When I heard there was going to be a next gen Transformers game, I was absolutely psyched. Then I saw screenshots, then videos, then gameplay. Still stoked. Then the reviews came rolling in. Wow. Its like finding out Santa Claus killed himself in your backyard. Still, I really wanted to see if everyone was overcritical and play the game myself through BOTH missions.

Presentation and Graphics: This could very well be broken into two categories, the Transformers themselves and everything else. Seeing Starscream transform on the fly on a 50” plasma was a treat unto itself just as much as all the Transformers were, but the level design and surrounding lighting was decent at the very best. It seemed that all the focus was the robots and not anything else and it made the levels seem bland and repetitive. The loading screens were actually pretty neat and the menus had their own transforming graphics and were easy to navigate. The game was polished in some areas but not all leaving much to be desired. 2.5 of 5

Sound and Music: The sounds of the robots transforming was actually pretty sweet and almost identical to the movie. The weapons and melee combat were also very well done with each weapon making a distinctly different noise depending on what it hit and who fired it. The in game music was nothing extraordinary. One of the most annoying aspects was the constant reminder to go to a nav point when you were between missions. The game had some sandbox aspects to it, but when every 30 secs you are being told to go somewhere it gets almost to the point of muting. All in all, this may have been the strongest area of the game. 3 of 5

Gameplay: This is where the shit hits the fan. First of all, the awesome weapons these robots have that can lay waste to anything on this planet are useless. Every Transformer except for the smallest drones can put up a shield and deflect every single shot. You cannot use your projectiles against anything besides building. All combat has to be melee and this was awful. The animations were cool and all but they wanted to have you fight in close and this kind of limiting design is atrocious. The Autobot campaign is dreadful. You either chase Sam around in these repetitive time levels that are ridiculously easy at one point and impossible in the next or endless fighting of droids, where as some are harder than the main characters. The Decepticon campaign was much better in the fact you get to destroy whatever you want and actually have some freedom to use your weapons against the military. You were able to climb some buildings, yet some would crumble by just touching them ever so slightly. You can search for 100 all spark pieces on each level, but that is by no means worth the time or the effort. The boss battles were either a joke or Ninja Gaiden like hard. You had to figure out a weakness for each Boss, which was pretty obvious, but in between endless droids would come out making a 5 min battle last about 30. All in all, the controls were frustrating and you just waited for the game to get good. It just never happened. 1.5 of 5.

Lasting Appeal: There is no multiplayer or co-op and no real reason to play through the game again because the characters are chosen for you for each level. You can unlock up to six skills for each level, but this is vague and frustrating. The game will take about 10-12 hours for both campaigns and you can search for all the 100 pieces on each level, but that is really unnecessary to see hidden game art. 2 of 5

Final Word: I really wanted this game to be awesome. It felt rushed out to meet the movie release and the gameplay made no sense whatsoever. Unless you have an Optimus Prime tattoo on your ass, this a rental at best just to play the beloved characters. A few day rental is all this is and that is a real shame. Overall: 2 of 5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.

2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.