Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Going by forum threads, this is one of the least anticipated games of 2012. But is it any good? Surely somebody's been spending the last couple of days making KOUK-KO-KWA-KWA-KAK noises under their breaths as they convert from forklift to oscilliscope and back. Right?

Reviews are generally good (8ish) but they were about there for the first game and I didn't like it much. It looked pretty and played slick but felt sterile and impersonal.

I've posted this in a couple other places, but since there's a Catch All, I'll just drop it here.

Damn I wish I had time for FoC right now.

Hmm, that looks pretty cool. Might be good to grab it on sale when I have time to play it... maybe...

Not loving it as much as the first game.

Now this is going to sound like PC snobbery, but it isn't (though I am usually guilty of that). The first game was a console port and I really enjoyed it. This game feels dumbed down from the first one.

They do put in configuration terminals where you can select which weapons you carry and you can upgrade them. That part is cool.

But, so far, it feels soul-less.

Hmm, maybe I won't pick it up on the sale then. Maybe watching it on youtube will be more worth it.

I've been playing it on 360 and so far it's pretty good, but I'm frustrated that they removed the co-op. I was really excited for the game and I'm enjoying it, but at the same time I'm wishing I had waited until it was in the $30-$40 range.

I agree. It's just not as good as War for Cybertron. My big pet peeve is that I don't get to choose which transformer I will be for any given level. War for Cybertron at least gave you some choice. It's generally bad when a sequel removes features from the original.

Mere Anarchy wrote:

I agree. It's just not as good as War for Cybertron. My big pet peeve is that I don't get to choose which transformer I will be for any given level. War for Cybertron at least gave you some choice. It's generally bad when a sequel removes features from the original.

On the Giant Bomb Quick Look EX the dev addressed this saying that when you let the user pick any Transformer for any level (as in the first game) that the level design becomes homogenized by having to account for them all.

They said they were pleased with the tradeoff of having tighter levels custom-designed for the specific strengths of each Transformer in FoC.

Aaron D. wrote:
Mere Anarchy wrote:

I agree. It's just not as good as War for Cybertron. My big pet peeve is that I don't get to choose which transformer I will be for any given level. War for Cybertron at least gave you some choice. It's generally bad when a sequel removes features from the original.

On the Giant Bomb Quick Look EX the dev addressed this saying that when you let the user pick any Transformer for any level (as in the first game) that the level design becomes homogenized by having to account for them all.

They said they were pleased with the tradeoff of having tighter levels custom-designed for the specific strengths of each Transformer in FoC.

Fair enough. I just didn't find that the levels were that different despite the fact that they were built around a character's special ability.

Yeah. That just goes back to the eternal war this generation between directed and undirected experiences. I've had some great directed experiences (Uncharted), but by and large I'm moving away from those.

Okay, so I finished this last night and I have to say that the last half of the single player campaign is a lot of fun.

Youi get to play some big guys that you don't normally see and it is awesome when the credits start to roll. That's about all I'll say for now.

Nevin73 wrote:

Okay, so I finished this last night and I have to say that the last half of the single player campaign is a lot of fun.

Youi get to play some big guys that you don't normally see and it is awesome when the credits start to roll. That's about all I'll say for now.

I completely agree. After coming off of Darksiders 2 which ran out of steam near the end and finished way too abruptly, FoC actually got a lot better in the second half. The final chapter was immensely satisfying and was a blast to play through.

Dr._J wrote:
Nevin73 wrote:

Okay, so I finished this last night and I have to say that the last half of the single player campaign is a lot of fun.

Youi get to play some big guys that you don't normally see and it is awesome when the credits start to roll. That's about all I'll say for now.

I completely agree. After coming off of Darksiders 2 which ran out of steam near the end and finished way too abruptly, FoC actually got a lot better in the second half. The final chapter was immensely satisfying and was a blast to play through.

I think these games have to be played in context. It's a thrill ride. It's not particularly open. I don't play it for the same reasons I play Dark Souls or a JRPG or SRPG. I play it to see Metroplex smash stuff and wander through the world.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/1dRtx.jpg)

I didn't realize they had multiplayer character packs for DLC. $10 a pop seems a little pricey, though I am a bit tempted...you get to play Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, let alone the other dino bots.

I haven't given MP a try yet. Anyone have any thoughts on it?

So I tried the MP last night. It is pretty much exactly like the first game, even down to the available classes. Quick TDMs where you shoot each other (TDM is the only mode I tried). I figured out the DLC is just new skins to wear the Dinobots or other classic characters, but they all fit into the four classes: Infiltrator (Bumblebee), Destroyer (Optimus), Titan (Megatron), Scientist (Starscream).

I played some MP on release and it seemed ... fine. But it wasn't anything that kept me coming back after a few nights.

On SP, I am on the next to last chapter, and I really like it. I felt like the middle of the campaign slumped some--the chapters didn't seem to take advantage of the characters you were playing as--but the last few chapters have reverse that trend. I am not done yet, but the SP is a lot better than the MP's "fine" in my book.

How well has this aged as a single player game? Only asking since it's $12.50 at Humble right now, and i get 10% off and I have another 10% off coupon.

And well, I looked at the steam forums for multiplayer and it looks like activision took down or broke the multiplayer servers, so it's a single player only game now, eventhough they still sell all the multiplayer DLC for it, that you cannot use. That alone puts a bad taste in my mouth.

It's Activision, so of course they'll do anything to make a buck. However, the games are great nostalgic play-throughs for fans of the original show.

CatPhoenix wrote:

How well has this aged as a single player game? Only asking since it's $12.50 at Humble right now, and i get 10% off and I have another 10% off coupon.

I've never played this game in multiplayer, but I 100% recommend it just for the single player campaign. This game is tons of fun, and I have loved every single one of my playthroughs.