Transformers: Fall of Cybertron - PlayStation 3

Variety In All Things

2012-08-21T16:45:00Z

If you’ve ever wondered why that friend of yours so fervently loves these transforming robots, High Moon Studios has crafted an answer for you. Larger-than-life characters flung into dire straits, giant explosions combined with potent sci-fi storytelling, sacrificial heroism pitted against megalomaniacal villainy, and robots that transform into cool cars and planes – this is wish fulfillment at its finest. Even if it’s not the deepest interactive experience, Fall of Cybertron is certainly one of the most enthusiastic and boisterous digital adventures you’ll have this year.

Fall of Cybertron opens after the bad guys have won. Countless battles have ravaged the planet, and the heroic Autobots are abandoning their home. Unwilling to let them leave, the marauding Decepticons are doing their best to wipe their enemies out before they can escape. The simple premise keeps the focus squarely on the characters and their adventures, and the storytelling is surprisingly well paced and cogent. Nearly every level switches up the point of view character, but maintains a consistent narrative thread that is at turns humorous, exciting, and full of nods to the history of the fiction.

High Moon has taken a big chance on multiple playable characters. Each one offers a distinct gameplay style, from melee powerhouses to flight combat. It’s a credit to the studio that every one of those characters is fun to play, and that the pacing from one to the next is so smooth. Optimus Prime’s military sci-fi shooting flows naturally into Cliffjumper’s stealth, making Jazz’s subsequent sniping exciting. The variety in gameplay is Fall of Cybertron’s strongest feature, but also its biggest limitation. While most levels feel challenging, the characters’ mechanics rarely reach the depth that another action game hero might get to experience over the course of a whole game.

The theme of increased variety carries over into settings and enemies. Taking to heart criticism of the limited visual novelty of its previous Transformers game, High Moon has invested serious time in making sure each level stands apart, and takes us to corners of Cybertron that fans have never seen before. Individual battlefields are memorable and graphically stunning, thanks especially to multiple distinct metal types. Whether it’s gears grinding, walls shifting, or rust storms blowing, the game world is always in motion.

The wide array of different enemies follow their own behaviors in combat, and learning how to tackle each one when they first appear is fun. The coolest enemy types base their actions on what form they’ve transformed into, so attentive players have clear visual cues about how to react.

Eschewing the two separate campaigns seen in the earlier War for Cybertron, this new game’s structure flows better, and by controversially abandoning cooperative play, every level is built to a particular character’s strengths. The adventure is filled with titanic set piece moments, and the developer isn’t afraid to take short breaks from the action to nail home the atmosphere or an important plot point. In the name of pulling players forward through the adventure, the whole affair is linear and lacking in real choices, but the reward is some of the best scripted moments in this generation of games.

If the ongoing story lacks some player agency, the sting is lessened through the addition of an engaging choice-driven upgrade system. All the weapons are worth exploring, and many fall outside the cookie cutter norms, from bouncing metal saw blades to guns that fire jolts of electricity. More importantly, energon shards earned over the course of the story can be spent to refine weapons and equipment in meaningful ways, or gain universal perks that improve everything from health to movement speed (go for these first). Improvements carry over into subsequent games on your profile, offering ample reason to try out the next difficulty setting.

The big kicker for multiplayer is the opportunity to create your own Transformers to take into battle. Limited options for the four classes in the beginning blossom into increased weapon and cosmetic choices the longer you play, and the visual variety you see from other players far outstrips anything from comparable online shooters. The familiar modes of play aren’t going to blow anyone’s mind, but a healthy selection of 10 strong competitive maps is welcome. As of launch, frame rate isn’t ideal, but I have no complaints about the balanced action or highly mobile battlefields.

In addition, the wave-based cooperative Escalation mode returns, and implements all the improvements of the single-player game, including better enemies, weapons, map design, and shooting. These levels offer the chance to play several legacy characters not available in the campaign, and your choices include a balanced mix of a healer, a powerhouse, or other specialties that promote staying together and cooperating. I’d love to see expansions or sequels offer some other experiences beyond shooting, like cooperative stealth, or even a dedicated Dinobot squad level.

Fall of Cybertron is the Transformers toy battle you imagined as a child, transposed onto the TV in front of you. It’s the most faithful treatment of the Transformers brand for fans across any medium in recent years, and it manages the feat while remaining welcoming to new potential players. It’s also a clear message to the world that High Moon Studios has joined that most rarified breed of game developer that can create an honest-to-goodness great licensed game.

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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Launch Trailer

2012-08-20T16:43:00Z

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron launches tomorrow for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Activision sent out one last trailer to get you hyped for its release. A PC version is also planned, however there's no date on that just yet.

Are you picking up Transformers: Fall of Cybertron?

