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TRANSFORMERS! MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE! DOOO DOOO DOOO DOO! Transformers is a perfect example of a love-hate relationship. You either buy into the idea of gigantic robot warriors waging a million-year war on Earth, disguising themselves as normal vehicles or you shake your head and move on.

It’s not easy to love the robots in disguise, but they’ve certainly had some high points of entertainment during the last decade. Specifically, High Moon’s superb Cybertron series, which was later muddied by less than stellar movie tie-in games. Enter fan-favourite developers Platinum Games, who’ve decided to go back to the roots of the iconic franchise while throwing their own brand of high-energon fisticuffs into the mix.

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And if you grew up in the 1980s, it’s like a step back in time. Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots are back, sporting their original G1 shells and voices, while Megatron has yet another scheme in mind that will result in the death of all organic life on Earth.

It’s a Saturday morning cartoon experience, complete with cheesy one-liners and quips delivered by a veteran cast of actors that any fan will recognise. And it’s that audio attention to detail that helps sell, even elevate,  an otherwise simple excuse to pummel any brawler in front of you who doesn’t wear an Autobot symbol.

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There’re five playable characters to choose from in Devastation: Autobot leader Optimus Prime, the nimble Bumblebee, the quick-footed  Wheeljack and fan favourite Dinobot Grimlock. Each has their own skills and attacks to match their transformations, but for the most part, you can easily power through the game with just one main character and save the sparse upgrade points for them.

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When it comes to combat, Transformers: Devastation handles exactly like you’d expect it to when you see Platinum on the title: Fast, fluid and flashy. Platinum has dipped into their bag of familiar tricks here, with mechanics lifted straight from Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, only without the rabbit-hole depth of those games.

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Dodges open enemies up, you can pretty much spam one combo through the whole game if you choose to, while gunplay is a tad bit on the janky side. But it’s the combination of great pacing, imaginative arenas and the fact that you can finish a combo with a 18-wheel backhand that makes it all worthwhile.

Every Autobot brings their own flavour of Transformation combo-finishers and special moves to the table, from Sideswipe’s blaster cannon through to Grimlock’s “HEY I’M A ROBOT T-REX WHAT’CHA GONNA DOO?” abilities. They’re all faithful to the TV series, and give the gameplay some semblance of variety.

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Don’t go into Transformers: Devastation expecting a lengthy campaign. You can easily blast through the game in around 3-4 hours, although it’s the enemy variety and boss fights that help keep the pace flowing to avoid any fatigue. Platinum didn’t have too many tools to play with here, but they clearly made the most of what they had.

Boss fights make good use of the game mechanics introduced, enemies provide a decent challenge when mixed up and some levels change the flow with racing and shooting sections.

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Transformations are clearly the first thing you need to master, as nothing beats the sensation of ramming your way through Megatron and then transforming into an uppercut straight into the smug face of Starscream.

Between all those missions, players can also synthesise some new gear for their Autobots, play a game of chance by gambling some credits for powerful runes and up their stat bonuses. There’s not too much here that makes those buffs feel worthwhile at all really, with new weapons either serving as fast combo devices or heavy hammers to deal extra damage with.

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With the main story done and dusted, there’s a challenge mode to keep the action going, made up of 50 combat and platform missions set in the overused environments. And that’s it really

There’s isn’t exactly more than meets the eye when it comes to Transfomers: Devastation, and that’s not a bad thing. Besides the various shortcomings and brief campaign, it’s actually a damned good game that plays out like a highlight reel of past Platinum titles.

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Last Updated: October 14, 2015

Transformers: Devastation
Short and sweet, Transformers: Devastation wears its nostalgia proudly and has plenty of charm packed into those few hours of high-energy action. But it might be worth a wait to scope it out when it goes on sale, instead of paying full price.
7.9
Transformers: Devastation was reviewed on PlayStation 4
77 / 100

9 Comments

  1. SALE or Get In The Sarlacc

    Reply

  2. Viking Of Science

    October 14, 2015 at 16:12

    Obligatory Stan Bush:

    https://youtu.be/AZKpByV5764

    Reply

  3. Nikola

    October 15, 2015 at 09:13

    Looks really good and I want to play it however, I think I will wait for it to be cheap because R800 for an 4 hour campaign is a bit too much.

    Reply

    • Guild

      October 15, 2015 at 09:31

      CoD campaign is longer XD

      Reply

      • Nikola

        October 15, 2015 at 09:32

        I know hahaha, that’s why will get this in like a years time when it’s on the cheap side!

        Reply

  4. Ali Darwesh

    October 15, 2015 at 13:56

    Yeah wait for the price to drop and we will never get a sequel f u

    Reply

    • Bob McBobson

      October 15, 2015 at 14:09

      Games not worth paying full price for don’t deserve a sequel, chief.

      Reply

      • Ali Darwesh

        October 15, 2015 at 15:31

        What a full price?! It’s 10$ cheaper, and I know u will say it’s a short game, No it’s not , u have 50 challenge missions beside the story mode and 5 difficulties. Online mode is’t very important for hack and slash games but it would be nice, and tell me that battlefront is a complete game without the campaign at 60$ plus it have a session pass and worth full price ? (Sorry for my bad English )

        Reply

        • Bob McBobson

          October 16, 2015 at 00:04

          I have never bought and never will buy a Battlefront game for any price. Multiplayer is not my thing. But in the end Devastation is short, repetitive, and has a very limited amount of playable characters. I love G1 but that’s not worth $50 to me. I could go play a Dynasty Warriors (Or any of the licensed property variants) for similar gameplay, the same price, and get 10 times the characters. I’ll see you again when you are $20 Devastation.

          Reply

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