If there is one thing guaranteed to make a reviewer very wary it is a film tie-in, traditionally most of them are average at best and most of them are certainly not worth the cost of buying them. Certainly the original Transformers game fitted into that category. It was boring, with cut scenes that didn’t really relate to what you had just done when playing and characters you didn’t really care about. So when the inevitable happened and a game was announced to tie in with the second movie I was really really nonplus. Thankfully all my fears were unfounded, just as they were with the movie itself because the game is actually very good and definitely worth a purchase and playing. The game follows in a fashion the storyline of the movie, with the player getting to choose to either be an Autobot or a Decepticon and then discover what The Fallen actually is and deal with it dependant on what side you have decided to play as. Action wise this is a third person shooter where at will you can transform and either be your robot or vehicle form. The vehicle decided by which of the characters you are given. You are actually presented with your character at the beginning of every mission, but then later, if you wish, you can go back and try the mission again as a character of your choice. Each mission is actually a variation on a theme but is actually made very interesting and a challenge by being timed and you are rewarded by how quick you manage to complete it. The developers have actually managed to introduce an excellent combat system into the game, which was sadly lacking in the original. Each of the transformers has two main weapons and these can actually overheat which is a great idea because it stops you being reliant on one rather than the other. There are also melee attacks that you can perform and the most interesting of these happen as you come out of a transformation from your car to your robot form. As well as the single player mode there is a multiplayer for you to enjoy. These include death matches and also objective based assignments. These are quite interesting and will help to lengthen the time the game is played. Graphically the robots and cars are sharp, detailed and colourful. The animation, in particular during the transformations is flawless and the effects for the explosions etc are an absolute delight. Unfortunately the backgrounds and the areas you find yourself fighting in leave a lot to be desired as it is obviously that not as much attention has been lavished on them. This is a shame but thankfully it not completely to the detriment of the game. Sound wise several of the cast members lend their voices to the game which is excellent and there is a brilliant rock soundtrack. On top of this the sound effects of the explosions etc is top notch. So what is wrong with the game you say as there must be something, it is a film tie in after all? Well my only real complaint against it would be in the choice of the controls. In particular the right trigger because this is used for too many things. For one thing it is the accelerator when in car mode but it is also the thing used to initiate your transformation and also it is your fire button. Surely there are enough options on a 360 gamepad to not let this happen?
Anyway overall, forgiving this annoyance the game is actually well worth playing. Like the film it is not going to win any awards but especially for fans of Transformers it is well worth purchasing and I can easily say it is the best game featuring the characters in video gaming history. If nothing else it is definitely worth purchasing for the fun that is multiplayer. | 
XBox 360 
