Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) in new TV Cast Featurette

Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series is rated ‘M’ (Mature) for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, and Strong Language by the ESRB. 
 

Being a child of the 80s and a gamer, I have had the dream wish that one of my most treasured memories would be turned into a video game I can enjoy, TRANSFORMERS. Over the years many games have been inspired by and focused on the more recent versions of a TRANSFORMERS game but none have used what for many kickstarted heir fondness for the universe, the original Generation 1 TRANSFORMERS animated series.

So it was a mixture of joy and trepidation to learn that the masters of the hack n slash genre, Platinum Games were developing a game based on the Generation 1 universe. Could they capture the essence that made the show so iconic for so many and deliver another great hack n slash title?

TRANSFORMERS Devastation’s story campaign will see Optimus Prime, leader of the heroric Autobots, once again do battle with Megatron and his evil Decepticons. Megatron has discovered ancient Cybertronian technology buried deep within the Earth that has the power to ‘Cyberform’ the Earth, destroying all organic life on the planet and plans to activate. It is up to the Autobots to stop it.

During the first minutes of the game I was hit with waves of nostalgia as the game uses the original art style to give the visual look of the original animated TV show. The cell shaded visuals gives the gameplay and cutscenes much needed punch which instantly makes it stand out from recent TRANSFORMERS games. The game not only stays faithful to the visuals but also in the iconic voice talent of the original show with many voice actors reprising their roles for characters. Peter Cullen is instantly recognisable as the voice of Optimus Prime and Frank Seller as Megatron and Soundwave. Along with Dan Gilvezan as Bumblebee and Michael Bell as Sideswipe, recreating the original voices blends so well with all the audio effects for battles, weapons and of course that satisfying sound when you Transform

Gameplay follows the now standard Platinum Games style but adapted well to make use of the Transforming ability of the character. The game will ease the player into learning each character during the tutorial stage of the game, starting with Optimus before spending time as Bumblebee and Sideswipe. Each have a very different combat style which is shown in their combos and attack style. In robot form successful hits to start a combo will trigger use of a vehicle attack to keep the combo chain active which builds up a super move that can be used at the players discretion once built up that can take out multiple enemies if timed right.

Enemies will range from basic foot soldiers to larger enemies with different abilities and attacks. Learning how to deal with multiple opponents and attack styles all at once seems daunting to begin with but soon becomes a fun challenge as you become more familiar with combat and how each Autobot plays. Of course the real fun battles come when you take on the baddest of the bad Deception big hitters from Megatron to Soundstage and Insecticons to the monstrous sized Devastator!

Now sadly the story campaign is very short in just over 4 hours completion time for all the chapters on normal difficulty but they are action packed hours. Replay ability comes from trying to uncover all the secrets spread across the playing areas and trying to earn the highest rankings per chapter. The ability to improve skill attributes of each character and trying out different weapon loadouts which can also be upgraded to enhance their damage scores and give an elemental bonus. This all gives the player an opportunity to replay the campaign to improve their ratings or on a higher difficulty.

My main issue however is the variety of character choice. You only have five playable Autobots to use in Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Sideswipe to start, with Wheeljack and fan favourite Grimlock unlocked during the campaign. Compared to the numbers of Decepticons you will face, you end up questioning where the other Autobots are and it just feels as though the choice to limit the character choices was a real shame.

Outside the story campaign is the Challenge mode. With 50 challenges to test your skill, this really is a fun mode to play. You can use any of the five Autobots to enter fights with increasing difficulty. The fights range from defeating waves of enemies to fighting one or more boss level Decepticons. The different challenges can be unlocked by completing other challenges or acts during the story campaign. They will help refine gameplay technique as well as trying out different weapon combinations.

It is a shame that again this mode is limited to the five playable Autobots with no option to play as a Decepticon which as a fan would have been great fun. But the Challenge Mode does add extra gameplay to the game that with such a short story Campaign.TRANSFORMERS Devastation is faithful to the original Generation 1 era that fans will get a real pleasure from the nostalgia it brings. The story feels as though it came from the the animated show and with so many of the original voice talent returning, it all comes together to deliver a tremendous old school experience.

The combat can feel relative but I found changing characters helped. The shortness of the story campaign as well as the limited choice of characters is a real shame when you consider the variety of character options available. Why only Grimlock to represent the Dinobots instead of all of them and why so few Autobots when almost the whole Decepticon force is put against you?

I really feel that despite its lower than usual price, if TRANSFORMERS Devastation had been released earlier in the summer and a more acceptable price point of £30, that it may have done better numbers in sales. But released rather quietly and during the silly season of the big AAA name hitters, really damaged its release. Which is a real shame as it really is a fun game to play as a fan of TRANSFORMERS and of Platinum Games titles.

With the potential of a sequel left in the story, it may be destined to bargain buckets quickly, but this game will transform nostalgia into a great gaming experience.

*A PS4 copy of the game was provided for review. TRANSFORMERS Devastation available now for PS4 and Xbox One