Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Playstation 3 w/ DLC Video Game Review

Publisher: Activision
Developer: Luxoflux
ESRB Rating: Teen
Release Date: June 23, 2009

    The Revenge of the Fallen video game for the main two consoles (the Xbox360 version is the same as the PS3 version) has gotten a new developer this time around, Luxoflux. Far from building on the mediocre previous Transformers Movie game, Luxoflux instead built this game from the ground up. There are certainly still some similarities with the first game, however-- there are several different environments to explore, and the third-person-shooter gameplay style is still apparent. You can also choose to play in one of two seperate campaigns, as either the Autobots-- which roughly follows the events & outcome of the movie-- or as the Decepticons, which takes a slight "what-if" tack towards the end. To be honest, though, even though both campaigns go through the same environments and are the same length, the Autobot campaign feels like a lot more effort was put into it, as there seems to be more of a story going on and there are more spectacular boss fights. The Decepticon campaign is still good, but there aren't as many boss fights (why don't you ever fight Ratchet?) and the final boss fight is, disappointingly, The Fallen (same as in the Autobot campaign), who betrays Megatron at the end, leading to an ending that really isn't all that different from how the movie turned out, except more Autobots are dead.
    The gameplay itself has many more tweaks beyond just a traditional third-person-shooter setup, however. For one, instead of just pressing a button to transform, you hold down a trigger button-- this takes a while to get used to, but once you master it it's actually preferable to the traditional way of transforming, as you can much more rapidly change forms. Some of the controls-- particularly involving the trigger buttons-- can stay confusing to your fingers for quite a while, however. There are also some really neat melee moves you can pull off when transforming, such as a jump/ground pound or just barreling headlong into the enemy. Killing the enemies by using these special moves, as well as under other unique conditions (such as shooting them in the head or pounding them relentlessly with damage) will earn you points in your "Overload" meter. When this meter is full, you can press it at the touch of a button to make yourself invulnerable and have an extremely high & damaging rate of fire that doesn't overheat your weapons, all for a limited amount of time. You also have two different weapons for each character, which you can switch between and which have varied rates of overheating, cooldown, fire, and damage. Each character also has a special ability which recharges over a period of time, and taken together they make each character quite unique to play as. You start off only being able to play one character for each level, but by doing special tasks you can unlock other characters and go back and play any of the other relevant Transformers in your campaign. There are also lots of unlockables such as character concept art, skins, and even entire G1 episodes that encourage you to try to complete special feats.
    Beyond just completing certain tasks, the game also encourages you to go back to previous missions through a rather interesting time mechanic that I personally haven't seen in a game before. This is definitely a good thing, as it wouldn't take all that long to beat the game without these extra incentives, given its fast-paced nature. Yes, all of your missions are timed, but none of them require you to finish them in a set time limit. Let me explain. As soon as you start a mission, the clock starts ticking-- up. Platinum times are the lowest and are generally hard (but not impossible) to get with the right character, then Gold times are the next-lowest, then Silver, then Bronze. There are also five special targets-- "Skill Shots"-- in each level that will pause the timer for 10 seconds, and which are undoubtedly necessary for some of the toughter times. However, even if you don't make Bronze, you can still continue onwards if you complete your objective(s). You do need to at least do somewhat well eventually, however, as later levels are only unlocked once you get a certain amount of "medal points", and the better time you get, the more medal points you receive. The number of medal points needed certainly isn't steep, though, so as long as you get a decent number of Silvers and perhaps the occasional Gold you'll make it to the end of a campaign without having to replay any missions, if you don't want to try for Platinums on everything. Playing in "Expert mode" that's available as part of the extra DLC makes the Platinum times much harder-- nigh-impossible, in fact-- to get, but otherwise there isn't any difference between playing normal and expert, sadly.
    By killing enemies and bosses, you acquire Energon, which can be used to purchase various upgrades for your Transformers. (By killing them in unique ways, such as the aforementioned headshots of special melee takedowns, the amount of Energon you receive for them is increased exponentially.) These upgrades include more health, melee damage, increased rate of weapon cooldown, and the like. What's cool is that when you upgrade a stat, it's upgraded for ALL your Transformers, not just one, so you don't have to worry about playing as everybody equally just to level them all up if there's one 'bot (or 'con) you're particularly good at. Things such as times and the amount of Energon gained during a mission are uploaded online to a Leaderboard, where you can check out how your scores fall within the general gamer populace's as well as compare them with your friends. In addition, in the "meeting room" after each mission the Transformers' banter will reflect on any strengths or weaknesses you displayed during the previous mission.
    Each environment isn't as big as in the original Transformers Movie game-- in fact, some are quite small-- but after you complete every mission in the environment you can go back and free roam if you wish, and there are considerably more environments to make up for their lack of size-- 13 in all, in fact. The tasks they assign you with in each environment, however, aren't very varied-- about 2/3rds of them are simply "kill everyone" missions, with some others being stuff like escort or race missions-- hardly objectives that "think outside the box". There are secondary objectives on each mission that can score you bonus energon, and are usually such things as "use an advanced melee attack to kill 5 enemies". All of the environments are very well-detailed graphically, even if a few seem rather haphazard, and the character models themselves shine in both modes. They're not quite the A++ material that you can get on some of the high-end Playstation 3-exclusive titles, but they're fairly close. The music is also fantastic, and is a mix between original music and some tracks by techno artist Julien-K, who I personally love. Some in particular really add to the feel of the game and pump you up. Plus, there are some appropriately sounding "epic" themes for the Autobots and "evil" themes for the Decepticons. The cinematic sequences are also quite good, with a sort of "virtual projection" feel to most of them as the appropriate character explains the situation. In-game cinematic sequences also look very cool and are sometimes quite inventive, such as one where Breakaway transforms from jet mode to robot mode in mid-air and flings himself up onto a ceiling by means of grabbing onto a downtown skywalk.

