Deceptively fun. That is a good way to describe Transformers: Devastation. Though it can also be described as a love story for any and all fans of the ever popular eighties cartoon series and Hasbro toys. Actually, it is a love story for gamers in general. Loaded with great controls, fantastic transformation sequences, beautiful visuals, superb voice acting, intense battles, and a storyline straight from the cartoon series, the game culminates all of the flawlessly together.
PlatinumGames proved an excellent decision by Activision when chosen as the developer. They were able to bring their vision to fruition without sacrificing too much of anything really, And Devastation proves that as one of the most fun, exciting, and exhilarating games I have played in a long while. PlatinumGames knows how to harness their team’s energy into making dreams come true. Dreams I am not sure I even realized I had until I played Devastation.
You begin the game as everyone’s favorite, Optimus Prime. The tutorial missions are brilliantly laid out, and you can’t help but have a huge smile about 5-minutes in. The controls are solid with attacks mixed between simple, one button presses over and over, and two button combinations. Building upon combos eventually leads to a “Vehicle Attack.” By quickly pressing the appropriate button when prompted, the combo continues by transforming (go figure) one of the Transformer characters (and there are many to choose from) into their respective vehicle. This character then attacks the enemy with a barrage of specialty attacks that can only be accomplished in vehicle form. This may sound kind of like a hack-and-slash, beat-em-up game (which it really is), but it holds so much more for you with the leveling aspect, and the racing elements. It feels more like a hack-and-slash-beat-em-up-RPG-arcade-racer with your childhood heroes.
Weapons are plentiful and varied throughout the game. They can be collected through battles, loot boxes, or even purchased. There are ranged weapons such as missile launchers, machine guns, etc.; and there are melee weapons such as swords and axes. All characters will have at least one of each equipped at all times. And, nearly every weapon can be upgraded. You do this by accessing the “Synthesize” menu within the Ark. Combining one or more weapons together, then adding in some cash, will for a stronger base weapon for your wreak havoc with. Some weapons also have abilities that can be carried over in the synthesizing process. This can help have stronger attack strengths, or greater XP gains.
Stats for each character, i.e. strength or defense, can be raised through battle or purchased in the Ark. What else does the Ark contain? T.E.C.H. upgrades, that’s what. These add special abilities. Also weapons purchases, character selection, and much more. The Ark is like a dream when you actually realize what you can accomplish within the subset menu. And it’s all shown in a representation of the Autobots’ command center.
Gameplay is pretty varied, and is actually different from mission to mission. It’s exciting, unique, and greatly challenging. This is a bit of breath of fresh air in these times with games that rely heavily on repeating some of the same tasks over and over again (I’m looking at you Assassin’s Creed). As I mentioned, there is a tutorial in the beginning, and it is very short. This is not a bad thing in this game, and they, surprisingly, don’t even feel like tutorial missions. After this, though, the missions begin to blossom. Many different elements were implemented in Devastation, from fighting waves of enemies, to jumping through platform puzzles, and, of course, racing against time… or the Decepticons.
Never did the game feel overly repetitive. There was always something new to occupy your time with. Even the boss battles were varied throughout the game, and not always what they seemed. For example, Soundwave – one of the many Decepticon bosses – just stood in the middle of the stage. It seemed like a solid game plan to just run up and start bashing his chrome brains out, and it looked like the only solution. But oh no. Just getting close to the guy would trigger his “soundwave” ability (go figure). This distorts the stage with massive ripples and fluctuations, which disrupts your sight perception. It actually made for brilliant visuals. In fact every boss I managed to face was just fun.
The real thing this game gives you aside from all the nonstop action is a lot of fun. It could have been twice as long and still maintained its depth. Devastation achieved an unparalleled level of fun I haven’t experienced for quite some time when it comes to gaming.
Transforming into each Transfomers’ respective vehicle type was simple with the press of [R1]. Driving may feel shaky and a little too loose at first, but you will find that each Transformer has different specs and handles differently. So if one is a little too unstable, switch to another. The best part is you can play with any Transformer as long as you’d like – and as long as they’ve been found/unlocked –, or switch at any time by heading over to the Ark. This makes focusing on fully upgrading one specific Transformer to your play style much easier in the long run.
Certain areas of the game can be replayed in Challenge Mode, with the only stipulation being that they must be found and unlocked via single player first. Challenges are often centered around waves of enemies that must be destroyed within a certain time limit to achieve an ‘S’ ranking. These challenges extend an otherwise short game, adding to the replay value exponentially.
Devastation has an abundance of collectables, which can be found though defeating enemies, opening loot boxed, or completing mini challenges. Intel items can also be found lying around. These items unlock features in the Collection menu. There is so much to find and collect, it could take hours.
Transformer fans are in for an even bigger treat when it comes to the voice talent in Devastation. Several voice actors from the eighties cartoon reprise their roles for Devastation. Peter Cullen returns as Optimus Prime (who just happened to voice Prime in the recent film series as well), Dan Gilvezan lends his voice to Bumblebee once again, and Frank Welker portrays Megatron. There are so many others with a collection of well known voice actors reprising their roles from 30 years ago. It really brought out the authenticity that PlatinumGames was aiming for. Mission accomplished.
Devastation’s art style and level design are heavily reminiscent of the eighties cartoon series as well. The cel-shaded graphics match the cartoon and toy line almost to a tee. Breaching the television screen with a rainbow of bright, Saturday morning cartoon style visuals that never let up, bleeding with a pleasing sense of simplicity and beauty. It has never looked so authentic.
I cannot articulate well enough just how much this game truly meant to me by the end of it. Even after the end, I found so much more I didn’t even know the game had. There’s so much more to this game than meets the eye (wink). From that first moment I cracked a smile, the game never let up. Not a single element in the game was frustrating, nor did it feel unfair. Its only shortcoming would be a game that’s too short for those of that definitely want more. With a price point that is $10 less than the average retail price of games, I cannot recommend this game enough.
4.5 stars out of 5
