Hands On: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

I’m not the most qualified person on the TSA staff to attend a press event that features a Transformers game – that honour certainly goes to Tuffcub – but thankfully the gameplay demonstration for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron started with a “Let’s pretend you don’t know anything about Transformers…”

That’s something quite important for this game to manage, to be accessible to those that don’t have a clue about Transformers, those that have only watched the recent films, existing players from Transformers: War for Cybertron and, obviously, all the huge fans like Tuffcub.

Speaking of Tuffcub, I can probably send you back to his preview back in March, where he saw some gameplay footage and also interviewed Matt Tieger, the game director for Fall of Cybertron. He didn’t get to play the game back then, but did see a lot of footage that I also saw. I do have some more tidbits to share beyond that quite comprehensive article, though.

Following on from the gameplay demonstration, which featured segments TC discussed, with Optimus Prime commanding the utterly massive Metroplex, Starscream’s attempting some of his typical backstabbing and, of course, the much talked about appearance of Grimlock, I actually got to go hands on with the game.

[drop2]Not having played War on Cybertron, I was kind of glad to be able to run through the opening mission, which also acts as a bit of a tutorial, as you play Bumblebee trying to assist Optimus Prime and your fellow Autobots repel the Decepticons from the Ark.

It ties in directly to the end of the previous title and works well as an introduction, showing you the basics of the controls, getting you up to speed with the game mechanics, and dropping you right in at the deep end with the plot.

After that I played a section later in the game, and switched allegiances to play as Vortex, a transformer with two vehicular forms, and one of the Combaticons who form the huge Bruticus.

Vortex is on a mission to destroy a bridge that the Autobots are trying to cross, and early on it lets you explore the switching from chopper to fighter jet, as you dodge lasers through the level and before you have to engage real enemies. With so many different Transformers being playable characters throughout the game, and with many of them having different forms and abilities, it’s important for players to be eased into learning to control them, and this kind of level design certainly helps.

Before long, the purely flying section comes to an end and you have ground enemies to take on. You land on a bridge, progress forward a little and suddenly the world opens up. One of the common complaints made of War for Cybertron was that it was often just a corridor shooter, but here, there’s just a huge arena with a whole host of enemies, and loads of angles of attack for you to try.

So, I tackle a handful of Autobot henchmen, and set off to the skies. It’s the first time I’m trying air combat against ground targets, though, and I get too fixated on one enemy, and shot down by a big missile turret. Alright, time to take out that missile turret, but this time I’m taken out by the ground troops. Looks like I need to take the whole battlefield into account, and find a bigger gun!

Third time lucky, and I fly to a higher point, take out the Autobot there, grab a missile launcher, take out the turret, and can start battling with other enemies around me. A friendly tap on the shoulder, and Matt Tieger (who, much to my embarrassment, has been watching me die repeatedly) points out some handy weapon drop points that might help.

Unlike the upgrade portals, where you can buy newer guns, these are randomised large weapons or perks that can give you the edge in a battle. In this case it’s a crazy gloop gun that fires out a big golden glob of corrosive liquid with splash damage. Very useful for clearing out some more Autobots in an area below me to finish this section of gameplay.

In my case it paid to hang back with Vortex and get a different angle of attack and bigger weapons. Naturally, he plays differently from other Transformers, but even within the context of just his abilities you’d be able to experiment and find you own style of play, and the level design looked like it really tried to facilitate that.

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To round out my gameplay time, Matt was very eager that people get to actually play as Grimlock, the leader of the Dinobots, because, lets face it, a transformer that turns into a dinosaur is just cool! Grimlock and his fellow Dinobots play out very differently to the other transformers, since he is a purely hand-to-hand combat kind of guy with a sword and shield. He also can’t transform at will, needing to build up his Rage meter through close combat in order to do so.

Where I got to play as him was a bit of a boss battle, with a large Insecticon charging at me in a small arena. Tackling this opponent was just a simple sidestep to get out of the way and then cut him up with my sword as he’s stunned from running into a wall. So far, so gaming cliche, but after a couple goes round, a whole host of smaller Insecticons pour into the arena. Luckily just in time for Grimlock to really lose his temper, as his Rage meter is all filled up, and a great cinematic to see him turn into a T-Rex.

Now it’s all just carnage. You’re kicking Insecticons about, swiping at them with your tail, and breathing fire on them. I’m not really doing it justice with my description, and Matt was probably right in saying you need hands on with Grimlock to really get it. It’s just a good laugh, combining a bit of pure fun with some great fan service that demonstrates yet again how much love for Transformers the developers have.

Whilst the Multiplayer wasn’t on show today, there is news for this fairly popular component from the previous game, an aspect with High Moon are really eager to expand upon further. Competitive modes and the co-op Escalation mode will be returning, but the big news is about customisation.

Whereas previously you were able to pick a basic model, class, vehicle form and then modify colours, now you’ll be able to switch out practically every part of your own custom Transformers, from legs and arms to the look of the vehicular form and cannon type. With the number of parts on offer, there must be millions or billions of combinations on offer, and you could probably spend hours playing around and creating your own Transformers.

It might sound like a small feature in some ways, but the level of customisation looks to be really quite extensive, and is bound to please fans of the previous game. That’s really the task that High Moon have set themselves with this sequel, to take every area of the original, look at the wishes and complaints that people might have had, and bring more of everything in the process.