I played Transformers: Fall of Cybertron when it was first released on the PS3 and it has now been made available on PS4. This re-release came as a bit of a surprise but it’s a great chance to give it a go if you haven’t previously. The game follows up from what happened in War for Cybertron and this time the Transformers home planet is under threat. The ongoing war between the Decepticons and the Autobots has depleted Cybertron energy resources and now the Autobots must find a new home. The story during the game is a little lackluster but the awesome third person combat and action makes up for it.
The game opens with a fast paced, action packed tutorial that perfectly demonstrates how to play the game and is immensely fun. The campaign in action-packed and relentless and what I loved about the game was how you get to play as different Transformers over the course of the campaign. Each Transformer has a different feel and play style which keeps the gameplay fresh.
What makes the game so enjoyable is the third person gameplay that feels a bit like Gears of War, with cover based shooting. There are also segments which see you transform into vehicle form and I have to say that the controls are great all round. Movement feels great but there could have been more variety in enemies and weapon types. You can choose to run in guns blazing or use cover and you can even switch shoulders in order to aim around objects, but the aiming can feel a little awkward at times. I tended to use cover as much as possible because simply running into the action tended to get me killed pretty quickly.
The level design is ok but once again there could have been more variety and styles of environments to fight through. The levels are challenging without becoming tedious or frustrating. Some Transformers are more enjoyable to play as than others which means that you may only enjoy some sections of the game. The campaign is a decent length but no way near as long as War for Cybertron’s if I remember correctly.
Fall of Cybertron also has online multiplayer modes. These are your usual modes that you would expect, like wave based mode, which is called Escalation. There’s also deathmatch, capture the flag, headhunter mode, and capture and hold. These modes allow you to customize loadouts and give you the chance to play as the Transformer that best suits you. None of the modes are particularly original when it comes to modern shooters, but the customization and classes to choose from adds a decent amount of depth and reason to give it a go. If you’re going to play any of the multiplayer modes, I would suggest giving Escalation a go, as you can play with up to four players and fight off challenging waves of enemies using your various skills and abilities.
Considering this was a game that came out on the PS3 four or so years ago, it still feels fun to play and it looks great on the PS4. The game runs fairly well and considering the amount of action happening on screen it doesn’t stutter too often. The overall presentation of the game is good, with smooth animations and awesome character models. The environments you fight through look impressive but I would have liked to of seen much more variety in terms of places you visit and objectives to carry out. The sound design is also very strong, with sound effects adding to the fast-paced action and the voice acting is good, although the writing is a bit off at times.
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron certainly does have its flaws but the intense gameplay makes up for what the game is lacking. The story is lacking and the campaign can feel a bit fragmented at times, but at least it tries to shake things up and it manages to introduce new mechanics and play styles through the campaign. The online multiplayer is also worth checking out even if it doesn’t have any modes that feel unique when it comes to modern shooters. If you like third person action games, shooters or even if you’re a fan of the Transformers franchise its worth checking out. If you haven’t played the game before it’s a great chance to give it a go on PS4 and play the best version of the game.
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation 4 code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
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