Transformers: Devastation

When I heard this game was made by Platinum Games I didn't care to by the game, but I heard it got really good reviews. So I tried it out for myself and it turned out to be really fun. It makes you feel like you're watching the old 1980's transformers again. It's very creative on what's going to happen next and it is very fun. I highly recommend that you try it out and see what you think. If you play it and you like it, good. If you play it and you don't like it, that's OK too. But I really think it's very creative with the gameplay, the boss battles, and just how fun it is. Honestly, I can't even get my mind off of how fun it is. It will remain as my favorite transformer game out of them all.

Playstation's PSplus free games for the month program gets a lot off well-deserved stick (As of this writing April 2017's four free games for the PS4 are just this side of a war crime). Transformers: Devastation was the perfect free game for that service. It is a game I would have never thought of picking up and despite my criticisms below I did overall enjoy.

I certainly understand the defenders of this game. A peek at a message board or even the TV Tropes entry for this game will show a large amount of passionate worldbuilding surrounding the Transformers franchise from the cartoons and movies, to the novel and comic book adaptations, to the fan fiction, Wikipedias, toys and I am assuming an off-Broadway musical.

I certainly understand the appeal of nostalgia when it comes to a property like this. I loved a certain Scooby Doo platformer from last generation that let's face it I wouldn't have looked at twice if not for the branding. And the original Xbox sported not one but two Buffy the Vampire games that were certainly more fanservice than top quality third person adventure. (Why does Buffy die if she touches water again?)

I am not a Transformers fan. I am too old to have seen it during its original run and I have found the entire concept bizarre. I have found the sheer breadth of generations, universes, adaptations outright perplexing. The fact that the game has retained the original look of the cartoon with some of the original voices actors does not register with me. On the other hand, I am not about to commit seppuku due to the mishandling of Starscream's characterization.

Developer Platinum Games strengths are on full display here and the combat is overall a delight. It can take a while to get your groove on and it seemed a good hour before I gained access to the home base where I could upgrade weapons, create other upgrades, purchase additional moves and switch out my character. But once I was able to do these things the game was a delight. Outside of some bizarre top down, sections like a PG rated GTA 2 game and some unfortunate (though generous) platforming sessions, this game is a collection of third-person brawling and driving with the ability to switch between the two on the fly which allows one to do combos that simply never get old.

But good Lord is everything else a wreck. I actually like the cell shading graphics. They fit the retro theme and allow a butter smooth 60 frames a second. But the overall design lacks such imagination. You literally spend half the game in about twenty city blocks. All of which looks so identical to each other that you never get the sense of where in the city you are in though it is so amazingly small. It's like a cartoon version of Dragon Age 2. The rest of the time is spent in boring spaceship corridors, boring Cybertron corridors and empty space (that is supposed to be in well space) All the objects in the game look the same, all the enemies basically look the same and everything has this cheap cut and paste glow to it.

The overall game just feels cheap. It is also really really short. I don't mind short games but this one seemed to end somewhat suddenly. Replay value is there as the combat is fun but outside of that the challenge areas and different characters really don't mix it up enough.

As a free game on the PS4, it is perfect. Issues such as value and length fall by the wayside. But as an original $50 download… it really is less than meets the eye.

When I grew up, I loved me some Transformers; specifically, the 1980's incarnation. I watched the cartoon religiously after school, I had lots of Transformers toys and I saw the Transformers movie three times at the theater. When I saw the trailer for this game, I was immediately on board as it had the look of the cartoon I loved so as a child. That being said I never got around to buying it as it seemed to hover around so I was just going to wait for the price to plummet as most games tend to do. Well, I ended up getting it free due to my Playstation plus membership and I am glad I waited it out because I honestly would have hated to have payed full price for this game. Do not get me wrong, it looks incredible and the game play is fun, but it is really kind of on the short side. I think I managed to get through the story mode in four or maybe five hours tops. Basically, had this game been released back in the day it would have been somewhat forgivable; however, in this day and age where games can run over 100 hours, a four hour game is not really acceptable...at least not a full priced game. I am sure others may get more enjoyment out of the other mode in the game, but I play alone and do not really do much as far as online stuff so I felt a bit sad that it ended so quickly. That being said, I still enjoyed it for what it was as it did pass the time nicely and keep my mind off things and since I got it for free I will not be too harsh.

The story has some sort of invasion going on as Insecticons are overrunning a city! The Decepticons try to capitalize on this invasion to unearth a new power source so that they may rebuild Cybertron, but the cost of doing this will be Earth's destruction! The Autobots led by Optimus Prime must fight the Decepticons and get the power source off the planet before it goes critical, but it will not be easy as Megatron sends wave after wave of Decepticons after Prime and the Autobots to stop them from interfering with his nefarious plans!

The story mode of this game features driving around or walking to spots and then fighting Decepticons. I am guessing the other mode of play is more like a fighter game. You get various Autobots to choose from as you have Optimus Prime, Bumble Bee, Wheeljack, Grimlock and Sideswipe who was my personal favorite in the game. They all do different things and the combat is fun. I thought the weapons system though was a bit overly complicated as I would have just had them level up their weapons rather than having several different types of weapons for use. Just seems silly considering how short the game is to have the whole customize feature.

So, a good game and an interesting story in this one, but it is on the short side as far as the main story goes. It left open the possibility of a sequel, but I am not sure that will ever come to fruition as I do not think this was a particularly good seller. Seriously, how many young people want to play a Transformers game that is basically set in the style of the 80's cartoon? Though for reasons unknown they made Megatron turn into a tank instead of his gun self which was baffling especially since they had no problem letting Shockwave remain a gun. I enjoyed the number of Decepticons in this one as you see a lot of them from the show, but there really is not all that many Autobots. I was expecting them to show up perhaps in cameo type appearances, but no one does till the end where a sequel is hinted at. Still, it was a fun game, while it lasted anyways.

If your a fan of the 80's cartoon this will definitely please the most diehard Transformers fan. Once again its up to the autobots to save the day from the evil Decepticons. Packed with action and a great combat system and not to mention the wonderful voice acting from a few of the original cast. You can expect a great time with this title. The upgrade system is a little confusing but with a little patience you can figure it out. The game is a little short as well but it makes up for it with it's challenge mode full of metal crushing challenges and battles. I had a great time with this game. If your into TRANSFORMERS this is definitely a must own!

When I saw the Trailer of the game I knew I was going to love it. And I did!! I'm Not going to put any spoilers or anything i am just going to tell what the features of the game. Firstly the combat mechanics are AWESOME!! I mean crashing write in front of your enemy is awesome right? The story is great and the Graphics are good although the transformations don't look as good. But there's one HUGE problem..... The Entire Game is 9 HOURS. And that is combined with the bonus levels!! it took me 4 and a half hours to beat the story!! Anyway the game is A great game but a short one. It is an 8.2 (Greater than average)