Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Hands-On Preview – Grimlock Love Battle!

39
Richard Walker

Most people grow out of playing with toys by the time they reach the age of eleven or twelve, but if like us you're a man-child fast approaching thirty, you probably still have all of your old He-Man figures, original Star Wars toy collection and maybe, just maybe you've even bought yourself some new action figures recently. However, Transformers will forever be cool, and to this day we have our old Scorponok standing pride of place on our desk, next to our G1 Blaster, Prowl and Soundwave, while we've been convinced to put the rest away in boxes. We love Transformers, which is why when we tell you that War for Cybertron was good and Fall of Cybertron could well be even better, you'd better believe it.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was the last game we saw at E3. As the showfloor was being taken to bits and everyone was filing out of the LA Convention Center, we wanted to soak up as much as we could of High Moon's Transformers sequel, but alas didn't get the chance. Fortunately for us, Activision managed to accommodate our wishes to play more of Fall of Cybertron, giving us the opportunity to go hands-on with three rather sizeable portions of the single-player campaign, preceded by a demonstration of the game's new multiplayer character customisation for the first time.

Our hands-on begins with Bumblebee aboard the Autobots' huge ship the Ark - a transport ship Optimus Prime and his posse are using to leave a dying Cybertron – as the Decepticons attempt to take over the vessel with huge mechanical clamps and tensile tow cables. Pouring in through the windows of the cockpit, the Decepticons launch their attack and Bumblebee springs into action. Assuming control of the plucky yellow Autobot, we get shooting our way through Megatron's minions, and happily the same third-person shooter gameplay from War for Cybertron is very much intact, albeit with some of the rough edges smoothed off a bit.

Transforming is still a mere button press and a quick animation away, with the iconic sound still present and correct as you change form. What we learn from Bumblebee's section is that the core gunplay remains just as weighty and satisfying as it was in WFC, with the story promising to be even more epic and compelling too. Visually, High Moon's extra effort also shows, with more colour and variation on show in this single portion of the game, while the addition of specularity and varying degrees of shine or wear to the copious metal on show also helps freshen things up somewhat. That same variety extends to the subsequent sections we get our hands on, the next of which is the Grimlock brawl we saw at E3 in June.

Facing off against the Insecticons while Kickback cajoles you from his perch above the battleground, controlling Grimlock is massively empowering. Armed with his sword and shield, Grimlock is a force to be reckoned with and actually getting the chance to take control of the rampaging Dinobot is fantastic, despite the limitations imposed on his ability to transform. His Rage meter accumulates at a pretty swift rate too, so before long you're able to transform and enjoy his extended cinematic animation as he changes.

For the final section of our hands-on demo, we're presented with a section playing as one of the five parts that make up the huge combiner, Bruticus. Vortex is a Combaticon, whose transformation enables him to change into a helicopter that in turn can fold its rotors away to boost like a jet. He's not quite a triple-changer, but he's near as damn it. Designed with Vortex's abilities in mind, the level we play through has us weaving through tunnels with our Combaticon buddy Blast Off, before the environment opens out and we're set upon from all sides by Autobot enemies. Dropping down to ground level, we're able to open a weapon pod that spawns a different random weapon each time you play, and the luck of the draw arms us with a rather tasty bit of heavy firepower, making decimating the Autobot forces and the turret churning rockets our way a blast.

Switching to his helicopter form, Vortex is also able to strafe enemies from a great height, raining missiles down on the unfortunate Autobot troops below. It's nothing that hasn't already been done before in War for Cybertron of course, but the core mechanics of transforming, blasting and exploiting the advantages of your character's alternate form is still enormous fun. Yet with such a diverse range of Transformers on offer, you're unlikely to be repeating the same kind of objectives, although the key components thankfully promise to remain the consistent throughout. If not, the game could prove somewhat schizophrenic.

'Variety' seems to be the watchword for Fall of Cybertron however, and given the somewhat repetitious nature of its predecessor, that can only be considered a good thing. Stir in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron's improved visuals, grander scale, slicker presentation and fan service with all of that variety, and you have something that should be more than meets the eye. Multiplayer too looks to be a much deeper and more absorbing experience, with more invested in your own Transformer thanks to the ability to level up and unlock a slew of body parts and accoutrements for your customised creation. High Moon has apparently thought of everything then, and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron feels like a proper sequel that exudes quality and polish. For further proof of that fact, you can check out the demo, which is available to download now. Till all are one!

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is out on August 21st in North America and August 24th in Europe.

