be prepared to spend some time with this guy. It was unfortunate how it played out too. Omega was on of the least impressive character models, but he was a decent boss. Trypticon, one of the most impressive character models, turned out to be the most frustrating point in the game. I recommend tackling him with 2 other players if you can. The AI companions were almost completely useless in this battle. In the Omega battle he would sometimes go for the AI companions giving you time to breath, but ole Trypticon never relents on you. I had to turn it off and just sleep and beat it in the morning because it was just too taxing.
The Autobots players through the campaign are Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Warpath, Sideswipe, Silverbolt, Airraid, and Jetfire. Yes, the Autobots are given one extra guy and it isn't fair. Ole one optic should have been in the Decepticon campaign. All the Autobots are classic. Silverbolt is hinted to have a fear of heights, Bee is the rambunctious youngster trying to prove himself, and Warpath shouts wam and blam all the time. Even more so, the campaign is riddled with famous lines and all other sort of fans dream come true.
There is a lot more variation to the Autobot campaign than the Decepticons and it just made it the shinning star of the game.
Overall
The game is great. Its like playing the cartoon, with the violence just notched up. Its left open for another game. Possibly a WFC2 or maybe even seeing them get to earth, who knows. All I can say is that I want more from these guys as they really do love this property like we do. Now, I'm going to hit the multiplayer and turn a few people into slag. Enjoy.
Campaign
The campaign runs a surprising 12 to 14 hours played on the hardest difficulty. It is broken up into ten chapters, 5 Decepticon chapters and 5 Autobot chapters. Chronologically, the Decepticons chapters are chapters 1-5 and takes you through the events leading up to Optimus taking the helm of the Autobots. You can start on the Autobot campaign first, but I suggest otherwise. Not only because the logical flow of the story, but because it trumps the Decepticon campaign and will make the Decepticon campaign all the less entertaining.
Each chapter allows you to play single player, or 3 player co-op. Playing single player offers you the choice between the 3 Autobots or Decepticons that the level has to offer. I will get into the choices when I talk about each campaign specifically. Hitting it Co-Op would be great, especially with all 3 players. The characters offer up some great opportunities to make co-op a blast. some chapters give you a scientist(healer), some give you a character able to put out a turret or a shield wall. All of the choices are set up to give you an advantage if you tackle it with friends. Playing it single, you will not get these supports from the AI for the most part besides scientist, who still heal but are less effective than a human could be. Most of the chapters have about 9 or 10 checkpoint in them. You choose your character at first and then you play through the whole thing as that character. If you change your minds though, you can back out of the game, go to the chapter select menu and choose a new character and pick the most recent unlocked checkpoint and just right back into the chapter you were working on.
The entire game, for the most part, shares the same enemy types. You have your basic ground units, heavier missile units, snipers, fliers/seekers, and then more advanced, less common fodder of the brutes and tanks. Brutes come in two forms, one that carries a large shield and another that carries a turret. Tanks are giants and I won't go much further into that, but they are tough. Out of all the enemy types, the one I found the most difficult to deal with were the Fliers/Seekers. When in numbers there is almost nowhere to hide from them, they have a devastating strafe attack, and in robot mode they have miniguns which you don't get the pleasure of using until the last two levels as it is one of the more powerful weaponry.
And speaking of weaponry, there is a good variation. Missile launchers, 3 burst rifles, assault rifles, miniguns, EMP grenades, healing grenades, shotguns, and more. One of the most interesting thins I found were the turrets that you can mount, or more accurately, transform and combine with. Everything in this game is like that. Guns you pick up transform into your arm. You can detach the turrets for a heavy powered gun that is attached to you at the elbow and supported by the other hand. Interfacing with a terminal sees much of the same effect. It truly is a world of Transformers.
Now, If you have ever wished for a more mature Transformers experience, and you didn't find Bay's potty humor, sexual innuendos, and out of place cursing to be what you consider a mature transformers experience, than this is your ticket. While the game keeps the classic look, and the dialog is clean and family friendly, the events in the game, the robot-on-robot violence is the dream coming true, not to sounds sick in the head or anything. Transformers die in this. In the aftermath of a bombing run, robots crawl on the ground for their lives, or lay defensively on the ground just waiting for the inevitable, and what do your fellow AI do, they start capping them, leaving no man alive. It has put the war into the Transformers civil war. You feel like you are fighting for the Autobots or the Decepticons.
