I have to admit, it is quite a while since I did rent this game, but it was so good that I thought I’d write something about it (I’ve also got some funny/shit pictures I made relating to Transformers to include). One thing was that I didn’t complete it in the two and a half days I had lease of it, so that must be a sign that it has a certain amount of longevity, i.e. more than two and a half days worth. I didn’t, however, employ the usual technique practised when renting a game (play it like buggery from dawn till dusk, and possibly till the next dawn). But it was school time, so what do you expect?
And don’t let the game’s licence deter you. No, I’m not referring to Transformers – everyone knows it is a classic. A CLASSIC, YOU HEAR ME? What I am referring to is Transformers Armada, the new one. With a lot less robots, and more kids! Wick! At least the humans in the original didn’t get in the way too much. The kids always have to be saved from Megatron, who they’ve made a lot gayer too. Despite the new cartoon being rubbish, those crazy Aussies at Melbourne House, who made it, have managed to make a great game, mainly because it’s not very faithful to Armada. They even gave the stupid Minicons a use. They are the things you use to modify your chosen character - speedy Hot Shot, big smashing Optimus Prime, and very healthy but also quite good everywhere else Red Alert. They can give you new secondary weapons like rocket launchers and limpet mines (which are a right laugh), modify your normal little gun, give you functions like sniper scopes or just (boringly) make your armour or attack strength better. And also give you wings to glide with.
Then there are the things they transform into, of course. For the uninitiated, Optimus is a big truck (sadly missing his trailer), Hot Shot’s a phat sports car and Red Alert is an ambulance. Once you get the hang of driving them, which doesn’t take long, it’s as fun as the on-foot parts. I say parts, but it’s not split up into driving and shooting parts. You can transform at will, which you wouldn’t expect. It means that if you need to recharge your weapon’s energy, you can transform into a massive truck and smash your bumper into an evil robots face, which is always good. The levels are really open, too, so they’ve put a lot of secrets in there: a lot of minicons, but also loads of Easter egg type things, including character art (nice to look at but not up to much), toy photos (not too exciting) and those videos they show to kids trying to tell them not to nick cars (bloody hilarious).
So put aside your prejudice, either against Transformers or licensed games, and give it a chance if you’ve got a PS2. If you don’t like it, I’ll give you your money back. Actually, I’ll tell you you’ve got rubbish taste in games, then gob in your eye.
