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Reviewed by: Chris Burton

13 Aug 2007

Transformers: The Game (Wii)

Let's just get this out of the way. I saw Transformers at the theater and thought it was off the chain. I was like a little kid, even though I wasn't really into Transformers when I was a little kid. It redeemed a whole bunch of Michael Bay's misfires for me. The action is incredible and non-stop, the script is actually pretty good, the acting is good, and the special effects are non-stop. But I'm not stupid. I know its a surface film with one guiding principle to make money. But its fun to enjoy a film on a purely visceral level every once in a while. But its purpose is as a money machine. Thus, there are to be some tie-ins. This includes toys, lunchboxes, cartoons, breakfast cereals, and video games. And that's what we're talking about here. Transformers the game released simultaneously on PS3 and Nintendo Wii.

Like most video games that tie into a popular film, Transformers is not all that intricate or long, and it does seem a bit rushed. But what we do get is quite fun but totally expected. It follows the plot of the film pretty closely, and you get to be some of the main characters. There are two separate campaigns, and you can either be the Autobots (the good guys) or the Decepticons (bad guys). Each set of Transformers is in pursuit of the Allspark, which gives life to the universe or something like that. The game either involves you chasing a Transformer with a car, or destroying buildings or other robots as a Transformer. The fighting can become a bit repetitive. It basically consists of mashing the same few buttons to perform the same melee attacks over and over again. While it can get boring, it is exciting for a while. The most annoying aspect to me were the "action zones". During some of the fight sequences, you are restricted to a certain area. If you go beyond this, a ticker comes on the screen and gives you a certain amount of time to get back inside or you fail the mission. I kept getting knocked out of the area and failing the mission. Its pretty easy to get knocked out of the area.

The graphics are exceptional. They are very faithful to the film as far as the design of the Transformers goes. Its pretty impressive since the robots are basically a mesh of metal. They are very detailed. Also, the fight sequences are very fluid and the explosions are excellent. I suggest playing as the Decepticons first because you can just blow things up and not worry about consequences. You're the badguys.

Overall, its a bit repetitive and expected. But it can be enjoyable if you merely let yourself into it on a purely visceral level, much like the film.