I missed the Transformers bubble on account of being born too late. That doesn't make much sense when you go and look up the various iterations of Transformers and learn that there were other bubbles I could have found myself in during my childhood. It's more accurate to say that I avoid Transformers because I've very little interest in colourful chunky robots that turn into cars and cassettes and whatever else they disguise themselves as.
I've not seen the films, I've not watched the cartoons, and I've definitely not played Transformers, the PlayStation 2 action title that is supposedly the one and only Transformers game worth playing - at the time of the 1001 list, at least.
Autobots assemble, or whatever the call is.
Fun Times
I had absolutely no idea what I was in for before firing up Transformers. Seeing a well made CGI intro video probably wouldn't have been high on my list of things to expect, but there it was, with Autobots and Decepticons doing their thing. Whatever that is. Actually, I don't even know who is involved here. I'm assuming its the Autobots and the Decepticons, at war, as always. All I can say for sure is that it doesn't look like the good guys are winning.
Optimus Prime is in a tussle with... you know, Transformers doesn't do a great job of introducing characters to newcomers. You'll probably get a lot more out of this game if you know a lot going in. He's in a fight with a purple robot, and purple generally means bad, and evil is currently winning.
The fight is broken up by a video orb showing events that may or may not have occurred a million years ago. It's tough to tell what the heck is going on if you're not a Transformers fan, I can't stress that enough. Anyway, the orb switches to a photo of Earth, presumably where this ship has crash-landed, and the game is about to begin.
Transformers allows players to pick from one of three heroic Autobots, but there's only one choice at the end of the day. In fact, there's only one I know, Optimus Prime himself. I don't know what his stats mean, but they look rather healthy. Let's chuck him into the action and find out what they all mean.
Frustrations
Despite another polished little cutscene, my first real impression of the game itself is one of some slight emulation woes. It runs, thankfully, but not brilliantly well for me. Graphical quirks and slowdown. Nothing I'm not unfamiliar with, however, and running around this little starting area in the Amazon rainforest allows me to get an idea of what this game would play like on the PS2.
Optimus has a little weight to him (though how much of that is attributed to the slowdown, I'm not sure), and he moves around quite well, especially when you invert the camera controls and get that right stick moving. A jump on the L1 button allows you to hop up small steps and ledges, and the R1 button unleashes a barrage of firepower at towards whatever you're aiming at.
Further Fun Times
It's quite a satisfying gun, let me tell you. This poor robot exploded, nuts and bolts and screen shake and smoke filling the screen. The game then introduces you to Recon mode, better described as First Person Mode.
It's slow and cumbersome, but if you feel the need to pick off robots from range, a press of the circle button switches your view back and forth. Suddenly, Transformers is pretty fun, even with the emulation issues. Like Spider-Man 2 before it, I wasn't expecting this to be the case. Transformers isn't entirely on that level, but I like what I see, basic though it may be.
The idea of the game is to find and gather Mini-bots, which serve as bolted on abilities to your chosen Autobot. You can equip four at a time, and swap them out as and when to give you extra weaponry or defensive capabilities.
Our first find gives us some homing missiles.
They, too, are satisfying to launch. Transformers isn't coming across as a game that gets all the awards, but it does seem to be setting itself up as a hidden gem for those who want to shoot robots with other robots from a mostly third-person perspective. Or as a stellar example of a Transformers video game, but with no interest in the series, I wouldn't know what other games I'm comparing this one too.
Pushing through the ruined temples of the Amazon rainforest we save another Mini-bot, this one giving us some extra shielding. Downed enemies drop health and ammo, or energy of some kind which refills various bars. They slowly refill on their own, so that you can't spam homing missiles, making the game a nice and breezy affair. I'm on the easiest difficulty, though. Maybe it's an utter slog at greater difficulties.
Other pickups unlock bonus artwork and toys, whatever toys could mean. Something for the fans. I'm not here for bonuses. I'm here for the plot, and the plot calls for me to continue navigating this large level as a truck.
A press of the triangle button launches Optimus into the air where he faceplants into the dirt as a truck. The driving controls from here on are a letdown, but the transformation animations are rather lovely, especially accompanied by those sound effects.
Further Frustrations
It was often better to transform back into Optimus than to navigate as a truck, and ambushes and obstacles meant you had to switch and deal with the problems anyway. There are, however, some jumps that had to be taken as a truck, because Optimus' legs aren't strong enough (or, as the game seems to claim, his systems aren't optimised to Earth's gravity yet or something like that). If you miss these jumps, you fall into a ravine. There's one way out, all the way back towards the start of the route through the rainforest.
Failure isn't a huge setback, but with quirky emulation, bulky robots, and slightly finicky controls, making progress can feel slow. The level looks open, but the path through it is crystal clear. That path is so stop/start that you've got to like what you're doing to keep making progress, and even though it's a clunky Transformers title that I'm not playing in ideal circumstances, I at least want to see the end of this level.
Further Fun Times
A giant spider bot thing needed to be wiped off the face of the planet, for it was in the way of a mini-bot with a fancy shield for me, and this shield helped me climb to the top of the mountain, where we were to face our hardest challenge yet.
A boss fight, against... someone! We've got rockets, we've got shields, and we've learned all about manoeuvring ourselves around as both robot and truck. We can do this.
The only way I saw myself going was backwards, down the hill, giving my opponent the higher ground. Perhaps not the best strategy, but this is a Transformers game on its easiest difficulty, so we should be fine. Just keep shooting, just keep dodging...
I've seen smaller robots explode more dramatically, but the threat has been dealt with in the same manner as all the others, and our reward is another fancy CGI cutscene. Maybe this time I can glean something of the story, if not any of the characters.
The Autobots are hunting for the mini-bots. Apparently, there are more out here than the ones we've been picking up along the way. Where could they be?
Running out of the bushes, clearly impressed with the way we defeated the bad guys, the mini-bots send a signal out to the skies, and the level ends. I learn nothing.
Final Word
I have so little knowledge of what's going on that I really can't justify diving straight into this newly unlocked Antarctica level until I do a little investigating into the story. The gameplay feels pretty good, even through the troubles I'm having with it, but I don't quite know why I'm collecting mini-bots, other than for the abilities they give me.
Can you go through a game without caring for the plot, just enjoying shooting things, or transforming, or collecting stuff? Well, yeah, you could, but could I? Well, yeah, possibly, but could I with Transformers?
I'm not experiencing the game anywhere near as intended, but I think I could well keep playing, even though I've got no clue what's going on and who is involved. For someone who wants to follow the stories of games, I find that a little strange, but hey, it's not a black or white world, is it?
To a Transformers fan, Transformers is an easy game to recommend. To everyone else, it's a tougher sell, especially if they aren't interested in Transformers. I'm not interested in them, but I've got to give this game a go, and I'm glad I did. It won't climb to the top of my favourites list, but it might climb high on the unexpected surprises list.
Third-person action, 'driving' sections, a first-person shooting option, customisable upgrades to weapon loadouts... there's quite a lot going on here. It's just wrapped up in Transformers garb.
Fun Facts
A Directors Cut was released in Europe, for you die-hard Transformers fans.
Transformers, developed by Atari Melbourne House, first released in 2004.
Version played: PlayStation 2, 2004, via emulation.