Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is the sequel to Transformers: War for Cybertron. Both games are essentially very loose prequels to the 1980′s series set completely on Cybertron. The original game was well-received by most and is generally considered to be among the best Transformers games. The sequel was developed by High Moon studios, who had made the previous game as well. High Moon certainly went much bigger with this installment in the series, but was bigger, better ? Oh yes.

Storyline: FoC is set after WfC has ended and Cybertron is rapidly dying. Megatron’s attempt to harness “dark” energon  has only further depleted the entire planet of much-needed fuel. Knowing their only hope lies beyond Cybertron, the game begins with the Autobots attempting to gather the resources needed to defend the Ark – their final spaceship remaining on the planet – and to get it off planet.

The storyline to the game was solid, introducing many characters to the series and bringing back quite a few from the first game as well. It was a joy to revisit many of these characters with the improved controls and visuals (more on those later) but for me, the new characters stood out even more. Getting to control Grimlock was some of the most fun I’ve had gaming this year. Bruticus was also a blast to play as for the limited time you are able to.

I suppose the only real negative here is that because this game is a prequel, main characters are essentially guaranteed to survive relatively unharmed. Still, the game does well to make it seem as though the stakes in this conflict are still quite high.

Graphics: While the Unreal engine continues to show its age, there is MUCH more colour in this game than its predecessor. With the game set on Cybertron, the developers did well to mix up the colour palette just enough so that the areas felt different from one another. The first game suffered from far too many enclosed areas that looked similar, and this one thankfully fixes much of those complaints.

The character models look terrific – you can pick out moving pistons on Optimus Prime’s back, see even the smaller parts shifting during transformations, etc.

The only negative here is that the Xbox 360 version would occasionally suffer a framerate hit whenever there are a lot of enemies onscreen. The PS3 and PC versions did not suffer from any slowdown during my playthroughs.

Sound: A good Soundtrack overall. I’d actually like to see it released separately from the game at some point. The sound effects are well done overall and really the only gripe I have with the sound is the lack of more of the voice actors from the original series. Still, the ones chosen generally do an alright job.

The sound doesn’t detract from the game, but it doesn’t really excel and dramatically improve it either
Control: The controls particularly while in a vehicle seem greatly improved. Transformations are still done with the push of a button and the shooting controls are spot on.

The mouse and keyboard support is rather poor – PC users will probably want to use a gamepad of come sort.

Final Thoughts: The main campaign takes only roughly 6 hours to complete and only really offers significant difficulty in a few places. While that is normally a problem, I found that the games variety and pacing were well done over that time and that extending the game might have actually resulted in less quality. Really people’s feelings will come down to whether or not they want a great time for 6 hours, or a good time for 10 or 12.

The multiplayer makes a return, but after the nightmare which was War For Cybertron’s multiplayer, I avoided it like the plague for the most part. From what I saw it was well done, but balancing the characters/classes seems to be an issue. Some classes seem overpowered over others and you may see many players online playing the same superpowered class.

In the end, I loved this game. The fact it is short will turn some people off, but I found the levels to be pretty replayable. There are also the usual collectibles and Easter Eggs for the more hardcore transformers fans. If you have the option, pick up the PC version as the graphical detail on it shines above the PS3 version. Aside from occasional slowdown issues, the Xbox 360 version is still a fine choice though as well.

As a Transformers fan, I highly recommend transformers: Fall of Cybertron. As a gamer, I recommend it, but be aware of the game’s length.

–Ryan