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 Mini-Cons on Earth.
Decepticons who appear in the game include Megatron, Starscream, Cyclonus and Tidal Wave. The Mini-Cons Sparkplug, Longarm and Jolt join their toy-partners after the player completes the first level, acting as support fighters. The Decepticons' Mini-Con partners Leader-1, Swindle and Crumplezone do not appear as individuals, but are seen attached to their partners. The final boss of the game is Unicron in planet mode; a colossal Dead End in "moon" mode can be seen attached to him.
As well as allowing players to transform into vehicles whenever they wished, the game used Mini-Con collecting as a way to acquire new weapons and abilities. This gave the game an almost Pokemon-style "Gotta Catch 'em All!" feel. Some combinations of Mini-Cons also had additional synergistic effects, such as faster weapon recharging or a larger life meter. In addition, the main partner Mini-Cons follow the player, shooting at enemies. The player can also "Powerlinx" with their partner Mini-Con, allowing for a Max Payne-style "bullet time" mode, though this drained the player's health. As well as Mini-Cons, players could collect Data-Cons that unlocked bonus features in the game's main menu, ranging from game artwork, toy instructions, toy prototype photos, the minicomics, and five G1-era PSAs.
Every level in the game was a very large, detailed environment which allowed free exploration rather than short, linear maps. Players could return to any previously-played level to discover more areas using their newly collected Mini-Cons. The game engine used is unknown, but appears to use technology similar to that of Croteam's Serious Engine to allow large, detailed outdoor levels with no slowdown.
The game was well received by critics and fans alike, and is often considered to be the best of all Transformers video games. Several review sites and magazines seemed to reject the game outright for not being based on the Generation 1 series. The most common gameplay-related complaints are the disappointingly small roster of characters, sometimes stiff control, and a lack of a "directional" guide resulting in players getting lost in the vast environments.
Melbourne House had begun work on a sequel based around the Energon series, but Hasbro's retaining of the Transformers game license ended any plans for the sequel.
