Transformers: War for Cybertron (DS)
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| Developer | Vicarious Visions | ||||||
| Publisher | Activision | ||||||
| Platform | Nintendo DS | ||||||
| Release date | June 22, 2010 | ||||||
| Ratings | ESRB: E10+ | ||||||
Transformers: War for Cybertron — Autobots and Transformers: War for Cybertron — Decepticons are two video games developed by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS, and published by Activision. Like their big brother for the PC and consoles, they are third-person shooters set in the early days of the Great War. Chronologically, the Decepticon campaign is set before the Autobot one.
Gameplay
Like the console version, the central focus of the two DS versions is a linear campaign of missions, following basically the same story. Additionally, there is an Arena mode with five "arenas", each with six missions available, four bonus levels from the opposing game, and seven multiplayer levels.
Before each mission, you pick two Transformers from your available troops. During the mission, you switch between the two chosen characters using the A button. If a character is knocked out, they can be revived by defeating a certain number of enemies with the remaining character. New characters can be unlocked by completing campaign and arena missions, locating "data disks" which appear as floating golden discs, or using unlock codes. There are thirteen unlockable characters in total, including exclusive characters such as MotorMaster, Cyclonus, Grimlock and Cliffjumper.
Characters are classed as "Heavy", "Light" or "Air". While "Air" has the obvious advantage of flight, missions contain areas which only certain classes can go: marked walls can be bashed down by heavy vehicles, and there are small spaces where only light vehicles can go. There are also three weapon types: "plasma" represented by a red circle, "laser" represented by a yellow triangle, and "solid" represented by a blue square. Each character has a ranged weapon (typically plasma or laser) and a melee weapon (typically solid). Enemies are particularly vulnerable to a certain type of damage, which is visible as the symbol representing that damage type above the enemy's head. Advanced enemies can change which damage type they're vulnerable to.
While the foes have health bars that appear over their heads, the player has three bars on their HUD — a health bar, an energy bar, which represents energy they can use to fire, and a boost bar which appears while in vehicle mode, which they can use to boost their speed. All three bars will regenerate in time, though for "Air" characters, the energy bar will not regenerate while they're in vehicle mode. Additionally "boost" is the only way for a flying character to move forward, so when the boost bar is exhausted, they're stuck in place until it recharges.
The game also incorporates a leveling system. Characters begin at level 1 and gain experience by killing enemies and finding energon cubes. Each level gives the character a stat point which can them be spent on one of three stats to increase the character's power. Some stats, when upgraded to a certain level, bestow on the character extra powers, such as new attacks, more powerful weapons, and sundry other abilities. The maximum level possible is 20, giving 19 stat points.
Multiplayer is achieved by using the DS Wi-Fi. Available game types for multiplayer are Deathmatch, King of the Hill, Capture the Flag, and Energon Dash. Additionally, you can play "Ante Games", in which each player bets one of their characters on the outcome. The winner gains the loser's ante character, but the loser can unlock their character again by playing a "rescue" mission, assaulting a prison to free the lost character.
Synopsis
Decepticon campaign
Mission 1: The Plot Forms
Megatron invades Iacon, destroying an Autobot recruit on the way, before rendezvousing with Dirge and another Decepticon. While Soundwave seeks intel, the three Decepticons create a diversion, though one of them is lost in battle. After a battle with Jetfire, Megatron and Dirge are contacted by Soundwave, who reports he's found the location of the Trypticon Space Station.
Mission 2: Reviving the Dark Energon Project
- Unlockable characters: Starscream and Skywarp
Megatron takes his ship to the space station, but is unable to get close due to the debris field surrounding it. By jumping between chunks of debris, he's able to reach the station itself, where Starscream warns him against reactivating the station. Megatron, of course, disregards the warning and repowers the station anyway. Starscream is defeated during a last-ditch attempt to stop Megatron, and he pleads for mercy. Megatron allows him to join the Decepticon cause. Soundwave suggests they test the Dark Energon somewhere safe, so Megatron opts to do so at back at Kaon.
Mission 3: Testing the Experiment
- Unlockable character: Thundercracker
The Decepticons prepare to test the risky Dark Energon. They have set up Kaon Prison as an assault course, and several of the Decepticons use it to test the effectiveness of their new acquisition, including fighting a captive Autobot, Ironhide. The tests deplete almost all of Trypticon's reserves of Dark Energon, so Megatron orders his men to find a way to make more.
Mission 4: Reactivating the Energon Bridge
- Unlockable character: Onslaught
Starscream's deciphering of some ancient data files reveals the existence of a geosynchronous space bridge hidden in Cybertron's core, used by the Ancients to channel power to the Trypticon station. The Decepticons breach the Cybertron Core access gate, but Soundwave warns the team that their presence has reactivated long-dormant defense systems. Starscream believes he knows a way inside.
Mission 5: Activating the Uplink
Soundwave reports that Trypticon's power cells are exhausted and the supplies of Dark Energon are at 20%. The Decepticon assault team heads though rooms filled with superheated gases until they're able to repower the Energon Bridge and restart the energon flow to the Trypticon station. Their imminent victory is interrupted by Silverbolt. He proves no match for the Dark-Energon-powered Decepticons, but his interference means they have to reroute the power using the back-up link. To the Decepticons' collective surprise, the new link only repowers Trypticon to 37%—the Autobots have severed the link to Cybertron's core using Omega Key encrypted locks. Megatron orders Soundwave to assemble a strike force to find said key.
