Hot, Hot Bot-On-Bot Rock
The Transformers are coming to the big screen. And the small screen. And the smaller screen. We go hands-on.
Published: June 12, 2007
We got a peek at Activision and Traveller's Tales' adaptation of the Summer blockbuster a while back[/game], but that was on the 360, and when we tried to actually play the game, Activision reps threatened to pour battery acid all over our hands so we'd never play another game again. Given the number of channels that have to approve even the smallest publicity detail, though, we kinda understood, and just bided our time until we could actually play it on our precious PlayStation 3s.
Late last week, that day finally arrived, and what we saw was, not surprisingly, pretty close to what we first witnessed on the 360 -- which is to say a big ass world where we beat up on some robutts as both Autobots and Decepticons. If you haven't already read [preview=7116]our first preview, you probably should, as it covers the basics and we really just need an excuse to link to existing coverage (hey, it doesn't happen very often, alright buddy?).
This time around, we'll touch a little more on what's been happening to the game since we first saw it. For a first showing, the PS3 version of the game seemed pretty much in line with the 360 one. The framerate was at times a little wonky, but otherwise, it was quite solid. The same core game is there (though Activision smartly set up three or four different missions on each system so there was more to play through), which meant in no time we were running around the city, picking up cars and chucking them into buildings, watching the resulting explosion of debris tumble out into the streets, leaving the exposed skeleton of the building behind. It was all very War of the Monsters, y'see.
We were pleasantly surprised to see that some of the interaction with the environment was a little more solid this time around; objects like trees and light poles were easier to pick up, though in vehicle form, they were also much more obstructive, and more than once we had to be reminded that it was smarter just to transform out, jump over any roadblocks or pile-ups we'd caused and then transform back as we followed the familiar task of giving chase with Decepticons and exploring the bucolic down of what is now confirmed to be Tranquility, USA.
We learned that each of the game's little hub worlds have been peppered with a number of energon cubes, and when 20 of them were fetched, a mini-game could be started by grabbing another gleaming cube. These range from fighting in an arena to racing against other Transformers, and they seemed like nice little distractions. Of course, the in-world bonuses that are administered by going really fast or jumping long distances or beating up lots of enemies (including the drones created for the game, four of which will apparently be turned into Hasbo toys) are still here and now it was revealed they'd be used to unlock some of the game's bonuses, like Generation One skins (yes, that's the stuff from the 80s cartoons) and clips from the movie.
Transformers: The Movie is, at its core, a simple little beat-'em-up with some nice environmental interaction and light exploration. Whether some of the more nagging issues we had like sloppy vehicle controls (though the Decepticons can be controlled with the SIXAXIS in flight mode) or the weird collision and wonky camera will be addressed in time for the game's release is still up in the air, but regardless, there's no denyng the allure of big ass robots kicking the crap (er, oil?) out of each other.
Late last week, that day finally arrived, and what we saw was, not surprisingly, pretty close to what we first witnessed on the 360 -- which is to say a big ass world where we beat up on some robutts as both Autobots and Decepticons. If you haven't already read [preview=7116]our first preview, you probably should, as it covers the basics and we really just need an excuse to link to existing coverage (hey, it doesn't happen very often, alright buddy?).
This time around, we'll touch a little more on what's been happening to the game since we first saw it. For a first showing, the PS3 version of the game seemed pretty much in line with the 360 one. The framerate was at times a little wonky, but otherwise, it was quite solid. The same core game is there (though Activision smartly set up three or four different missions on each system so there was more to play through), which meant in no time we were running around the city, picking up cars and chucking them into buildings, watching the resulting explosion of debris tumble out into the streets, leaving the exposed skeleton of the building behind. It was all very War of the Monsters, y'see.
We were pleasantly surprised to see that some of the interaction with the environment was a little more solid this time around; objects like trees and light poles were easier to pick up, though in vehicle form, they were also much more obstructive, and more than once we had to be reminded that it was smarter just to transform out, jump over any roadblocks or pile-ups we'd caused and then transform back as we followed the familiar task of giving chase with Decepticons and exploring the bucolic down of what is now confirmed to be Tranquility, USA.
We learned that each of the game's little hub worlds have been peppered with a number of energon cubes, and when 20 of them were fetched, a mini-game could be started by grabbing another gleaming cube. These range from fighting in an arena to racing against other Transformers, and they seemed like nice little distractions. Of course, the in-world bonuses that are administered by going really fast or jumping long distances or beating up lots of enemies (including the drones created for the game, four of which will apparently be turned into Hasbo toys) are still here and now it was revealed they'd be used to unlock some of the game's bonuses, like Generation One skins (yes, that's the stuff from the 80s cartoons) and clips from the movie.
Transformers: The Movie is, at its core, a simple little beat-'em-up with some nice environmental interaction and light exploration. Whether some of the more nagging issues we had like sloppy vehicle controls (though the Decepticons can be controlled with the SIXAXIS in flight mode) or the weird collision and wonky camera will be addressed in time for the game's release is still up in the air, but regardless, there's no denyng the allure of big ass robots kicking the crap (er, oil?) out of each other.