Pleasing Fans and Action Junkies –
Following up War of Cybertron (2010), High Moon has once again created a game that is bound to please fans of the series and anyone just looking for some high paced action. In fact, I think these games are more entertaining than the movies; instead of watching whiney human characters complain about the struggles of college life, wouldn’t you much rather experience the destruction of an entire alien planet as two lifelong enemies duke it out in crazy transforming vehicles?!
Fall of Cybertron is a continuation of the previous title and tells the story of the Autobots escape from their home planet. The plot is more cohesive than the original but this is mostly due to the single-player only campaign. Removing online co-op from the campaign mode has allowed the developers to craft a more streamlined and moment-to-moment story that is filled with action and large set pieces. I definitely enjoyed the co-op functionality of the first game and I am disappointed that this highlighting feature is missing here in this sequel, but the decision is an understandable give-and-take.
The story is not the only thing that was improved. Controls are tighter, AI is more reactive, and the game just has a greater overall cinematic feeling. The player has the ability to transform into each character’s specific transformation at will but I could not help notice that most of the game will probably be played in the over-the-shoulder robot bi-pedal form instead of transformed vehicle form; this is a Transformers game after all so it is a mystery as to why playing as a large tyrannosaurs or speeding jet didn’t have a larger emphasis. The linear campaign is shorter, lasting about half a dozen hours or so, but it is a fulfilling and enjoyable experience.
Escalation, Transformer’s Horde mode, makes its welcome return as does the competitive multiplayer battle modes. Beefed up since the original, the player now has more options in customizing a personally created Transformer with more cosmetic and loadout options than ever before. The typical modes like CTF and Deathmatch are everything that you would expect and unlocking things as you level up provides incentive to keep playing without getting too unbalanced. Fall of Cybertron does not have the best multiplayer mode but it definitely does it better than most other third person shooters and sinking several hours into it is an easy time waster.
The presentation has also been improved. Level-design might be linear but provides epic set pieces as the world literally blows up around you (similar to recent Call of Duty games), finding online matches is relatively quick and painless, the story taps into the Transformers lore that hardcore fans will appreciate, and the voice acting and musical score is on par with the original. High Moon has taken this beloved license and took care when creating this worthy licensed sequel. I am sure fans are looking forward to the next game as opposed to looking forward to the next movie.
Better Than: Shia LaBeouf
On Par With: your expectations
Wait For It: the return of an online co-op campaign
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