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Earlier this year, I noticed a buzz within a certain generation of my friends and family on Facebook and Twitter.
Duran Duran was coming to town.
The darned concert quickly sold out, too. When you've got the city's mayor live tweeting the event while marking out like a teenager, well, that's the power of wolf-like hunger combined with nostalgia for you.
Then again, geeks such as myself have certain 1980s relics that warm the co*ckles of our hearts, too. One of those is the first-generation or "G1" Transformers cartoon. As someone who remembers playing Transformers games from the NES onward, I admit that many of them really weren't that good. It wasn't until High Moon's "War for Cybertron" that I felt a game did justice to the franchise and felt like a AAA title instead of a quick cash in of a popular IP. Then again, High Moon has been shuttled over to help out with the Call of Duty franchise these days so there hasn't been a solid Transformers entry since it did "Fall of Cybertron."
Enter Platinum Games.
Known most recently for the excellent Bayonetta 2 game for the Wii U, the Japanese studio was tasked with giving life to the next robots-in-disguise entry with "Transformers: Devastation." Instead of adopting the same modernized, shooter approach of the High Moon games, Platinum decided to rely on what it knows best. That would be juicy fast-paced, beat-em up action, which it also decided to coat with a shiny, cel-shaded hard shell in the guise of, yep, the original G1 cast. The result is a wild ride filled with nostalgia and metal fists of fury, plus an assortment of melee and ranged weaponry.
First off, the game really nails the character models as far as the looks department. The cel-shading, for one, makes the Transformers look like their cartoon forms come to life, albeit with changes to their car forms likely due to licensing issues. As a result, Bumblebee doesn't quite look like a VW Beetle and Sideswipe sorta-kinda looks like a Lamborghini Countach but not really. Their robot forms, though, look dope and the fact that the game has my top 3 favorite Autobots playable — Prime, Sideswipe and Grimlock (smash!) — as well as Bumblebee and Wheeljack plastered a silly grin on my face that's befitting of a terrible meme. Even my brother did a double take when he saw what I was playing on the big-screen TV, causing him to stay a while and listen because, well, it's G1 Transformers, dude. Sadly, the game's actual environs are a bit underwhelming, though, which is a bit of a letdown. The story is also kiddie-cartoon quality but so was the original G1 cartoon so that's just par for the course.
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The gameplay, meanwhile, is largely solid, particularly when it comes to the melee mechanics. It actually borrows heavily from Bayonetta's combat system, though it doesn't have the depth of combos that its naughtier cousin has. You start out with basic weak and strong combos that can be capped off with a vehicle attack where you transform to land a powerful slam. You also have a Witch Time-style, last-second dodge mechanic that slows down the action briefly so you can counter with your own attacks. Rounding out your melee moves are special skills unique to each character as well as a super move that can be triggered by pressing down on the analog sticks.
There's a certain rhythm to the combo chains that rewards timing over button mashing. A basic string, for example, lets you chain basic attacks into a vehicle slam, which then leads to a charge attack on your next move that you can unleash right away or delay in case you need to dodge. If the charge attack successfully connects, you can chain it to another vehicle slam, which opens combo possibilities again. It's a system that's specially rewarding during fights with a high HP attack sponge like Devastator as you can constantly weave in your attacks, read his moves to Witch Time the sucker as necessary and do a metal-on-metal ballet almost nonstop. It's like dancing on the razor's edge as a whiffed With Time can cause you to eat damage that way more than meets the eye. I also love how the game seamlessly incorporates robot and vehicle mode switching during combos, especially when compared to the vehicular experience that seem more akin to lip service in other Transformers games. Each robot also plays a bit differently with Prime being more of a bruiser, Bumblebee a weaker but faster melee attacker and Sideswipe being a slashing sword master. With rockets. Lots of rockets. Like Nacho Libre's Ramses, dual-wielding Sideswipe is the best.
Vehicle sections are also fun, including chases where you have to navigate obstacles while attacking a target. Ranged attacks, on the other hand, are a bit of a disappointment. They seem as if they're just, well, there and feel like a tacked-on experience, to be honest. While High Moon's games are essentially shooters with a little melee, Devastation is more a melee action game with a little shooting, which isn't a bad thing necessarily but I wish there was a little bit more meat in the ranged encounters. Also not quite ready for prime time is the weapon hunting and upgrading system which isn't as intuitive and feels more like a chore at times. It's a concept that certainly has potential but didn't really provide the bang for the buck that I hoped it would. Also, while the ability to buy moves and customize your Transformer helps add diversity, it still doesn't compare to the breadth of combo and move options available in Bayonetta, so the game can feel repetitive at times. The camera, meanwhile, can get wonky during battles, which can be frustrating when you're in the zone and owning a boss, only to sustain a damaging attack or combo because you can't see what's going on. You can compensate by memorizing the timing of combos and using audio cues to dodge so you can literally play blind, but it can still be annoying. I also wish there was an option to play as those dastardly Decepticons.
FINAL VERDICT
Despite a few issues, "Transformers: Devastation" nails close combat with its Bayonetta-style mechanics as well as the best integration of robot and vehicle modes in a Transformers title's gameplay. Add a heavy dose of nostalgia with its G1 characters and you have a worthy addition to the Transformers gaming catalogue for fans both young, old and in midlife.
- Rating: 4 out of 5
- Cost: $50; PS3, PS4, X360, XB1 (review based on Xbox One copy)
- http://www.transformersgame.com/
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