558th played so far
Genre: Action
Platform: PlayStation 2
Year of Release: 2004
Developer: Atari Melbourne House
Publisher: Atari
I don’t think I ever owned a Transformers toy, but the idea was so cool when I watched them on TV. Giant robots that transformed into cars an other machines? Awesome. Even if the one that turned into a small tape recorder boggled my mind even when I was younger but overall the idea was exciting (and when you had several of them combine, Power Rangers style, I think my mind was blown).
Transformers the game is a 3D action game set in these large semi-open world level – like many more 3D platformers, although it’s not as platform-like. Beyond that, I don’t know much of what to expect.
Our Thoughts
For a large part, this game does what it wants to do well. You go out as a Transformer (in my case Optimus Prime, of course), explore these large areas, shoot Decepticons and progress. It’s good and plays well within the franchise. Not all of it works that well though.
While you can transform, you mostly really need the robot form, and I didn’t find myself playing as the vehicle much. There was a lengthy mountain path with jumps set up for it, but it felt quite situational – I don’t see how you’d include it, and it might be better outside the jungle the first level is in, but it certainly felt lacking here.
If you miss the jumps in the mountain path, you end up in the ravine. Supposedly there’s ramps or places where you can race up to get out of it, but it’s dark and brown enough that I couldn’t distinguish anything except for the main path out (which is back to the start of the path, rather than allowing you to get partway through as they imply).
Still, a lot of the time these are the blemishes on a decent action shooter. The waves get overwhelming, but respawns frequent and gentle enough that they’re rarely a real problem. Collectables are plentyful and easy enough to find. Some of these power up your character while others give access to art and audio related to the franchise, giving a nice background look. There’s a lot of nice variation there.
Final Thoughts
I’m not sure this is the perfect game for the series. It’s close, but squanders some of the potential. You don’t quite feel like a giant transforming robot, sometimes you’re just another shooter protagonist (thinking back to it, the ruins can actually seem a bit oversized when you realise how large Optimus Prime is). Still, it’s a lot of fun to play the game, as long as it stays bright enough.