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You know, I’ve never played War For Cybertron, the 2010 game to which this one is a follow-up.
I’m not really a Transformers fan, so I never paid any attention. I now realize the
error of my ways. Because holy crap, this is the best Transformers game I’ve ever
played! It’s Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron for the PlayStation 3.
Look at those explosions.
Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?
Released earlier this year, Fall Of Cybertron is an action-packed third-person shooter obviously
based on the Transformers. The planet of Cybertron, the home planet of the good-guy Autobots,
is running out of Energon...which is, like, Gatorade for the robots. Listen, I don’t
know. Like I said, I’m not a Transformers fan.
I don’t know what the hell is going on. All I know is it’s fun and it involves shooting
a whole godd*mn army of massive alien robots...in their massive alien faces.
The first thing that struck me with Fall Of Cybertron is its production values. This is
definitely not the kind of thing we typically see from video games based on toy lines. This
is actually...good. You fight inside massive spaceships that are exploding while you’re
inside them, huge alien cityscapes that are crumbling all around you...it’s a welcome
reminder that, yes, licensed games can be awesome.
All it takes is love for the franchise and a little effort.
That polish carries over into the gameplay, as well. Fall Of Cybertron doesn’t do anything
groundbreaking, but it is a really solid shooter. Each of the game’s 13 levels gives you a
new Transformer, which is great because it keeps things fresh and allows the level designs
to cater to each character and their specific abilities. So you never really get bored,
because the game is always throwing you something new.
Of course, that only works because the core gameplay is so strong. Controlling huge robots
in a third-person shooter could’ve been clunky, but the game controls really well.
The shooting mechanics are great, too, and there are plenty of weapons and upgrades to
shake things up.
Now, the game does get a little Michael Bay at times...that is to say, huge explosion
overload. But taken a level or two at a time, it’s actually pretty thrilling. But one
major drawback is that Fall Of Cybertron is missing co-op play, which I understand the
first game did have. It has plenty of online options, but if you prefer co-op like me,
that’s definitely something to consider.
Still, I mean, I had a lot of fun with this thing. And again, you could stand Bumblebee
next to Starscream, and I couldn’t tell you which was which. I think it says a lot
when a licensed game is so enjoyable, you don’t even have to be a fan to have fun
with it. It’s hardly a masterpiece, and there are a few technical issues...but sometimes,
all you really need are some big explosions and a bucket of popcorn.
Fall Of Cybertron brings the ***. You bring the butter.