Risk: Transformers — Cybertron Battle Edition
Here is what many Transformers fans have been waiting for for years (decades for many of us), a chance to participate in the Great War! Transformers RISK is a themed version of the old boardgame with a little Cybertronian flair. For any fan of the boardgame RISK it's common knowledge that holding the bottlenecks, and therefore the "continent", is the key to victory. Hasbro's newest version changes the rules slightly with the ability to transform. The Cybertronian version of this game has characters (leaders of armies) who can change from their robot form to their alt. mode as well as entire territories (zones) that turn, open, and even crush whole armies, creating new strategic opportunities instantly. While the characters are obviously from the live-action movie, the areas of Cybertron draw primarily from the comic book continuities, and players can even occupy Unicron and Primus themselves, or, presumably, just zones named in honor of them. The game has limits to its fun in the form of a 6 "day" time limit, but this is easily modified by just ignoring the counter on the side of the board. A variation from standard RISK that's harder to ignore is the use of the cards one gets from successfully invading another's territory during your turn. Instead of the regular card with a army type on it accompanied by a territory, which could be exchanged for reinforcements once three of a kind were collected, the Transformer's RISK cards contain the ability to transform territories, provide offensive/defensive enhancements, or add an extra army or two, dependnig on the choice of the player who plays it. Gone are the days of massive reinforcements with which to scour the planet if one massive march.
The winner of the game is still primarily decided by the dice, which shine luck indiscriminately and often thwart even the most capable war planner. Still, the game is fun and encourages creativity in the field of All-Things-Transformers. Now all fans need in a software version complete with graphics and sound bites...
