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Transformers: The Game

Every academic field has its experts. There are countless fields to master: some take pride in mastering the complexities of mechanical engineering, while others may revel in the particulars of art history. There are even disciplines for the less ambitious expert-in-training: consider pop culture. Those of us who were adolescents in early 1980's America share an almost universal expertise in Saturday morning cartoons. One of the dominating forces of those half-hour toy commercials was Transformers. The robot-based cartoon had a rabid following, and the merchandising sales to prove it. Despite the blatant commercialism, Transformers will forever hold a special place in any fan's heart for showing us that good can triumph over evil – as long as conscious robots from outer space intercede in our affairs.

As is the case with such intellectual properties, Transformers was destined to become a feature-length movie. The young boys who loved Transformers are grown and have plenty of disposable income, creating the perfect market for a summer blockbuster. And with a blockbuster film comes a video game tie-in; witness Transformers: The Game, released for the PC on July 20 (and available in the U.S. only at Target stores). Despite a history of disposable films, Michael Bay managed to squeeze out a watchable and, at times, entertaining film. If even the infamous Michael Bay can't submarine the film release, then surely developer Traveller's Tales (Lego Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia) and publisher Activision can give Transformers due justice in a PC game?

Movie-licensed games are notorious for being rushed, bargain-bin titles. Even when associated with the most prestigious of films, video games based on movies rarely share the same critical acclaim as their film counterparts. So when highly anticipated films spawn video games, the result is often horrifying – from 1982's ET for the Atari 2600 to 2003's Enter the Matrix, evidence of unplayable games based on movies isn't hard to find. The Transformers license seems ideal for a game, even if released in conjunction with a summer film. After all, who can't translate two warring factions of giant, transforming robots into a sure-fire video-game winner?

Transformers: The Game has a simple concept: loosely follow the film's script for story, while interspersing the gameplay action with rendered cut-scenes that advance the narrative. As for gameplay, how about a sandbox world with main objectives and a number of side quests? Sounds like a solid-gold design document. But as we all know, excellent design is quickly trashed by poor execution, and it's the execution which dictates the quality of a title.

The cutscenes are well done. Here, Optimus Prime gives these two lovebirds a talking to.

Throwing police cars is an entertaining way to pass the time.

Numerous hit games are completely devoid of story, yet still utter fun to play (I challenge anyone to locate a story in Quake). As I waited for the game to install, I noticed something peculiar about the game's printed manual: the credits were omitted. An accident due to a rushed production schedule? Possibly. But game developers aren't above removing their names from releases that are known stinkers. Intentional or not, the abbreviated manual is an act of foreshadowing that I should have noted.

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Modes & MissionsPage 3: Transforming combatPage 4: Quality of graphicsPage 5: Hardware requirements

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