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Autobots And Decepticons Clash In Multiplayer Trailer

2012-07-25T19:00:00Z

Millions of years before the Autobots crash-landed into a mountain on earth, they battled the evil Decepticons on their home planet of Cybertron. High Moon Studio's Transformers: Fall of Cybertron chronicles the two morphing robot factions' epic war, and also allows you to create your own warrior from scratch.

Check out the trailer below to get a good look at custom Transformer creation for the game's competitive multiplayer mode. And while the campaign co-op may be gone this time around, War for Cybertron features a four-player Horde mode called Escalation.

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Transformers: Fall of Cybertron hits 360, PC, and PS3 on August 28. And now, for no particular reason besides sheer awesomeness, I present you Powerglove's amazing metal rendition of The Transformers theme song.

Dinobots Take The Stage In Transformers Multiplayer

2012-07-12T15:00:00Z

What was once thought impossible has been proven both possible and awesome. High Moon has worked Dinobots into the character creator system for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron's multiplayer.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron allows players to experience the darkest hours of the war between the Autobots and Decepticons as they vie for control of their dying home world. Check out the newest batch the screens released during Comic Con 2012.

Optimus Prime Talks Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

2012-06-14T14:09:39Z

Activision and developer High Moon Studios have just released a behind-the-scenes video for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron with the voice of Optimus Prime, Peter Cullen.

If you are stirred by the gravitas imparted by Cullen's legendary burr, you won't want to miss this trailer where he talks about his involvement with the game.

Fall of Cybertron comes out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on August 28.

For more on the game, check out Tim's hands-on impressions from E3.

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Fan Service Aside, This Sequel Is Packed With Varied Fun

2012-06-08T23:13:00Z

High Moon Studios wowed Transformers fans with its previous game, War for Cybertron. The third-person shooter transports players to the robots’ mysterious home world of Cybertron, establishing a look and feel that’s separate from any existing Transformers movie or cartoon series. On top of creating the best Transformers game ever, High Moon also managed to make an entertaining shooter at its core. The studio is responding to complaints of gameplay and environment repetition with the sequel, Fall of Cybertron, but they’re not just making to changes to appease hardcore fans of the morphing machines. High Moon is proud of its new game, and is convinced that non-fans will love the spectacle, grandiose scale, action, and varied transformation-based gameplay. I am one such non-fan. I have no particular love for the Transformers license, but I walked away from my hands-on time with the game eager to play more.

I enjoyed Transformers toys as a child, but as I grew older I started to think that the idea of robots from outer space that turn into Earth vehicles was pretty dumb. That opinion doesn’t hold up well when you’re given the power to turn into a fire-breathing, mechanized T-Rex. Characters like Grimlock give everyone a reason to play. He’s a huge, sword-wielding Dinobot that can transform into a gigantic dinosaur. Players must hew through enough fodder enemies to build their rage meter, which when full unlocks Grimlock’s transformation. The demo I saw showed Grimlock swiping swaths of foes with his tail, chomping them to bits with his metal teeth, and showering Decepticons with a torrent of flames. Grimlock’s sheer brutality and cool-factor have me excited to wipe out bunches of robots as the beast.

I spent my hands-on time as a bad guy, Vortex. This Decepticon is triple-changer, which means he can transform from his usual robot form into a helicopter and jet. Vortex’s sequence begins on walkways below a huge bridge, surrounding by plenty of open air. I loved sprinting towards a ledge, leaping off, and instantly morphing into a helicopter with a click of the left analog stick. Vortex can hover above groups of Autobots and rain down machine gun fire or devastating missile barrages. These rockets explode in a bright burst of purple and dark smoke as metal scrap is littered around the environment. Particle effects like this along with blue electricity arcing between combusting robots makes this game a visual treat. If an AA gunner gets a bead on Vortex, pressing the left trigger shifts the helicopter into a jet and boosts you across the map in no time. Running out of missile ammo doesn’t render Vortex’s chopper form obsolete - I got a kick out of flying far above groups of enemies, switching to his regular form, then plummeting towards the group to deliver a crowd-clearing shockwave blast.

As Vortex I clear out the Autobots protecting the bridge controls, which I’m fighting to access. After the last good guy lay in a pile of rubbish, I approach the junction box and pull a level. The camera pans up to show protective armor plating sliding down, exposing the huge bridge supports. Suddenly, artillery blasts into view from the distance, colliding with the supports and demolishing the bridge in the process. The area underneath the gigantic Autobot-guarded bridge was massive, and gave me a good feeling for just how big Cybertron is.