Comments
39
  • I might get this. Nothing else really out in october.
  • 30 is long in my rear view mirror, and I still love Transformers!
  • Cant wait to play this and relive some great childhood memories. I wish they would have kept the co-op in and they could have left the escalation out. I don't need hoard in every game.
  • I did not like the multiplayer part of the demo. It's 90% the same as War for Cybertron (which I loved) and the 10% they've changed are very bad. I don't want to play the same game as some years ago when it's worse in the details. Classes, loadouts and perks just feel WRONG this time. Still waiting for the next competitive multiplayer game that blows my mind like Transformers: WfC, Red Faction Guerrilla, Gears of War 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Halo: Reach did. Gears 3, MW3 and Transformers FoC are big letdowns MP-wise and Red Faction Armageddon doesn't have MP at all :( My next hope is Halo 4, but I'm prepared for another disappointment...
  • @1 wrong month this comes out in 20 days then its september with borderlands 2 the october with AC3 then november with halo 4 plenty 2 play
  • @4 the thing i disliked most about the demo was that u couldnt double jump like u could in WFC
  • @6 I also hated the now super small HP cubes that are impossible to spot from a distance.
  • @1 Wrong month. @8 I think you're thinking of a different game. WFC was one of the most underrated games ever. In fact, most people stayed away because of bad reviews. And I hope you're not talking about Space Marine.
  • @4 Black ops, Red Faction and WFC blew your mind? It must not be able to handle alot then. As a massive fan of G1 from back in the day I found WFC disappointing but adequate. Wasn't over or under rated.
  • @8 and @9 space marine and WFC were two amazing third person games which were both underrated
  • Loved WFC and this game will be amazing.
  • @12 movie tie ins arent as bad as most people say seeing as they usually tell a different story than the movie or they intertwine the game so it is set between what u see in a movie. last but not least WFc is amazing and FOC will be better now please to save youself from future embarassment please stop trolling and go play COD or battlefield they are full of whiners
  • @14 I wanted to be on your side...but I just can't. Go play CoD or Battlefield? There goes any credibility you might have had....making insults like a 12-year old gets you nowhere. And movie tie ins ARE that bad. The fact that High Moon was even involved in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon game almost caused me to write FoC off altogether. It was that terrible. WFC was a fun, simple game. I think it should have sold better, but most figured it to be another crappy movie game. That being said, there was nothing amazing about it. It was a fun, simple, decently-made Transformers game. Definitely not AAA, but satisfactory. Still on the fence about FoC, but will likely pick it up thanks to the demo being decent.
  • @15 and @16 consider movie tie ins other than transformers and 14 what are the more established 3rd person shooters? and 16 fair enough that u cant b on my side :)
  • @#8: I think you didn't give it enough of a go. The game was amazing!
  • @19 u have some good games 1. Lego pirates- all 4 movies 2. Tron evolution- prequel story leading up 2 movie 3. Kung fu panda - tells the movie story and other stories 4. Transformers revenge of the fallen - tells the story with decent multiplayer 5. Captain america - lets u play a part which intertwines with the movie but doesn't actually happen in the movie. There is ur list :)
  • Welsh Dragon, you are just trolling now. If you don't like Transformers, then why do you keep coming in the threads? WFC's multiplayer was awesome, enough said.
  • im with RD here, it seems to me that the reason most people love the game, (whether a fan of the canon or not) is because the multiplayer offers much more versatility and overall fun than the yearly shooters like CoD and BF, IMO. ive played all the iterations of CoD and only the most basic changes are made to multiplayer each year but it still sells in the millions. to me war and fall will always be better just because they offer something different. whoever said its the same but with a transformers skin.... turning into a jet and flying around the map is more of a complete mechanic than a skin syrely!? its just one of the ways the gameplay offers players something different.
  • oh and to welsh dragon... i know you mean to say the gameplay of the single player is too simplistic, but maybe if you had the game on a harder difficulty you would find your goals more difficult to complete? or maybe you can just enjoy being a faceless miner killing swarms of voiceless creatures... who knows? but it seems you missed some of the point of the article here. the writer explains how much more effort high moon have put into versatility, like say having character specific abilities in place on each level.
  • @25 it is actually a bunch of fun games so it is you should try them to see what you think of them and try wanted weapons of fate that is also fun :)
  • I have Optimus Prime and Bumblebee from the War for cybertron games. Bought them when they were on sale at Toys R Us while i was still working there. Shame I lost the transforming instructions, I don't want to risk breaking them so I leave them in their Cybertronian form.
  • Yo Welsh grow up man seriously. I understand if you didn't like the WFC game that's fine its your opinion but that doesn't give you the right to come out here and call us delusional or in denial because our opinions differ from yours. Don't hate on number 21's list of movie tie in games, its his opinion. Respect it, if you want people to respect yours then you must respect theirs. So what if some fans think of the game as a Masterpiece, that's their opinion. I disagree, I thought it was a great that could have been better and not a MP but I'm not going to bash people for thinking so or for thinking the game was boring or bad. You know why because I understand that everyone's opinion is different, and no one's opinion is superior. If you can't stand reading other people's opinions because they differ from yours and you can't stand when they defend their opinions because you disrespect them then don't say a damn word.
