Transformers: Decepticons (DS) Review
Posted by Jordan Williams on 07.24.2007
This is what happens when they release two different versions of the same game. You get two different reviews for it. But is this version any better than it's Autobot counterpart?
No doubt about it, if you're reading this right now. You've played Pokemon. You know one of the biggest gimmicks about the game outside of catching them all are the two different versions of each game. One version offers a certain group of Pokemon exclusively, and the other does the same. Up until now that's always been out split games were dealt with.
That changes with Transformers: Autobots and Transformers: Decepticons.
Of course, this is just another game that's banking in on the success of a movie, but this one actually has some stuff going for it this time around. The game of course has two versions, Autobots and Decepticons. You can find the review for the Autobots version here. You're about to read the review for the Decepticons version.
The story in a bit of the same as its Autobots counterpart. You're a rookie Decepticons sent to Earth by 'Lord' Starscream to respond to a distress signal. This is where everything differs. In the Autobot version of the game, you are primarily playing side by side with the movie itself. The Decepticons version of the game, while still taking place in the movie setting, is more of its own original story rather than the movie from their point of view. If you had played this game BEFORE seeing the movie, you'd be really confused. The plot of the game does not follow the plot of the movie at all. In fact...I think it's a bit better.
Graphics
The game itself plays like a sandbox styled game. At first I really though it wasn't going to look too great because of the DS' limitations. But for the most part I was proven completely wrong. The textures in the games aren't really much to right home about, but everything is set to scale very well. Being a giant robot, it would be really awkward if you were just a few inches taller than the average suburban home. They make sure that with each level that you feel big, yet small. For instance, in the city area called Tranquility, there are some suburban homes that look like huts next to your massive frame, yet there are some skyscrapers that literally extend to the top of the in-game world. You can traverse it all.
Vehicles and Robots alike look detailed enough to where you can pick out the minor differences. Where a lot of types of vehicles and robots you see and encounter are reproduced. They all never look exactly the same. This all works well, as there is rarely ever any slowdown on the game, but overall it does look a bit blocky and clunky, especially the vehicles. They seem to fit into two types; box on wheels, or bigger box on wheels. It's good enough to get by, but nothing that will really blow you away. The use of color in the game is a bit strange, too. Where as some cars look realistic, some cars have truly GHASTLY color schemes. Luckily, you can customize the paint jobs.
The in game cut scenes and the few FMV scenes (one of them being a completely different opening monologue from the movie, from the Decepticons point of view with bonus footage) you get go off without a hitch, and despite the overall low quality, there's never any stretching of clipping. Although on some of the larger levels you can see the DS obviously struggle with the draw distance.
Gameplay
If you couldn't tell. No matter what the movie is, the game is always going to be a beat'em up. There's nothing different in this case. Despite the story being strong, the same thing holds true for almost every mission. Destroy this, battle waves of Autobots/Military, destroy that, battle the main Autobot for that level. Nearly every mission follows that same pattern, whether you are playing as your Genericon or one of the main Decepticons. There's the random odd mission that has you actually protecting something, but those are far and few between to matter much. The missions start off harmless enough, you will ALWAYS be stronger than the meager opposition the Autobots throw at you, the military can sometimes be a bit of a pain. That all goes out of the window when you play into the missions deeper.
This game has a HORRIBLE habit of bait and switching the player. You will start a mission thinking you just have to destroy this military base, only to find out that you have to fight a main Autobot in the process. Not counting the final few missions there are NO checkpoints during this long affairs, and you only have one life. Boss Battle in this game are ROUGH. The main Autobot group is not only faster than you, but they seemingly have a TON more armor. There will be many times where you will play through a ten minute long level, only to reach an Autobot who will tear you limb from limb in less than three.
And after all of that is over you are doomed to restart the level ALL over again. It's a vicious cycle.
