Transformers Animated (DS) Review
I think we should get this straight before I start writing. I was never a fan of Transformers and I didn’t think that the recently released movie was the best thing to grace our screens since, well, anything. That being said, I also don’t look forward to the sequel either, but that’s just me. When Hasbro decided to create yet another animated series which was (undeniably) capitalising on the success of the new film, naturally, as the law of gaming would have it, an adaptation would be made. Transformers Animated: The Game is that adaptation, and it actually reminded me a lot of a cult classic released back on the SNES. But, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Those who watch the series on TV will probably have a better idea of what’s going on than what I did when I played Transformers Animated. Basically, a whole bunch of security bots from the Sumdac factories have gone rogue, and it’s up to the Autobots to destroy them before they cause any more damage. The plot does continue on from there, with Megatron making an appearance as well as the home planet of the Transformers, Cybertron. The story really isn’t anything amazing but to be quite honest it’s probably on the same level as the animated series so it’s an excellent compendium for fans (and arguably, its target audience).
The presentation of the game is pretty good too, with all the characters looking just like their animation series counterparts, and some nice artwork being displayed on the screens really helps authenticate the experience. On the other hand, however, the environments that the characters run through are not amazingly modelled and actually makes some of the Transformers feel out of place. Either way though, the graphics are decent enough and do the job they’re meant to – to live up to the artistic direction of the animated series.
If you have played any previous games by Artificial Mind & Movement, you’ll know what to expect in terms of gameplay, as the game uses the same engine as their previous animation tie-in series. Basically, the game is a 2D platformer which utilises three dimensional graphics. The gameplay itself sees players controlling one of four Transformers, and takes the form of a puzzle game rather than the action games that previous titles in the series have been about. If you ever played Lost Vikings on the SNES, you might know what to expect from Transformers Animated.
Each Transformer has a specific skill that must be used to progress through the level (with real-time swapping being possible). For example, Optimus Prime can climb certain objects, Bumblebee can charge generators to open doors and Bulkhead can use his wrecking ball to destroy obstructions. Players will find themselves frustrated with some of the puzzles in each room being exceedingly obvious, while the others being extremely hard to complete, the only discriminator being the players age. There are also some boss fights but they feel more like bloated puzzle segments than proper battles. What i’m trying to say is, the game is pretty much a carbon copy of The Lost Vikings, but tailored to suit the target audience of the animated series brilliantly. In that regard, the game has taken something that worked in previous games and tweaked it to make to fit into the Transformers “look”, and to be quite honest, it works.
The audio in the game is decent enough. There are some nice set pieces that fans of the series will recognise, and they suit the circumstances well. Fortunately, the voice actors from the series also lend their talents to the project, authenticating the experience a little bit more.
Unfortunately, this experience probably won’t last long, as although there are 25 levels in the Mission Mode, you could probably get through them quite quickly. There’s also, of course, a race mode where players can choose one of the three characters and race against each other, or tranform to do some projectile combat, but THAT mode is only fun for so long.
What I was expecting from Transformers Animated was another run of the mill action game designed to cash in on the audience who enjoyed the Michael Bay film. What I got instead, however, was an interesting twist on a formula that reminded me of what I enjoyed about the early SNES days, but tailored more towards those who enjoy the animated series.
