Transformers (Armada PS2)
The simply titled Transformers was released in 2004 for Sony's Playstation 2, developed by Melbourne House, and released by Atari. It is loosely based on the Armada series.
In it, players take control of one of three Autobots (Optimus Prime, Red Alert or Hot Shot) to battle Megatron and his vast army of Decepticlones over the recently discovered Minicons on Earth.
Decepticons who appear in the game include Megatron, Starscream, Cyclonus and Tidal Wave.
As well as allowing players to transform into vehicles whenever they wished, the game's Minicon collecting idea had every Minicon being a different weapon or ability. This gave the game an almost Pokemon-style "Gotta Catch Them All!" feel. Different combinations also had different effects and using more and more of the same colour at the same time powered up the player further than each Mini-con's separate ability. As well as Minicons, players could collect Datacons, that unlocked Extras, like "And Knowing is Half the Battle" Educational Transformer shorts.
Another thing that was impressive about the game was that each level was a massive detailled environment, rather than short linear maps. Players could go back to these levels later to discover more areas using their newly collected Minicons.
The game was well received by critics and fans alike, and is often considered to be the best of all Transformers video games. The only prevalent complaints being the disappointingly small roster of characters and sometimes stiff control.
