Transformers: Devastation — High-octane roller coaster

Battle ready: Come Optimus, lets waltz in space.

Platinum Games moulds the latest Transformers game in its style.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" When Optimus Prime spoke those immortal words in Transformers: Devastation, a wave of nostalgia washed over me, making me relive the memories of the classic Transformers TV show that I grew up loving (and not the current Michael Bay fiasco).

Devastation, unlike most other Transformers games before it, stays true to the original Transformers.

Let’s see if it “more than meets the eye”.

New developer, new style

First off, if you played High Moon Studios’ Transformers games and are expecting more of the same then you will be disappointed with Devastation because it’s a different game both in tone and gameplay.

To put it simply, Devastation is an action game with light RPG elements, not very different from the Platinum’s past games such as Metal Gear Revengeance and Bayonetta.

Focused attack: The game doesnt have a specific name for the time slowdown attack, but its similar to the Witch Time move in Bayonetta.

Most notably, the game incorporates Witch Time, a mechanic central to the gameplay of Bayonetta. Witch Time – which triggers if the player successfully dodges an attack at the very last second – slows down the action and allows the player to deal massive amounts of damage to his enemies.

It's always amusing to see Optimus Prime or Grimlock do a perfect barrel roll to enter Witch Time. Jokes aside, it’s the perfect addition to the game, and like Bayonetta, it made the gameplay so much more fun.

Unlike High Moon Studio's War/Fall Of Cybertron titles, Devastation is neither grim or gritty, opting for a more cartoony look with cell-shaded characters that are based on the first gen Transformers series.

Robots in disguise

In Devastation, you get to play the Autobots, namely Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Sideswipe and Grimlock.

Each robot plays a little differently. For example, Optimus Prime is the most balanced in all areas while Sideswipe and Bumblebee are more agile and faster but deal less damage.

Moment of reflection: Let me stroke my chin while I think of what orders to shout at you.

No matter which robot you choose, they are all fun to play.

At certain points in the game, you will get to travel to the Ark, the Autobots’ secret base, to upgrade your characters using credits that you earned completing missions.

You have the option to swap weapons, manage tech upgrades and bump up characters stats.

If it seems like I’m glazing over the details, it’s only because it doesn’t really seem to impact the gameplay. It’s not complicated or annoying, just too simple and boring.

The controls are fairly simple – each character has light, heavy and special attacks. As you would have guessed, special attacks allow you shave off a significant chunk of your enemies' health but you can only execute it after the special meter fills up.

Getting into the groove: Look, it’s the Autobot version of the Blues Brothers.

There is also Vehicle Attack that lets the Autobot deal more damage but this too must be earned by attacking Decepticons.

Cartoon logic

Story wise, the game is like a classic episode of Transformers cartoon – Megatron is once again hell bent on destroying all life on Earth to revive Cybertron.

It’s up to the Autobots to stop Megatron but they have to battle an army of Decepticons to reach him. The story is devoid of plot twists but that's really fine.

Gameplay is a little linear although there are open world elements such as side quests to undertake.

The side quests are nothing out of the ordinary – you are usually expected to kill a certain number of enemies or complete a race, for instance. All of them take no longer than five minutes each to complete.

Shoot: Its like Duck Dynasty, except with Decepticons.

The campaign takes only about six hours to complete on normal difficulty and even if you crank up the difficulty I suspect it will probably just add an hour to the game.

For the asking price, I would expect the game to offer at least 10 hours or more of gameplay.

Also, there isn’t much replay value once you complete the campaign other than to restart at a higher difficulty or take on the challenge mode.

End game

Despite the short gameplay, Devastation is still a solid 1st Generation Transformers game that pits you in epic battles with big Decepticons baddies such as Constructicon and Soundwave.

This game is recommended to fans of Transformers and action game fans alike, but it would be best to wait for it to hit the bargain bin first for a sweeter deal.

Standoff: Megatron discusses his manifolds with the Autobots.

Even though it’s short with few extras it more than meets the eye.

Pros: Fun, colourful and action packed; everything you would expect of a Platinum game. 

Cons: Pricey for such a short game; desperately needs more content and modes.

Transformers: Devastation
(Platinum Games/Activision)
Action game for PS4/3, PC
Website: www.transformersgame.com
Rating: 4 stars
Price: RM199 (PSN), RM190 (Steam)