Decepticon Campaign
So, the Decepticon campaign is the first in the logical flow of the plot, though it might not have been the first in their original plan. The Decepticon campaign sees Megatron as he works to overthrow Cybertron and bring the world to its knees. How is he going to do this? Dark Energon, that's how. Dark Energon is the main pushing point inf the first few levels of the game. Dark Energon is a powerful derivative of energon produced by the ancients, but unable to be tamed. This leads him to everyone's favorite backstabber, and eventually to the final torn in your side, Omega Supreme.
Boss battles are common to the ends of each chapter, and I was impressed, for the most part, by their execution. In a lot of games boss battles can be tedious, and with only one major exception, WFC's boss battles were challenging but never really frustrating. The Decepticon campaigns boss battles were pretty decent, but they really don't compare with the Autobots. I felt that they really weren't as dedicated to the Decepticons as they were the Autobots. In the Decepticon campaign you only ever get two really iconic Autobots, and you only get to fight one. Boss battles in the Decepticon campaign were more of giant security systems or loads of cannon fodder AI.
The players through the Decepticon campaign are Megatron, Brawl, Barricade, Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Breakdown and Soundwave. Unfortunately, in both campaigns, you only get to use the fliers in one chapter. The fliers are a blast to play. In vehicle mode they can transition between hover and flying in a pull of the trigger, and they aren't the goofy slow jets like in ROTF either. In the rest of the Decepticon campaign you always have Megatron, and 2 of his lackeys. I opted for Megatron in all of these levels as he get his Iconic fusion canon and other useful abilities. Once again, having 2 other players would make a world of difference as it open up a lot more strategy with the skills. All the characters are very accurate to their G1 selves, or the ones you can actually compare. Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave sound and look the part. The bickering between the seekers is classic, and the whole game is just a fanboy's dream.
Autobot Campaign
The Autobot campaign picks up right where the Decepticon campaign ended. Optimus meets up with Bumblebee who has a message for him and it eventually lead to Optimus taking up the helm of the Autobots. After, he is tasked to undo the damage that Megatron has done. Oh, and that all leads to the battle with the biggest, baddest city sized dino we know.
The Autobot campaign is complete fan service. It really is the more compelling of the 2 halves. I encourage you, no matter how much you want to play as the Autobots, to tackle the Decepticon campaign first. I was enjoying the Decepticon campaign a lot, and it wasn't until I played the Autobot campaign that the Decepticon campaign just didn't seem as inspired. There are other reasons as well, like the elevated difficulty of the Autobot campaign. Yes, there are harder points in the Autobot campaign than in the Decepticon campaign comparatively. So, do yourself a favor into not lessening your enjoyment of the Decepticons, and play as them first.
Boss battles in the Autobot campaign are where it is all at. You will battle with 3 very iconic Decepticons, or should I say 6? Most of the boss battle in the Autobot campaign were at the same level as the Decepticons boss battles. They were challenging, but never really frustrating, the Autobots are better though, because of WHO you are fighting. One boss battle is another story, and that is the final boss Trypticon. Trypticon is the bane of the otherwise great Autobot campaign, and the only time I almost threw my controller. Be prepared to spend some time with this guy. It was unfortunate how it played out too. Omega was on of the least impressive character models, but he was a decent boss. Trypticon, one of the most impressive character models, turned out to be the most frustrating point in the game. I recommend tackling him with 2 other players if you can. The AI companions were almost completely useless in this battle. In the Omega battle he would sometimes go for the AI companions giving you time to breath, but ole Trypticon never relents on you. I had to turn it off and just sleep and beat it in the morning because it was just too taxing.
The Autobots players through the campaign are Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Ironhide, Warpath, Sideswipe, Silverbolt, Airraid, and Jetfire. Yes, the Autobots are given one extra guy and it isn't fair. Ole one optic should have been in the Decepticon campaign. All the Autobots are classic. Silverbolt is hinted to have a fear of heights, Bee is the rambunctious youngster trying to prove himself, and Warpath shouts wam and blam all the time. Even more so, the campaign is riddled with famous lines and all other sort of fans dream come true.
There is a lot more variation to the Autobot campaign than the Decepticons and it just made it the shinning star of the game.
Overall
The game is great. Its like playing the cartoon, with the violence just notched up. Its left open for another game. Possibly a WFC2 or maybe even seeing them get to earth, who knows. All I can say is that I want more from these guys as they really do love this property like we do. Now, I'm going to hit the multiplayer and turn a few people into slag. Enjoy.