Movie based video games are usually laughed off by the hardcore demographic of gamers fairly quickly and usually with good reason. The lack of quality due to time constraints or not enough resources tends to make these games mediocre experiences at best. While Transformers: Fall of Cybertron isn’t quite a movie IP based title, it tends to be in the same ballpark. When High Moon Studios was granted the right to create a Transformers IP based action game which wasn’t supporting a movie launch, it was nothing short of a game changer when the studio released War for Cybertron 2 years ago.



Even though the studio had to develop Dark of the Moon to go alongside the latest Transformers movie in 2011, both released to less than stellar reviews, High Moon’s follow up to War of Cybertron is another entry into the list of good movie based games. Fall of Cybertron is one of those titles that brings a smile to my face since a studio was able to put time and care into development of original content for a franchise we have loved since we could say the word Transformers.



Fall of Cybertron is a very fresh and impressive action game with lots of visually outstanding executed moments. Taking the battle of Autobots and Decepticons to the home planet Cybertron makes for a great spectacle where the two factions fight it out for one last time. High Moon has chosen to remove the co-op campaign option from Fall of Cybertron in exchange for a more scripted and action packed game that still keeps its typical Transformer based combat the series has come to be known for.

In the 13 chapters that it will take to complete the game, players will take control of either a game chosen Autobot or Decepticon as opposed to the freedom of choice in its predecessor. While this may be seen as a ‘bad’ thing to some players, it actually fits well in the theme of a more scripted and fine tuned experience that High Moon was going for – it certainly worked well during my experience with the game. To name just a few instances where having a specific Transformer is helpful to the experience; I was able to use Cliffjumper to cloak my way through a stealth mission or cause havoc as Grimlock in some of the arena based areas. The Dinobot is playable in Fall of Cybetron and should allow players to tear up robots for a good hour or so.



Even though Fall of Cybertron is more linear and scripted game this time around, players can still freely transform between vehicle and robot form – in addition players can customize the equipment for each of the Transformers. In addition to the games story and fun combat, High Moon has also buried lots of audio logs as well as weapons blueprints and shards of Energon around the world if you are looking for more than just a run through the game.

Some of the games epic scripted events as well as some standout set pieces make for a nice switch up from the time you will spend blasting bots, running from toxic waste or defending points from waves of enemies. Transformers: Fall of Cybetron has plenty of action to go around and will have you setting at the edge of your lazy boy more than a few times.

 

To make up for the missing co-op that players have come to love so much in War for Cybertron, High Moon has brought along the series’ Escalation mode from the last game which has you and three buddies fend off swarms and swarms of increasing enemies as well as the team deathmatch, capture the flag, conquest and head hunter modes.

 High Moon Studios has become the go to developer for Transformers titles as they have proven themselves time and time again. Fall of Cybertron is another excellent game filled with good story beats, massive set pieces and gameplay content that will give the best of the action genre a run for its money. Any Transformers fan needs to play Fall of Cybertron along with movie game skeptics since this is prove that it can be done the right way.

Score: 8.5 / 10

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC on August 21st. A retail copy of the Xbox 360 version was provided to us by Activision for reviewing purposes.