    The enemies in the game are surprisingly varied, and you fight different enemies when you're playing as Autobots than you do as Decepticons, though many of the differences are in appearance only. Small aerial long-range specialists, quick hard-to-hit ground scouts, slow bulky hard-hitters-- every major type of enemy is here for both sides, and they're all detailed wonderfully (and yes, they all transform as well). The "normal" boss fights (i.e., against characters you'd play as if you were on the other campaign) aren't frustratingly hard nor dull and inventive-- it's rather like you're playing against a real person who's controlling the character, the only difference is they have considerably more health for gameplay purposes. They're quite fun, my only complaint being they run away a little bit TOO often. The three "big" bosses-- Demolishor, Devastator and the Fallen, the former two of which can only be fought against in the Autobot campaign-- are a mixed bag. Demolishor is a fair enough fight for being early in the game, alternating between firing missiles, creating a mini-cyclone with his wheels, and pounding you close-range with them. I wish his attacks were a bit less predictable, but otherwise he's a good boss. Devastator is a BIG disappointment. You'd think for a 'con that huge it'd be a pretty epic boss fight, but all he does is continuously walk around one city block in circles, completely ignoring you. Instead, you have to target certain guns on his shoulders, arms, head, and back which can fire and do modest damage. You also just have to generally stay away from him, as if he steps on you or sucks you into his maw, you're automatically dead. And given that you have to face him initially as the Autobot worst suited to him (Bumblebee, whose missiles can't lock onto Devastator for some reason and who otherwise does very little damage), it's the most annoying mission in the game, from either side. The Fallen, however, is epic, whether you're facing him as Megatron or Optimus Prime (the way things play out is essentially the same). I wish the Movie final fight was like this! A huge flaming barrier of floating cars, trucks, and other debris (which he'll occasionally throw at you) surrounds him at the pyramid's apex, he has flame attacks, pillars of fire he can create to harm you, he can teleport around and float in mid-air, he occasionally sends waves of enemies at you-- it's challenging, but not frustrating or impossible, and a blast not only to play but to just watch as well.
    You can also go online and play against friends or random people (it's particularly helpful when you're searching for friends, as it'll tell you not only whether they're online or not, but whether they're playing ROTF, and if so whether they're playing single or multiplayer, in a lobby, or in the game menus). You can also send invites to friends if you want to have private matches. There are several different environments to play multiplayer in, with 3 exclusive to the DLC character & map pack that's $10 in addition to the cost of the game. (Players using DLC content in multiplayer can only play against other players who have the DLC, however.) There are five different modes of play-- the traditional Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, as well as "Capture the Shard", which involves getting Allspark shards located out across the battlefield and bringing them back to your "base" for points; "Control Points", which follow the traditional "hold a point/take it from the other side by staying there for so long" formula; and "One Shall Stand", where one player on each team plays as Prime or Megatron, and if either leader dies, their team has a very limited time in which to win or it's game over. People only ever seem to play Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch that I've seen, though. It's still a ton of fun, though, and some would argue the best part of the game. I'm still undecided about whether it's better than single player or not, but it's still a blast, particularly against people you know-- it's great to try out all the different characters and see how some work well against others and just generally beat the oil out of your friends (or have your friends beat the oil out of you). (And yes, ROTF supports voice chat, though you can mute people if they annoy you.)
    So, speaking of the characters that you can play, who are they? Following is a list of all the characters available to play in the game, including those that are multiplayer-only or that can only be accessed by purchasing the DLC (which also adds some more characters into the single-player campaigns), and a brief summary of their specialties:

