Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen PS3 Review

Licensed games aren’t necessarily targeted towards the more avid of gamers. Such games are often free of challenge and devoid of the invention that so many gamers seek. But on the whole, for the less demanding they do their job (at least to an adequate level) of allowing those fresh from perhaps seeing a movie to not only take charge of characters, but also allow them to relive and be personally involved in memorable moments from them.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is the follow up to 2007’s Transformers The Game, which somehow made stomping around with gargantuan robots and transforming into a host of vehicles feel rather average, and this was coming on the tail of Melbourne House’s well crafted Transformers too, which only furthered the disappointment.

The new game is fortunately a significant improvement over the former offering. The largely throwaway sandbox environment in Travellers Tales game has been well thrown away by Luxoflux, allowing for fans to completely focus on what they’re surely playing a Transformers game for in the first place, which is to blow other robots to pieces.

Again, there are two campaigns, covering both the angelic Autobots (they may look mean, but they’re kind inside) and the dastardly Deceptions (they look mean and are mean), but, like the last game, two campaigns doesn’t translate into the substantial amount of hours that one might imagine it would, and what’s worse is that they’re largely the same as each other, with just the robots you’re shooting being the only real difference, even then their overall behaviour is virtually the same as one another.

The mission objectives may very well be the usual blow things up and escort missions, but a timer and scoring system results in it being a bit different to your regular action game, particularly for those who seek out the most efficient routes and execute the more skilful manoeuvres, so that they can complete missions swiftly and with lots of points. It’s very much in the vein of Total Overdose and The Club and is a great addition for the core crowd that are looking to test their skills.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has proficient, smooth shooting mechanics and simple, but effective melee combat, each character also has their own special ability to gain the upper hand over their enemies. The all important transforming into a vehicle aspect is as satisfying as it should be, with more abilities also becoming open to you, so there’s a reasonable amount of methods to be killing your enemies with, which isn’t enough to prevent proceedings from occasionally getting repetitive but does go some way to stopping it from being mind numbingly so.

The slightness of the two campaigns is somewhat made up for by a host of unlockable content (accessed by completing a variety of tasks), consisting of the usual artwork, but in a wonderful touch of fan service there are also episodes of the cartoon featured as well. There’s also the scoring aspect to take into consideration, but this isn’t for everyone by any means. Finally, online multiplayer is present, which is a nice bonus and one way to eke a bit more longevity out of a game that so desperately needs it, but ultimately that’s about all it amounts to.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a substantially better game than the last one, though it’s brevity and repetition hold it back from reaching the levels of greatness that Melbourne House‘s game did. Nonetheless, it’s an admirable, enjoyable licensed game that manages to offer enough ease of play for the casual gamer, but with the addition of the scoring system and timed aspect, also enough in the way of betterment for the hardcore to aim for.