I finished this last night and I'll say that this game has been a stellar experience. The game continues where War for Cybertron left off, Cybertron is in ruins, and only one option remains while the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons rages on, Cybertron can longer be considered home. The game takes you through the last hours of that struggle, as the Autobots try to evacuate, while the Decepticons try to thwart their evacuation attempt.
"You're weak, Optimus. You run when you should fight!"
—Grimlock
Fall of Cybertron takes the great experience that War for Cybertron was, and blasts it into another world (literally). The narrative is rather compelling and is told in the same way WFC did it, from the perspective of both of the warring factions. The core difference is that instead of you selecting the character for that level, each chapter has its own designated character(s) assigned to it. This makes each level all the more personal. This may have taken a bit away from the replay value of the the levels, but it gives the story better focus. In fact, the last few chapters have you switching between characters and factions multiple times which also adds a larger scale to already focused story as it's executed to near perfection.
The graphics for this are just beautiful. The level design doesn't get repetitive, Cybertron is a marvel to behold in this game, and the bots are well designed. You would honestly feel like that world is alive (technically it is).
I can't find fault in the gameplay of this game. They definitely improved on WFC's control system as the KB+M (how I played for most of the game) is now a viable choice in how you choose to play (controller was the only way you could really play WFC without feeling murderous). The game doesn't try to re-invent the wheel when it comes to how it plays as a 3rd person shooter, instead it uses the wheel in a polished and smooth fashion. There is a wide array of weapons which can be upgraded to make for an even stronger transformer. Each character has their own unique special abilities ranging from cloaking or using a grapple, to using a shock wave or even hovering. These abilities will have a cool down bar (the cool down is dependent on the character's ability), this forces the player to use them strategically and not just spam them.
Where FOC shines though, is in the transformations (it is a Transformers game after all). You can transform at will and it's seamless. Each transformation has its strategic advantages and disadvantages (the intricate level design will certainly force you to explore these), ranging from your faster yet weaker cars, bulky but stronger tanks or trucks, the choppers and jets, and of course Grimlock (an Autobot T-Rex Dino bot) and Bruticus (A large Decepticon brawler made up of 3 combaticons). You can't go wrong with a Dino Bot, that bot is tons of fun.
This game is by no means, a walk in the park, and you'll deal with a variety of enemies, who will try anything to tear you apart. These range from your standard bots to the Wall Crawler snipers, Guardians, or even Leapers. At times you might encounter more than one enemy type in the middle of a boss fight (pure anarchy, but the fun kind). They can overwhelm you with ease if you don't at least try your hand at strategy, especially in their various transformed states.
"After eons of conflict, I finally see the truth of your words, Megatron."
"And what might that be, Optimus?"
"This universe, no matter how vast, will never be big enough for you and I to coexist. "—Optimus and Megatron
The multiplayer will have you playing for hours, because all the diversity from the singleplayer (transformations, weapons mods, and special abilities) translates well into the multiplayer side. You get 4 classes: Infiltrator, Destroyer, Titan, and Scientist. You can customize your transformer's look and load-out. There are 4 modes: Team Death Match, Conquest, Head Hunter, and Capture the flag. The only thing most likely to bring the multiplayer down is that other more popular MP games will most likely overshadow this game.
All in all, I would recommend this game to anyone, whether you're a seasoned fan of the Transformers universe, or just looking for a great action game.
Story - 8.5
Gameplay - 10 (Seriously, Grimlock and Bruticus)
Graphics - 9
Longevity - 8
Originality -8
Multiplayer -7.5
). The narrative is rather compelling and is told in the same way WFC did it, from the perspective of both of the warring factions. The core difference is that instead of you selecting the character for that level, each chapter has its own designated character(s) assigned to it. This makes each level all the more personal. This may have taken a bit away from the replay value of the the levels, but it gives the story better focus. In fact, the last few chapters have you switching between characters and factions multiple times which also adds a larger scale to already focused story as it's executed to near perfection.
). The game doesn't try to re-invent the wheel when it comes to how it plays as a 3rd person shooter, instead it uses the wheel in a polished and smooth fashion. There is a wide array of weapons which can be upgraded to make for an even stronger transformer. Each character has their own unique special abilities ranging from cloaking or using a grapple, to using a shock wave or even hovering. These abilities will have a cool down bar (the cool down is dependent on the character's ability), this forces the player to use them strategically and not just spam them.
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