Transformers: Heavy Metal
| This article is about . For other uses of "Heavy Metal", see Heavy Metal (disambiguation)|The name or term "Heavy Metal" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Heavy Metal (disambiguation).}} |
Beta:June 24, 2021 (New Zealand)
July 15, 2021 (Philippines)
August 11, 2021 (Denmark)
October 13, 2021 (Netherlands)
March 29, 2022 (Malaysia) | {{#if: August 31, 2022 | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: | {{#if: |
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| Developer | Very Very Spaceship, Niantic}} | ||||||
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| Publisher | Niantic}} | ||||||
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| Platform | Android, iOS}} | ||||||
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| Release date | Unreleased Beta: June 24, 2021 (New Zealand) | ||||||
| End of service | August 31, 2022}} | ||||||
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Transformers: Heavy Metal was a location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Very Very Spaceship and Niantic. The game received a staggered soft-launch in 2021, with playable betas being released in several regions, but was officially canceled in June 2022, with services for the existing betas shut down on August 31.<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-dev-cancels-transformers-game-and-three-others-lays-off-as-many-as-90-report/1100-6504991/</ref>
Plot
[edit]
At the brink of a looming Decepticon invasion on Earth, Bumblebee and Hound launch the Guardian Program, a network of human allies working with the Autobots to keep the planet safe. With Starscream hot on their trail, Bumblebee brings you into the program. As Guardian, you must scan for threats and supplies, take control of Decepticon-occupied regions, and amplify the Autobots' signal to Cybertron.
Gameplay
[edit]Transformers: Heavy Metal used similar location based mechanics to Niantic's other AR games, such as Pokémon Go. As players moved around the real world, they would come across Decepticons, whom they could confront in turn-based battle with the help of their Autobot companions. If multiple players were in the vicinity, they could join the battle and help take on stronger Decepticon opponents.<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/14/22529378/transformers-heavy-metal-niantic-pokemon-go-location-game-ar</ref> The map was divided into small regions, each containing a Signal Post which can be interacted with to obtain items and which corresponded to a real world point of interest. Early versions of the game allowed users to take over regions by defeating Decepticons, changing the region's color, and regions had to be visited by the user to become visible to them. Later Guardian Beacons were introduced, which had to be deployed in regions to make them visible and only lasted a few days.
Combat operated via a turn-based system. Each combatant had a health gauge and an energy pool, as well as, potentially, armor. At the beginning of combat, the combatant's moves were shuffled and only the top two were visible. The player could chose to either use the top move, which costed a certain amount from the bot's energy pool, or discard the move to increase the bot's available energy. Moves could do damage, increase armor, induce status effects, and were generally tailored to match the bot's style. A Decepticon Shield would have many moves centered around increasing armor, while a Decepticon Hacker's moves might insert useless "glitch" moves into the Autobot's move pool. Once a bot's health gauge was reduced to zero, they lost the match.
In addition to Decepticons, players would also encounter Mini-Cons, which can be collected in exchange for Energon. Autobots could equip Mini-Cons to replace their default moves in battle. Equipped Mini-Cons would also follow their Autobot around on the map, which was very cute. Unwanted Mini-Cons could be recycled for Energon. As well as map encounters, Mini-Cons could be obtained from Micronus Gates which could be opened via a Mini-Con Key and some walking on the part of the user. Mini-Con Amps could be attached to Signal Posts to attract Mini-Cons to the area.
Other mechanics included:
- Raids, in which Signal Posts could be temporarily taken over by the Decepticons. Players could team up and battle through three Decepticons of increasing difficulty to gain rewards.
- A messaging system in which Autobots and occasionally Starscream would have conversations with the player.
- A bounty board encouraging the player to track down and defeat certain Decepticons.
Featured characters
[edit]{{#if:true ||(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)}}
- Chromia
- Hound
- Windblade
- Wheeljack|| style="background:#ffdddd;" valign="top" |
- Bumblebee
- Chromia
- Hound
- Windblade
- Wheeljack }}{{#if:*Scout
- Elite Scout
- Hacker
- Elite Hacker
- Tactician
- Elite Tactician
- Shield
- Elite Shield
- Soldier
- Elite Soldier
- Starscream
- Shadow Striker
- Roulette
- Slipstream
- Bonecrusher
- Skywarp
- Nova Storm
- Ion Storm
- Acid Storm
- Thundercracker
- Shockwave
- Blitzwing
- Devastator|
Autobots }}{{#if:*Scout
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Decepticons }}{{#if:*You| | Humans }}{{#if:*Axeblade | Mini-Cons }}{{#if:| | Misc }}{{#if:| | Misc }} |
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Notes
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- Files were present in the game data for Arcee and Barricade. Concept art exists for many more characters, as can be seen on concept artist Alex Pelayre's website, including Jazz, Hot Rod, Blurr, Moonracer, Soundwave's cassettes, and more Constructicons.
- An early abandoned mechanism included collectable items scattered around the game world which could be tapped on and collected. These included such oddities as Cybertronian zodiac cards, jet polish, polyhedral dice which rolled a value each time you looked at them, C'tronian Scrawlers, and Transformers Comics.
References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Very Very Spaceship's website - including a showreel for the game