Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is yet another game based off of a movie. With most movie games falling just short of torture, I readied myself for the inevitable task of long nights of button mashing and so-so voice acting. So does Transformers fall in to this category, or does it manage to pull itself out of the ranks of mediocrity and stand out among the rest?
When it comes to the story there isn’t much of one. Yes it does follow somewhat along with the movie, but a lot of info is left out in certain areas; obviously this is done to not ruin the movie, but it makes for a bad game. You can play through the campaign as either the Autobots or the Decepticons. Although both sides follow the same story, being able to see that story from both sides is quite nice.
The controls are pretty easy to get used to: X is for jumping, square for melee, circle will help you climb up buildings, and triangle is your character’s special ability. Each Transformer is also equipped with two different weapons, and to use these simply hold L2 to aim and press R2 to fire; R1 will switch between each weapon. Also each character has a vehicle mode which can be accessed by pressing R2 without holding L2.
Here is where the controls get annoying, you need to hold R2 to maintain your vehicle form and it is also the accelerator. This really gets frustrating and can be especially hard in tight spots. You’re always driving and even though L2 is for braking, it doesn’t make anything easier. This really takes away from the gameplay, and in the end makes some missions annoying, which is a shame since they could have been fun.
Each campaign is broken up into 23 missions, for a total of 46 (due to being able to play both sides) which are set in five different locations. You will start out in either a military base if you play the Autobots, or on the Decepticons’ space station. From here you can upgrade your weapons, heath, view locked items, or select a mission. Once you choose a mission, you will select a specific Transformer. Sometimes the character is locked for a certain mission, while other times you can choose whoever you would like.
The missions generally are all the same. If you play as the Autobots, you will destroy a bunch of Decepticons. Also as an Autobot the missions consists of: protecting buildings, people or to uninfect a communication tower. If you’re a Decepticon then the mission is to kill a bunch of Autobots, destroy buildings, kidnap someone or infect communication towers. Occasionally you will get a mission that will have you racing through checkpoints in order to catch up to beacon, but those are few and far between.
