Transformers - The Game

Activision's next summer blockbuster arrives with a bang. Transformers fans weren't eager to embrace the movie when it was first announced but subsequent trailers have warmed them up to the idea. It's gone from "Why bother?" to one of the summer's most anticipated movies. But it wouldn't be a summer blockbuster without a big game attached. Thankfully, Activision and Traveller's Tales have filled the void.

Transformers' story is apparently loosely based on the movie, which is in turned based on the Transformers universe. It tells the battle between two transforming machines, the Autobots (good) and Decepticons (bad). Their battle has moved on to Earth where something called Allspark is now found. Both groups anxiously want to take control of the device and desperately want to make sure it doesn't fall in the hands of the other side. The story works out well and begins with an excellent CGI introduction by Blur Studios and manages to hold your attention.

Transformers lets you choose which side you want to play as, either the Autobots or the Decepticons. The game lets you switch between both sides easily and has a separate storyline, written by the movie's author, for each side. If you play as the Autobots, you’ll take control of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and company as you try to find the AllSpark and save humanity. The Decepticons simply want to destroy the Autobots and take control of the AllSpark. The game lets you roam around the city looking for new missions. Transformers doesn't break new ground with its mission design. The missions are generally simple. You're trying to find or collect something, rescue someone, destroy a particular enemy, or compete in a race. As with other movie licenses, Traveller's Tales included a number of new characters to beef up the storyline. The PC version supports the Xbox 360 controller, although the game is still plenty playable with a keyboard and mouse.

Transformers does include a good amount of unlockable, bonus content. By completing certain objectives and chapters, you'll be able to unlock playable characters, movie trailers, and artwork. The core storylines take four-to-five hours a piece, but the unlockable content does a good job at increasing the replay value of the game.

The game's graphics are great. Traveller's Tales worked with CGI house Industrial Light & Magic, which worked on the film, and was granted access to the character models used in the movie. The result is fantastically detailed characters. You can see every moving part and see how they actually transform from vehicles to robots. The environments don't quite share the same level of detail but do end up looking pretty good thanks in large part to the game's great lighting effects (which are just a touch better on Xbox 360). The game does have quite a few framedrops on PS3 and Xbox 360, some of which are quite bad, but those are not frequent enough to tangibly affect the gameplay.

The sound package is even more impressive. Activision managed to get the key cast members like Megan Fox, Keith David and Shia Lebeouf in the game, in addition to Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, who were the original voices of Optimus Prime and Megatron. The soundtrack is mostly comprised of modern rock songs, which is in sync with what we expect from the movie. The game's various sound effects, especially the explosions, are all good.

Transformers doesn't make any radical changes to the classic action game genre, but it does have likeable characters and top-notch production values, coupled with enjoyable gameplay. For a Transformers fan, that's more than enough. Your new summer blockbuster has arrived.