Transformers have always been a part of my life. I grew up watching the 80’s Generation 1 cartoon, collecting many different Prime’s and other bots in the coarse of many years. Every year seemed to have new Transformers products, but never any succesfull Transformers videogame. Highmoon Studios surprised the world with their take on an untold Cybertronian story. Transformers War for Cybertron finally gave fans a chance to experience true Transformers gameplay in a setting none had used before.
Will Highmoon Studios sequel Transformers Fall of Cybertron prove to be more than meets the eye? Let’s find out!
The Exodus.
In Transformers Fall of Cybertron all is lost. The Autobots are mass-evacuating the planet because their world is dying. Most energon reserves are dried out and Megatron is destroying every vessel that is trying to leave Cybertron without his permission. Only one spaceship remains to carry Optimus and his remaining soldiers accross the stars. The Autobot’s last hope is finding enough energon to fuel the collossal ship known as the Ark and escape the clutches of the maniacal Decepticon leader Megatron.
Transform and roll out!
Transformers Fall of Cybertron isn’t your standard shooter. Using your character specific abilities and alternate modes is the key to succes and creates a highspeed adrenaline pumping rollercoaster ride. Players will experience the campaign story through the eyes of numerous Bots and Cons. You will have to infiltrate a Decepticon facility using Ciffjumper’s newest stealth upgrade, grapple around levels with Jazz, commanding the huge Metroplex as Optimus Prime and more awesome stuff. The campaign feels much more structered this time around and character’s really feel unique because of their special abilities.
During your adventure you will come across many hidden audiologs that contain additional information about the last days on Cybertron and even offer you some tips if you can read between the lines. Secret blueprints are also scattered around the campaign and unlock new weapons, assault and utility tech. I recommend obtaining them all to give your weapons and tech an enormous boost in ammo, recoil and special abilities. It will also come in very handy when you tackle the Hard difficulty of Fall of Cybertron. The energon shards you collect throughout the game are used as currency and needed to buy upgrades, tech and perks. Most perks you unlock are permanent and can be used by all characters in the campaign. Just walk up to a Teletraan 1 terminal to log in and check out what you can buy or upgrade. The coolest part of the campaign are the many subtle references to the G1 cartoon and animated movie. Keep a look out because there are many easter eggs hidden in the campaign.
More than meets the eye.
Some people complained that War for Cybertron did not really offer any diversity from a graphical point of view. Highmoon Studios made sure that Fall of Cybertron did not suffer the same criticism. Fall of Cybertron looks gorgeous! The surroundings are grand and diverse, even though Cybertron consists mainly out of metal. The huge setpieces are a sight to behold and the Cybertronian forms of many of your favorite Bots and Cons are detailed and stylish. Stomping around as a space T-rex never looked this good!
You’ve got the touch!
The music in Transformers Fall of Cybertron is loud and pretty epic! Picture yourself ramming Decepticreeps in truck form while being rushed by a movie quality soundtrack. It surely adds to the adrenaline pumping rollercoaster ride that is Fall of Cybertron.
Peter Cullen is back to voice Optimus and let’s be honest, the man will never be replaceable. He’s an icon that made Transformers what it is today. Overall the voice acting is excellent. I loved the way Jazz and Cliffjumper sounded, it was like watching an episode from the G1 cartoon. Their banter give the characters some real chemistry and even more important: personality. I do have one complaint. Bumblebee doesn’t have a voice. I always hated that in the movies and it saddens me that Hasbro forced Highmoon Studios to incorporate this in their game.
The soundeffects in Fall of Cybertron are also loud and abundant. You will recognize the original transforming sound and stuff blows up convincingly. The scraping of metal, firing large overpowered weapons and huge explosions are all there.
Let’s roll out! Or is there more stuff to do?
Finishing the campaign on the Normal difficulty setting will take about 12 hours. But what is left to do after you’ve escaped Cybertron? I mentioned before that you can find a bunch of secret audiologs and special blueprints for weapons. It will take a while, but the rewards will be essential for completing the campaign on Hard. During the campaign I also found many hidden easter eggs that will definetly give most Transformers fans some serious botgasms! Play a mini-game in Megafun’s arcade, relive your short reign as Decepticon Emperor, watch tv in Grimlock’s chamber and many more. Highmoon Studios did a real good job.
Even though there is no co-op campaign mode in Fall of Cybertron, players can still enjoy co-op with the Escalation mode. You will have to face 15 waves of merciless adversaries to complete Escalation.
The multiplayer is bigger, better and faster. The different modes are Team Deathmatch, Conquest, Capture the Flag and Headhunter. With Headhunter being the coolest addition in my opinion. The objective is to collect as many heads of fallen enemies and turn these in for points. Prepare yourself for some chaotic robot warfare that never stops being fun. As you can see, players will have enough to do this time around.
The new customization options for the multiplayer are really impressive and Highmoon Studios made sure you can really build your own unique Cybertronian warrior. There are a total of four classes available: Infiltrator, Destroyer, Titan and Scientist. All parts in the customization mode are interchangeable and let me tell you there are a lot of parts! Fancy an Optimus Prime with a Soundwave head? It’s all possible in Fall of Cybertron. The day one DLC adds Wheeljack, Zeta Prime, Perceptor, Blast-off and Ultra Magnus to an already impressive lineup and lets players use their parts to create an even cooler bot. The next DLC will add Dinobots Grimlock, Swoop, Slug and Snarl to the multiplayer and will surely cause a Dinobot overkill next week. I can’t wait to fly around the map as Swoop, one of my favorite Dinobots. The third DLC will grant players an awesome G1 Optimus Prime skin that can be used in the campaign and multiplayer modes of the game. You also get a G2 Bruticus skin, the Insecticons and some more good stuff.
Even though I am not a fan of paid DLC I will surely end up picking up all the DLC. Curse Primus for my fanboyism!
Till all are one!
What can I say? Fall of Cybertron has improved since it’s predecessor in every way. The campaign is awesome and coated in epicness and really lets players experience the hardships the Autobots had to endure before blasting off into the sea of stars. The character specific missions work really good and give characters a genuine personality. Cliffjumper the Infiltrator, Optimus the Commander, Starscream the Traitor, etc. Get ready for a thrilling story about the last days on Cybertron.
The Autobots and Decepticons look detailed and are very recognizble, Cybertron is a metal work of art and transformations are fluid and fast. I can’t wait what Highmoon Studios will come up with next.
Peter Cullen’s voice is one of the things that will give you multiple botgasms and is essential to relate to the original character. The other voice acting is also done very well and I loved listening to the numerous dialogues between Cliffjumper and Jazz. Explosions are loud and scraping metal is heard everywhere. The sounds in Fall of Cybertron are as solid as a rock.
Fall of Cybertron has lots of replay value. There are audiologs to collect for the people that do not want to miss a single piece of Transformers lore, Blueprints to add new weapons and upgrades, co-op Escalation and a rich multiplayer experience. The game will keep a Transformers fan hooked for months and I can’t believe non-Transformers fans will be able to resist this wonderful game either.
I really recommend picking up Transformers Fall of Cybertron. Let’s be serious, who doesn’t want to command a colossal city size Transformer or bloodthirsty space T-rex? I know I sure do! Till all are one!