It's not to say that the game is without its charms. It fashions itself as a type of Grand Theft Auto game with robots. About 90% of the vehicles you see in game can be 'scanned' and acquired. This opens up new options for your personal Genericon as well as an easier time. Because some cars/helicopters are actually better suited for certain missions. At some point you may have to choose wisely. There's a slight RPG element to the game that's better left ignore. To put it simple, the more stuff you destroy, the more experience you get, the more experience you get, the more attacks and abilities you unlock. That's about it.
The singe player gameplay is boring, needlessly hard, and at some points just not fun. It'll tie you over for a bit, but it's pretty much what you'd expect for a movie cash-in game, sadly.
Why haven't I said anything about the control system? Because there's not much to really be said. For the game itself, it works. There are some minor problems with the camera and the targeting system, but damn near everything can be killed in a matter of one or two hits anyway. It's not worth it to gripe about.
Sound
If there's one thing that never ceases to impress me when it comes to DS games. It's how they are slowly making the leaps and bounds each time in the sound department. Way back when I reviewed Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, I remember LOVING the small little bits of the voice acting. Imagine my surprise when I played Transformers: Decepticons and heard that every line of dialogue in this game is spoken. That's right; this DS game has FULL voice acting. Not just any voice acting, there are some actual big names in here. Frank Welker and Peter Cullen reprise their famous roles as Megatron and Optimus Prime respectively, and even Keith David gets in on the fun providing the voice of Barricade (he, and the other Decepticons as a whole play a MUCH bigger part in the game and therefore have a lot more lines). The sound qualities of the voices are amazing. But sadly, there's where all the praise ends.
The one liners and quotes that enemies spout at you get old, VERY fast. And the rest of the sound in the game is just plain bad. Everything sounds like it's from a bad 80s B-Movie, which wouldn't stand out so bad if this game was based off of the old 80s B-Movie. With everything looking so modern, such old school sounds really stand out in a bad way.
The voice acting in this game is top notch, but the sound design of everything else and I mean EVERYTHING else, is best left on mute.
Lasting Appeal
Now, seeing as you can complete the main game in about 10 hours, there HAS to be something here that keeps you coming back, right? That's where All Spark Wars comes in. It's the games sole Wi-Fi mode. Basically, you and all of your fellow Decepticons (or Autobots) are fighting for fragments of the All Spark. Each day you log on, download a level to play (the levels are just the mini games from the normal game), beat the level with your best score, and upload it. The faction with the highest score at the end of the day receives the fragment. This goes on for seven days. At the end of the week, the team with the most pieces wins. I'll go ahead and warn you now that right from the get go it seems that A LOT more people own the Autobots version of the game, seeing as they pretty much sweep the competition each day. This doesn’t mean you can't have fun. A few of the vehicles can only be unlocked via playing All Spark Wars. It's not much in itself, but it's something to play if you are a 100% player or just want to see how you stack up against players around the world.
Sadly, the standard Death Match modes do NOT use Nintendo Wi-Fi. You are limited to a local play for that, and all members must have their own copy of either game. I would've liked to see a standard Death Match in Wi-Fi, but given how clunky the controls are I think we're better off without it.
Fun Factor
This game is fun, albeit in short bursts and for a short while. But then the game either gets too boring, or just needlessly hard. Battle for the All Spark is fun at first, but unfortunately for people playing THIS version of the game it's just too lopsided. You're going to have fun with this, just not sure for how long.
The 411
If you went into this expecting more than just a movie game, you will be disappointed. You should've learned by now. If you went into this with low expectations, you'll be impressed for the first hour or so with the game, but then you'll realize it's just the same stuff all over again. The story and voice acting are very good, but it's a shame that nothing else in this game could be of such high quality. A really big shame.
Graphics
6.0
They do the job. They don't amaze, but they don't really disappoint.
Gameplay
5.0
It gets old way too fast for it's own good.
Sound
8.0
This is almost soley for the voice work. It's a nice surprise, sadly everything else just fails.
Lasting Appeal
7.5
All Spark Wars is a good concept, but it's so lopsided that the Decepticons can never hope to win them.
Fun Factor
5.0
Like I said, you'll have fun with it for a short time. After that you'll probably want to trade it in.