  • @ 27. YouTube has transforming instructions for them.
  • Wow. Everyone hating on me for getting the wrong month. Not my fault they moved it forward.
  • @12 "The fact anybody who says a bad thing about the game gets a load of thumbs down in an instant is testament to how delusional most of the WFC fanbase are." So based on your logic that means every single gamer is delusional, since every gamer would thumbs down a comment in which that comment is speaking negatively about a game they like. It is like that on every article about a game. Someone says something bad, and the comment gets thumbs down. I dont know where you came up with this theory that people thumbing down a comment makes them delusional. Kind of stupid if you ask me.
  • @32 Dude give it a rest. Learn to understand that everyone has different opinions and preferences. Just because you found the graphics to be drab, the mechanics simple and view those as flaws doesn't mean others will regardless if they were fans are not. Not every fan of WFC views the game as a masterpiece either so stop making that ignorant statement. I for one loved the game, thought it was a great game but not a masterpiece. Even if they find flaws in the game there is no law that states that when talking about it that they have to list them. If someone only wants to talk about the positives and praise the game then let them, and it shouldn't bother you. Also going around saying that all the fans don't admit to the flaws is just plain ignorance and false. The fans have been very vocal about what they loved about WFC and what they disliked(flaws), and High Moon Studios has been taking in the feedback. They have said so themselves. There are tons of forums out there where they leave their feedback, twitter, facebook, emails, snail mail. There is no way in hell you have seen every WFC fan's comment on the game. Once again, if you see someone praise a game, any game or anything for that matter and don't mention the things you consider flaws it is no big deal. They don't have to mention anything wrong, if they don't want to. If they didn't find anything flawed then that's their opinion and you should not be disrespecting them because of it. Don't let something as stupid as that annoy you.
  • @32 I am a fan of WFC and I have friends who are too. Check my Gamerscore, I 1000d the game. Not once did I, nor any of my friends ever say it was a masterpiece. And there have been many times where my friends and I played the game and got angry at flaws in the game. You are making stuff up on the spot. Where does someone say this game is a masterpiece with no flaws? Every game obviously has flaws. I don't understand why you are so uptight and one minded on this. And I think the word "opinion" goes right over your head. Jeesh.
  • @35 I don't think you understand the concept that if you post something negative about a game in an article to do with that game, where majority of the people who view the article are fans, you are going to get thumbs down. Why do you take it so personally? And don't say you don't, otherwise you wouldnt be so riled up over it and constantly reply. If they thumbs down your comment is is most likely because they DISAGREE with you. And a lot of your posts are you making "statements" not saying your opinion. Now since you have realized you were being foolish before you are trying to dig yourself out of a ditch. Why don't you go to every other article and watch the same thing happen. Someone says something negative about the game, they will get thumbs down and usually someone will reply to them. You might as well go bitch to all of them as well. And if you are going to quote yourself, at least do it properly. You never said "I don't THINK it's as good as some people say". You said I love transformers but WFC wasn't as good as people say." As for saying you will replay the game, that is just ludicrous. Was that suppose to make you look like an udnerstanding individual? Or are you some sort of reviewer for games? Lets quote some of your friendly conversation. "Now why dont you list me some good movie tie ins. Im betting you can't name 5 on the 360. " "That is one of the worst lists of games I have ever seen, is that seriously what you have to defend movie tie ins? " If this so called war of words was started (which I honestly dont see how you determined that unless you are participating) then I must say you were being rude. And saying "This game sucks!" (which you did at one point) is not a bad thing either. You're entitled to that. I thought the singleplayer was pretty shitty, but I thoroughly enjoyed the multiplayer. As for why you are comparing it to team fortress and battlefield I have no clue. As for this trolling card I don't see anywhere someone pulling it on you. If you could please point it out, someone calling you a troll, I would appreciate it. Otherwise you are once again making stuff up on the spot. And lastly, @28 sums it up perfectly. You were acting like your opinion was superior, and were being rude in the process. You should re-read your first comment. I don't think you still grasp the concept of opinion. The only think opinionated about that comment was saying "I think they are in denial" which is really stupid to say just because someone things differently then you.
  • I'll deeply miss being able to co-op a Transformers game, but the quality of the single player campaign and the possibility of the multiplar modes being better (the multi in WFC wasn't bad but it wasn't in competition with other multiplayer modes for my time either) has me excited for the games release. :) I hope I get to play as Warpath again! :D
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