After the supports are destroyed, Vortex drops into a hatch. The close-quarters underground facility makes flying tough, so I get acquainted with Fall of Cybertron’s third-person gunplay. Rolling and dashing around the environment is as easy as tapping a shoulder button. Each enemy is a threat. Sloppy aiming or lazy dodging got me killed in more than a few situations. Thankfully my huge shotgun-like gun makes short work of Autobots at close range, so I opt to dash up to enemies before firing. Most encounters deplete my regenerating shield chipped away at the health beneath, but Energon cubes scattered around the environment make life easier. The constant moving and shooting, along with the occasional chopper missile barrage make this primarily on-foot sequence a blast. It concludes with a mini-boss fight against an Autobot four times the size of Vortex. I swap out my shotgun for a type of energy rocket launcher and blast each payload into my enemy. After the gun runs dry I resort to hasty helicopter rockets. The chopper’s lateral boost helps me dodge the big enemy’s powerful projectiles as I pound it with missiles. Eventually the Goliath falls and I’m free to plant a bomb on a control panel, which appears to cause massive damage to the Autobot construct.

A hatch opens, revealing a long circular corridor leading out of the crumbling facility. I leap into the air, transform into a jet, and soar through the exploding passage. I love seamlessly transitioning from an on-foot boss fight to an intense, fiery aerial escape. Releasing the trigger changes the Vortex from a plane back into a chopper, which makes evading deadly flames or steam plumes easier. Eventually I complete my harrowing escape and my hands-on time ends.

In under a half-hour with Fall of Cybertron I laid down airstrikes on Autobot troops as a helicopter, called in artillery to destroy a huge bridge, infiltrated an enemy base guns-a-blazing, and escape as a speeding jet. This all occurred with the same character with limited loading times. To say that Fall of Cybertron offers gameplay variety is an understatement. Variety is built into the core design of Transformers, and this game represents that perfectly. I had a blast with Fall of Cybertron and didn’t even play around with the game’s upgrade system, multiplayer, or the other robust characters. I have no idea what was happening in the story or what each Transformer’s individual motivation is, but I know a fun game when I play it. Fall of Cybertron hits 360, PS3, and PC August 28.

Check Out The Dinobots In Action

2012-05-24T23:15:00Z

The takeaway lesson from this video? Giant robotic dinosaurs enjoy smashing things.

Activison and High Moon Studios were kind enough to send along a brand spanking new video showing off Grimlock and the rest of his Dinobot pals as they'll appear in the upcoming Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. The behind-the-scenes feature reveals new details regarding the origin story for the characters and discusses how that origin story was reached after decades of storytelling and numerous versions of the Dinobots' creation.

Grimlock's playable sections of the game will offer a break from the shooting mechanics of other levels. Instead, you'll charge forward as a melee powerhouse, smashing Decepticons with sword and shield. When you get especially angry, you'll hulk out into a huge metallic T-Rex and start breathing fire.

Check out the video, and let us know in the comments below if you're getting excited for some Transformers action in the upcoming game. If you're a Transformers fan, what do you think of this new origin story? To see a wealth of detailed information about Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, don't miss out on our game hub from our cover story on the game last year.

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Dinobots Take Center Stage For Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron

2012-04-25T18:26:00Z

Activision passed along new screenshots from Transformers: Fall of Cybertron showing off the Dinobots.

We get a look a Swoop, Snarl, Slag, and Grimlock. Sludge is nowhere to be found, however.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is due out August 28 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

New Fall Of Cybertron Video Showcases Grimlock

2012-04-19T17:53:00Z

High Moon Studios is prepping Transformers: Fall of Cybertron for its August launch, and a new video showcases some gameplay of Grimlock. From the looks of it, it'll be a lot of fun to stomp around the battlefield as the robot's fire-breathing dinosaur form.

Watch below to see Grimlock wreak havoc while High Moon's Matt Tieger provides commentary.

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Behind The Scenes Of The Sad Transformers VGA Trailer

2011-12-13T20:55:00Z

Did you catch the downbeat Transformers: Fall of Cybertron trailer that debuted this weekend at the Spike Video Game Awards? Curious what went into the creation of this robotic masterpiece? Developer High Moon Studios is here to let you know!

In this behind-the-scenes video, you can find out who they teamed up with to make the video, how they decided on the depressing music, and more. Check it out below and then take a look at our Fall of Cybertron hub for a whole month worth of Transformers features tied around our November cover.

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Grimlock Rises In Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Teaser Trailer

2011-10-14T20:23:00Z

Get a sneak peak at the Dinobot leader in this stylized trailer for High Moon’s follow-up to Transformer: War for Cybertron.

This is the Transformers: Fall of Cybertron teaser trailer that just debuted at New York Comic Con.

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Be sure to check out our Fall of Cybertron hub for more information on the game, such as our in depth look at many of the weapons from the game.