Home

News

Reviews

Games

Hardware

Downloads

Transformers: The Game

User Rating:

ESRB: Violence
Publisher: Activision
Genre(s): Action / Adventure
Home Page: http://www.transformersgame.com/

Game index

System Requirements

Review

Preview

Screenshots

Downloads

By: Aaron Barnes Jul 30, 2007

Robot powerplants ahoy!

There's little to be said regarding hardware requirements. Even a moderate system can run the game at a steady, playable frame rate at resolutions up to 1920x1200 (with standard art assets). While I don't recommend playing with Hi-Res assets because of the lack of proper lighting, the system requirements for playing with Hi-Res set to On are still relatively low in the context of contemporary PC titles. For a game which delivers such an uninspiring visual experience, the best that can be said is that the hardware requirements, both CPU and GPU, are justifiably low.

The only frame rate killer is full-scene antialiasing. To enable 2x or 4x AA, you should have at least the YouGamers' recommended system. On some older GPUs, disabling bloom lighting will earn you a few more FPS, but there aren't many video cards in widespread use which will have a problem rendering the game. As a testament to the low hardware requirements, I was able to get the game up and running on a dusty 128MB Get it! NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200-based card. With a 2.4 GHz Athlon 64, this card delivered nearly 25 FPS at a resolution of 1024x768. There is a definite point of diminishing returns with regards to hardware. After forcing vertical sync with my LCD's refresh rate through the video card drivers, the game never dipped below 60 fps with an Get it! Intel Core 2 Duo processor clocked at 2.4Ghz and a Get it! NVIDIA 7900 GT-based card, at a resolution of 1920x1200.

Unlock Generation One characters, like the G1 Megatron here.

A scene from one of the bonus levels on Cybertron. Dual-wielding Optimus Prime, not coming to a Halo game near you.

A great game not in disguise, unfortunately

Transformers is a simultaneous multiplatform release, as evidenced by the lack of mouse support in menus and omission of an in-game brightness slider. However, for a console-to-PC port, the control customization options are better than average. The mailed-in porting of the graphics engine to PC graphics APIs means that the advanced hardware capabilities of the PC aren't put to use. A promised destructible world doesn't deliver any excitement or add any significant gameplay advantage. These issues aren't necessarily game-killers, though, but bugs which prevent successful completion of missions are. A number of times, I would destroy a building which I needed to climb to complete an objective. Activision's site lists this and a number of other potential scenarios in which ancillary actions prevent completion of a mission. Sure, it's realistic, but a player shouldn't be able to tamper with crucial gameplay elements. And the Hi-Res / Shadows conflict? Please... that's just poor coding on the part of the developers, who were no doubt pressured to get the PC release on store shelves immediately following the film release.

As a childhood fan of everything Transformers, I've been waiting for an entertaining game which captures the Transformers universe. Unfortunately, Transformers: The Game doesn't satiate my inner child, and fans are left waiting for a respectable Transformers title. There's no lack of source material, and the license begs for more than this game delivers. It's telling that the PC release is priced at a value $19.99 U.S. price point; on top of the basic and at times frustrating gameplay, the visuals are sub-par and its controls are barely passable. More than meets the eye? Not here. Transformers: The Game barely lives up to the notion of what defines a video game.

Summary of YouGamers Hardware Testing

The publisher of this game state the following specifications for their minimum and recommended requirements:

Component	Publisher's Minimum	Publisher's Recommended
Processor	2GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon Equivalent	Not specified
Memory	256 MB
Graphics Card	64MB DirectX 9.0c-compatible card
Graphics Card Example	NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4200 / ATI Radeon 8500
Free Disk Space	4 GB
Net Link	Not specified

To learn more about how YouGamers performs its hardware testing, click here. Through our extensive gameplay and hardware testing across the full spectrum of PC configurations, YouGamers suggests that one should use the following guidelines for an appropriate minimum and recommended setup:

Component	YouGamers Minimum	YouGamers Recommended
Processor	AMD Athlon 64 3800+ / Intel Pentium 4 670	AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ / Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
Memory	512 MB	1024 MB
Graphics Card	ATI Radeon X1550 128MB / NVIDIA GeForce 6600 128MB	ATI Radeon X1800 256MB / NVIDIA GeForce 7900 256MB
Free Disk Space	4 GB	4 GB
Net Link	Not specified	Not specified

Scores

To learn more about our scoring methodology, please click here.

Gameplay	58	You get to control transformers and destroy things, but to call this an open-world game is a farce. A camera with a mind of its own and iffy controls muddle an already-muddled experience.
Graphics	55	A conflict with features of the graphics engine prevent the game's Hi-Res assets from being used, effectively sending the visuals into the stone age. But it's got bloom lighting! At least the hardware requirements are low.
Audio	50	The actors from the movie provide voice-overs, but that can't save the horrible audio experience, which is worse than the graphics.
Technology	49	Dips into the basement because of engine problems which ruin the visual experience. No support for positional audio or hardware acceleration. Also, an open world game should have levels which take more than 15 seconds to traverse.

OVERALL

Transformers: The Game is below average in every respect. Activision stuck a fork in this game and told the developers to ship it, finished or not, even with significant issues with the graphics engine. Coupled with a questionable game design, there's little of value here. Play this game only if you must control a transformer on your computer screen, but don't say you weren't warned. Optimus Prime would not be proud.

If you wish to comment on this review or talk about the game further, please head over to our discussion board - please click right here (registration not required).