Autobots:
- Aerialbot (MP only, unless you have DLC, in which case he can be accessed in SP)-- fast in the air, slow on the ground, moderate amount of damage. Good for aerial strikes and hit and run. Special involves overheating nearby enemies' weapons.
- Breakaway-- Fast in the air, slow on the ground, used as a sniper because of his rifle. Special involves overheating nearby enemies' weapons.
- Bumblebee-- fast, doesn't do much damage, good for hit-and-run. Special involves stunning nearby enemies for a short period of time.
- Stealth Bumblebee (DLC only)-- Skin, same as Bumblebee
- Ironhide-- slow speed, high damage-- close-range, front-line specialist. Special involves deploying a turret.
- G1 Colors Ironhide-- Skin, same as Ironhide
- Jazz (DLC only)-- Very fast, very low health, fairly high long-range damage-- hit-and-run, long-range specialist. Special involves temporarily increasing his speed.
- Jetfire (DLC, MP only)-- Moderate speed, moderate damage-- due to his huge size, good as a distraction. Special reveals all enemies to everyone on your side for a limited amount of time.
- Optimus Prime-- slow speed, high melee and long-range damage, great front-liner. Special involves a "shield" mode that drastically lowers the damage he receives for a limited time.
- Power-Up Optimus Prime-- Same as Optimus Prime, except instead of transforming he flies, which makes his speed a bit greater but also makes him a greater target.
- Gold Optimus Prime-- unlocked only with a special code-- Skin, same as Optimus Prime
- G1 Optimus Prime (DLC only)-- generally the same as "normal" Optimus Prime, but instead of two cannons he has one, which gives him less fire, but each projectile does more damage.
- Protectobot (MP only)-- high speed, very low health, moderate damage-- good for support and a distraction. Special involves blinding all nearby enemies for a short period of time.
- Ratchet-- moderate speed, moderate damage-- generally good for backup and support. Special involves healing himself and nearby allies for a short period of time.
- G1 Colors Ratchet (DLC only)-- Skin, same as Ratchet
- Sideswipe (DLC only)-- Fast, high melee damage, low long-range damage, good for hit-and-run. Special involves charging up and, if you hit the target, a one-hit kill shot with limited range.
- G1 Colors Sideswipe (DLC only)-- Skin, same as Sideswipe

Decepticons:
- Grindor-- Fairly slow, but can hover-- high health, moderate damage, front-line specialist. Special involves deploying a turret.
- Long Haul-- Very slow, high health, high close-range damage, close-range/support specialist. Special involves healing himself and nearby allies for a short period of time.
- Yellow Long Haul-- Skin, same as Long Haul
- Megatron-- Slow, very high health, high melee and long-range damage, great front-liner. Special involves charging up and, if you hit the target, a one-hit kill shot.
- Flight Megatron-- Same as Megatron, except instead of transforming he flies, which makes his speed a bit greater but also makes him a greater target.
- Gold Megatron-- unlocked only with a special code-- Skin, same as Megatron
- G1 Megatron (DLC only)-- Same as Flight Megatron, but has weapons with a lesser rate of fire, but higher damage
- Sideways-- Fast, low health, works well as a sniper. Special involves him laying a mine that, when activated, will damage and slow down the target.
- Soundwave-- Fast, low health, low damage. Works well as suppport. Special involves deploying either Laserbeak-- a stationary hovering firing turret-- in vehicle mode, or deploying Rumble/Frenzy-- a stationary ground-based turret that does high damage, but in a very limited radius-- in robot mode.
- Starscream-- Fast in the air, moderate speed on the ground, moderate health, moderate damage-- jack of all trades, master of none. Special involves powered-up weaponry for a short time that both deals more damage and slows down the enemy you've hit.
- G1 Colors Starscream-- Skin, same as Starscream
- G1 Starscream (DLC only)-- Generally the same as Starscream, but with faster-firing (but less damaging) weapons. Special involves taking out G1 Megatron in gun mode and charging him up. If you hit the target, it's a one-hit kill shot.
- G1 Sunstorm (DLC only)-- Same skin as G1 Starscream, but different colors-- Fast in the air, moderate speed on the ground, moderate health, high but close-range damage for the most part. Best used as support. Special involves temporarily overheating all nearby enemies' weapons.

    Overall, the PS3/360 version of Revenge of the Fallen is not only the best game released for the movie, but the best Transformers video game I've ever played. It's not perfect--some missions are rather repetitive, and some the game length is a bit shorter than I'd like it to be, even if the unlockables help to lengthen it-- but it's still a darned fine game on its own, with many unique twists and a great multiplayer component, and certainly worth picking up if you're interested enough in Transformers to be reading this. HIGHLY recommended.

Graphics: 9/10
Music: 10/10
Gameplay: 18/20
Storyline: 8/10
Level Design: 7/10
Cutscenes: 9/10
Controls: 17/20
Replayability: 10/10

Overall Rating:88/100 Great

(Screencaps taken from Gamespot.com)

Back to Storage Closet