Okay, so I hate reading reviews for videogames.
So...why do I feel compelled to write a review?
Fuck if I know, but I'm doing it anyway.
I got Transformers:WFC last week and spent about five days completing the main quest. It would have taken me a day, two tops, if I didn't have a life outside of gaming. The main quest is divided into two parts. An Autobot campaign and , you guessed it, a Decepticon campaign. For those of you unfamiliar with the wonderful world of those magnificent mechanized marvels known as the Transformers I'm going to defer you to the Wikipedia article here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transformers
Now, this story takes place on Cybertron, the homeworld of the Transformers and it is in the early days of the civil war between the two factions. Concerning the story, it's great. The players gets to see some really cool moments for the characters like the first time Optimus meets Bumblebee and the sorted start of the relationship between Megatron and Starscream. Script wise it's pretty basic, but it's still better then Micheal Bay's incarnation of the well loved sentient machines. Hearing some of the voices from the classic cartoon chiming in amid explosions, gun fire, and the screams of falling enemies is pretty freakin' cool too. Not to mention that unique sound of the shift from robot to vehicle that makes me shiver with geeky delight every time I hear it.
When it comes to the game play WFC is a party based third person shooter pitting you and two allies, controlled by the AI or some online friends if you so choose, against the army of the opposing faction. The levels are pretty straight forward with a beacon marker placed on the screen to help guide you through, though you should be careful and look out for extra ammo, health, different weapons, shields, and the hard to spot Autobot/Decepticon Seals you have to destroy as a side quest for achievement points. Visually speaking the levels are gorgeous, and it's easy to get lost in the virtual architecture, but luckily there are hoards of enemies to destroy. Typically, one would worry about repetitiveness in a game like this, but High Moon has done a really great job spacing different encounters out. The kinds of encounters I'm talking about are "Mini-bosses" and "Big-Bosses". You certainly stay on your toes throughout. One thing I will note, and this could be me, but it seemed that the Autobots had a much harder time than the Decepticons. It may have been just that I was learning, but I really felt much stronger by the time I was tearing things up in the guise of the Decepticons. One thing that stands up in both campaigns is that it takes quite a bit of getting used to learning the strengths and weaknesses of each character type and weapon. And that carries over a bit more when you start playing in the multiplayer.
The players get to create a total of eight unique characters. Four different character types and an Autobot and Decepticon for each. You have a few options with the aesthetics of your unique character, though it leaves something to be desired. As far as weapons and abilities, you gain experience through the multiplayer matches and as you level up new things become available.
One complaint I'll make is I feel a little more could have been done with locking onto enemies as well as some expansion with the so-called melee combat. Pressing one button down for a sluggish, clumsy swing of a weapon hardly qualifies as "melee combat", but this is a shooter first and foremost, so my complaint isn't really a harsh one, just a "man it would be cool if...." complaint.
On the whole, Transformers: WFC is a great game. Definitely worth a play through.
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