Transformers Battlegrounds is the first Gaming Console game released by the Transformers brand since Devastation several years ago and takes a much different tack to its predecessors.
Whilst previous Transformer console games have been primarily 3rd person shooters such as War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, or hack & slash like Devastation, Transformers Battlegrounds is a strategy turn-based game where you (as a hovering human) control a group of bots below to work your way through levels until you have the obligatory ‘boss battle’ at the end.
Right from the outset you can tell this is a Transformers game aimed at younger players. The game is based on the recent Cyberverse cartoon which itself was aimed at younger fans. The controls are simple and easy to pick up and the gameplay follows a very simplistic style. Older players who are looking for an in-depth turn-based game with hundreds of options are going to be disappointed, but the game is a good entry point for your younger player who doesn’t want to get too burdened with choice. So lets take a look at the different facets of this game.
The Levels
The graphics are very faithful to the cartoon, which is both good and bad. The cartoon had very simple 3D animation with smooth bots with minimal details and the environments they inhabited were even more so. The game reflects this and you work your way through environments such as identical looking towns, deserts and even Cybertron itself – none of which look particularly impressive.
Once again, the makers of the game had to stay true to the source material but when we were treated to such visual marvels back on the PS3 in Fall of Cybertron, its kind of disappointing for so little potential of the PS4 to be utilized here.
The Characters
The game contains a decent variety of characters from the show. In the main campaign you play as the Autobots and take control of such characters as Arcee, Windblade, Grimlock, Wheeljack and the obligatory Optimus and Bumblebee. There are many opponents from the Decepticon cast of the show as well; Seekers such as Starscream, Slipstream, Acid Storm, Thundercracker and Thrust, as well as other characters such as Dead End, Strika, Megatron and Shockwave with his drones. The Decepticon cast is also fleshed out by several characters that never appeared in the show but did in the Generations toyline such as Battletrap and Offroad. Several of the Decepticon show characters are also playable in the Multiplayer mode so you get a chance to play both sides of the conflict.
The characters look faithful to the show, but once again the game designers have made little use of the PS4’s capabilities. Characters are very limited in their animations and any cutscenes simply show speech blocks at the bottom of the screen rather than bothering to make the actual characters lips move. They did get the voice actors from the show in which is a plus, but in some situations the characters say things that aren’t applicable. For instance, in ‘Capture the Flag’ the character with the flag often says ‘I’m damaged here!’ or ‘I’m leaking Energon!’ even if they haven’t sustained any damage. Also, in the main game lots of the female Seekers give distinctly masculine grunts. Rather than this being a gender-swapping scenario like Acid Storm in the cartoon, it comes across as simply lazy by the designers who didn’t bother to match up the voices to the characters correctly.
Gameplay
As mentioned the gameplay is very simplistic, with you herding your group of bots through different levels. Each character has different abilities which can be upgraded throughout the game. Each character gets three action tokens to use per round and these are used for either travel, attack or healing other bots. There is some strategy to this game, for instance using your scout characters to herd Cons towards your tank characters to get taken out, with healer characters ready to either snipe or heal as needed. But the depth is minimal and any experienced gamer will soon grow bored.
Multiplayer
Here is the main reason that I personally purchased the game, so that my son and I could sit on the couch next to each other and finally play a Transformers game together. Before this Transformer console games have either been single player or online coop, with no options to sit and play with your buddies. There are five different multiplayer options, some of which you can play as Cons, ranging from taking out as many enemies as possible in a limited number of turns, to games such as Capture the Flag. The latter was by far the most fun to play with my son as one of us would steal the flag while the other provided cover or heal. But, like the main game, the lack of depth was disappointing and despite my sons young age we both found ourselves growing bored.
Overall
While this game opens up a new style of gameplay for Transformer games, it’s simplicity is also its downfall. Lackluster graphics, overly-simplistic and repetitive gameplay and an uninspired storyline relegate this release to a niche that will only appeal to younger and less experienced gamers. For older gamers, and even younger gamers who have spent a lot of time with a controller in their hands, this game will become very dull very quickly and only appeal to the most die hard of Transformer fans.
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