There was really something special about the 80s, specifically with our Saturday morning cartoons. While most were there to sell countless amounts of plastic toys, there were those special series that still managed to keeps their spark, in particular the leader of the Autobots: Optimus Prime. What’s truly fascinating is he has stood the test of time as my son is obsessed with him.
I had an opportunity to play Transformers Devastation while at Hands on Transformers Devastation, and it only took a couple of minutes of gameplay to have me add this to my gaming queue. I’ve had the title for roughly a week and have torn through it. How does it compare to the other Transformer titles? Is this game more than meets the eye?
To start, you need to know this game is a love letter for any Transformer fan, especially if you love G1.
Gameplay
Let’s do a little bit of a game comparison to help you understand the general gameplay…The last Transformer game I played was High Moon Studios: Transformers Fall of Cybertron. The game closely resembled a Gears of War approach, where it primarily focused on shooting combat. While enjoyable I never really felt the alt-form / transformation aspect blended well, which made the game feel sluggish especially when you compare it to Devastation.
Now the game engine for Devastation is largely built around hand to hand combat, which is very similar to the Bayonetta fight engine (as this was developed by Platinum Games). What was the most brilliant aspect of this game was its inclusion of the alt-form / transformation, meaning that it actually has a very real function and integrates well with the fight strategy and general gameplay.
But beware as the Deceptions know this as well and see your opponent using these very same strategies in boss battles.
What I was most impressed with was how fluid the combat and exploration gameplay was. Both melded well with each other and it never felt like there was any separation, which kept the high octane pace of the game going almost non-stop.
Story
This was the only area I felt could use a little more work. It has a very simplified story plot – Megatron essentially wants to Cyberize the planet Earth and you have to stop him. What I did like about the story is it did feel very G1 – Megatron was always very much a conquer the world type. That being said, where the story does work well is with its inclusion of characters from the Decepticons. I already knew I would battle Devastator – but I didn’t realize I would take on all the Constructions one on one. It was quite enjoyable to not only see some of the older cast – but even more so to be able to actually learn their names.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlQzbaDbBU4[/youtube]
Graphics
If you haven’t seen the graphics yet, Devastation goes with a cell shaded approach, which honestly looks great as it really captures the feel of the G1 TV series all while managing to keep a very fast pace gameplay. Each of the character alt forms look great and are a bit of a hybrid from the G1 and Generations Toy Line.
Sound
The only thing missing from this game was some Stan Bush. Otherwise it’s unbelievable the amount of care that went into the sound. The most importantly aspect was the voice acting: All the main characters voice actors have returned including: Peter Cullen – Optimus Prime, Frank Welker – Megatron, Gregg Berger – Grimlock, and many more.
Everyone delivered an absolutely fantastic performance. It was a huge bucket of nostalgia. And to top things off, they’ve even included the original alt form / transformation SFX. While the music was missing the musical stylings of Stan Bush, it was still fun.
Overall
I was quite impressed with this game, but it’s certainly no Legend of Korra. The game brings with it a large factor of nostalgia – but delivers in gameplay. There’s a ton of stuff to do in this title and plenty of replay value. If you are a Transformers fan you need to check this out.