Transformers: Decepticons (Nintendo DS) - Review by Andrew

Introduction

Like the Turtles, Transformers have recently been dusted down and placed on the big screen for a 'new' generation to enjoy. Anyone who was around the first time, of course, just sees this as Hollywood and everyone else for that matter, running out of ideas. To be fair though, the movie isn't that bad even though I'm still not entirely sure who won. As you'd expect with a summer blockbuster there's a game, and here Activision have seen fit to release not one, but two DS titles in order for you to decide if you wish to side with the good guys or the more entertaining bad guys. Having played through both I can tell you now that there's little difference in the games' structures but, as they are very different stories, we felt they needed separate reviews. This one looks at the Decepticons (or Bad Guys for those of you out of the loop).

Gameplay

Both games start with you hurtling towards earth in some type of futuristic meteor but here you play an Decepticon. It's your job to destroy the humans , track down the Allspark and reunite it with it Megatron. As usual with these types of games though, you are not controlling one of the main characters but rather a generic Autobot charged with doing a variety of tasks. Before you really get started though you'll be encouraged to 'scan' vehicles, which allows you to transform into them at the touch of a button. This is definitely one of the cooler aspects of the game and the more you collect the more you can change.

Your missions are indicated on the map as a green dot and while the actual game is rather linear the developers have endeavored to make it more open-ended by including a whole host of side missions. These include destroying buildings, surviving for as long as possible or battling it out with other robots. There's a reason for these as success in any of them raises your XP (Experience Points), which in turn gives you more strength, abilities and better weapons.

Unusually for a movie tie-in title there's also an on-line feature that allows you to connect with other gamers from around the world. You can play the standard Deathmatch and the rather strange Allspark Sports, which is a unique take on football (not American football) with the Allspark as the ball. More engaging though is Allspark Wars where you tackle a new mission, which you download to your DS, every day. Points are awarded for how well you do and can then be converted into unlockables. You can even check your progress on-line to see if you are the 'Best Bot' in the Universe.

Controls

You move your Autobots using a combination of traditional controls and some touch screen elements but as the first level is a 'forced' tutorial it's difficult to get lost. One thing you will notice very quickly is how awkward the combat is. Although it's easy to punch and kick your intended enemy, it's almost impossible to defend yourself. This causes problems early on in the game when you have significantly less power than your fighting partner so rather than feeling equal you'll have to dodge their attacks or seek out health at regular intervals. This means leaving the scene of the battle and returning when you have the required amount of power up which does seem very Un-Transformer like.

Graphics

The developers, Vicarious Visions, once again pull out their impressive Alchemy visual engine to create a sizeable 'free-roaming' city. Gamers can drive around, jump from rooftop to rooftop and even fly above the skyscrapers. There are drawbacks here though. Anyone who's played games before featuring this engine will recall that they followed a 'fixed path' and opening things up has meant that compromises are made. Most of these affect the games atmosphere: the textures are bland and overused, there's little in the way of traffic or pedestrians and there's fogging to help alleviate that annoying pop-up. It's still impressive stuff give the DS' lack of power but it's a significant step backwards to anyone who's seen their recent Spiderman 3 games for the platform.

Sound

Given the length of this game it's impressive just how much speech they've managed to squeeze into the tiny cart. Better still it's actually good voice acting (with both of the main stars reprising their roles), which is something of a rarity these days. The music and sound effects are less impressive but you are probably better off turning the soundtrack down all together and paying attention to what's being said by your leader.

Dual screen

Other than extending the controls (you can scan and transform using the touch screen) there's not a great deal happening here. Disappointing really.

Final comments

Even with all the pros and cons taken into consideration, the Transformers games have it where it matters: they allow you to play as these huge robots and battle it out over a sizeable cityscape and given that this is exactly why moviegoers where attracted to the film it's difficult to knock it. Yes, the combat is a little limited as is the Multiplayer and the various tasks do start to feel a little stretched by the end of the game, but most gamers will still walk away satisfied that it at least attempts to replicate the movie experience. Your only decision now is whether to go for Autobots or Decepticons or, for the full experience, splash out on both.

Pro: Great 3D Models and Environments, Loads of Speech.
Con: Missions a Little Repetitive, Cities almost empty of all life.
Final score: 6.9

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