Mission 6: The Attack of Iacon
- Unlockable character: Drag Strip
Soundwave has Laserbeak replay Zeta Prime's message announcing his intent to secret the Omega Key. The Decepticons proceed to Iacon's outskirts, where Megatron ransacks the repository. Starscream tactlessly points out that the information they've gathered is encrypted, and on their way in, they've just wiped out the Autobots who could decrypt it. Megatron tells him to shut his mouth.
Mission 7: The Omega Key
- Unlockable character: Dirge
Starscream breaks the encryption and finds the Omega Key is being held in the heart of Iacon, but is skeptical that Megatron will succeed in getting hold of it. They fight their way into Iacon and head for the library. There, they free the Omega Key from behind a force field, but before they can take it, they're confronted by Zeta Prime. The Autobot leader is defeated after a brief battle but refuses to turn over the key. Megatron slags him, takes the key, and uses it, only to for Zeta Prime to tell him that the key only activates the real key to the core, but not to worry—the Omega Key will come to him. Omega Supreme has been activated and quickly takes out most of the Decepticons in Iacon.
Mission 8: Omega Supreme
- Unlockable character: Soundwave
Megatron accuses Starscream of treachery and prepares for the assault on Omega. Cliffjumper spots the oncoming attack and prepares defenses in advance. When these fail, he tries to outrun them and crashes into a wall. Jetfire continues to attempt to hold the invaders off, but also fails, and the Decepticons are subsequently able to defeat Omega Supreme.
Autobot campaign
Mission 1: Gathering troops
Zeta Prime contacts the Autobots and lets them know he's alive for the moment. Optimus, Bumblebee, and Jetfire purge the Decepticon invaders from a training facility, including Dirge.
Mission 2: Retaking Iacon
- Unlockable characters: Ironhide and Ratchet
The Autobots go to destroy the Dark Energon corruptors throughout Iacon City and reach the Decagon to restore power.
Mission 3: Infiltration of Kaon
- Unlockable character: Cliffjumper
Zeta Prime manages to contact the Autobots to let them know he's being held prisoner in Kaon Prison. The Autobots send a team out to rescue him.
Mission 4: Rescuing Zeta Prime
- Unlockable character: Sideswipe
The Autobots fight their way deeper into Kaon, and rescue the mortally wounded Zeta Prime. Zeta dies of his injuries, and the High Council christens Optimus as Optimus Prime, the last Prime.
Mission 5: Gaining strength
- Unlockable character: Swoop
Optimus goes to recruit Grimlock and Swoop to their side, but first must rescue Swoop from Decepticons. Swoop joins in gratitude for his rescue, while Grimlock tags along for the time being to protect Swoop.
Mission 6: Saving the core
The Autobots journey to the core of Cybertron itself, and are able to save it from the Dark Energon. However, the Core must take time to repair itself, leaving the planet without Energon for millenia. Optimus orders the planet-wide evacuation of the Autobots from their dying planet.
Mission 7: Destroying Trypticon space station
- Unlockable character: Warpath
The Decepticons are using Trypticon space station to attack the evacuating Autobot masses, prompting the Autobots to strike back.
Mission 8: Trypticon
- Unlockable character: Jetfire
The wrecked space station crashes to Cybertron, where Optimus and his small team of Autobots fight the monster Trypticon it transforms into. Upon Trypticon's defeat, Optimus and his team leave Cybertron in the Ark, but Optimus declares they will keep Cybertron alive in their memories forever.
Featured characters
Additional levels
Bonus levels
Both versions of the game comes with four bonus levels from the other faction's version. The Decepticon-branded game comes with:
- Mission 1: Infiltration of Kaon
- Mission 2: Rescuing Zeta Prime
- Mission 3: Saving the Core
- Mission 4: Destroying Trypticon Space Station
While the Autobot-branded game comes with:
- Mission 1: Reactivating the Energon Bridge
- Mission 2: Activating the uplink
- Mission 3: The Attack of Iacon
- Mission 4: The Omega Key
Arena mode
Both versions have an additional Arena mode in which the user must perform tasks such as surviving waves of enemies, dodging obstacles to reach a specific point, racing through environments, destroying or protecting specific targets. The arenas levels take place in:
- Kaon Stadium
- The sewers
- The streets of Iacon city
- A dam
- An Energon Purification Core
Multiplayer locations
Multiplayer games have the following locations available:
- Beaming Facility
- Flight Deck
- Smelting Pools
- Underground
- Sewers
- Kaon Stadium
- Streets of Iacon City
Technical errors and oddities
- Because you can select any unlocked character to go on a mission, this sometimes leads to characters being in two places at once, if one of the characters you've selected is an NPC on that mission.
- Likewise, Ironhide and Megatron always provide the instruction for the Autobot and Decepticon rescue missions, respectively, even if they're who you're meant to be rescuing. Thus Ironhide will appear on your screen talking about himself in the third person and instructing you on where he's being held.
Notes
- The first level of the Autobot version is nigh on identical to the first level of the Decepticon version, as far as gameplay goes.
- Similar to Transformers Animated: The Game, closing the DS will initiate a much more robotic classic Transformation sound. Opening the DS makes the sound go in reverse.
Reception
On the whole, the Nintendo DS version has reviews which are not as positive as its console counterpart. IGN felt the game had some solid concepts, but lacked polish and could have used more work, rating it 6.5/10.[1] Digital Chumps loved the combat, but hated the falling deaths, giving it an overall rating of 6.4.[2] Cheat Code Central hated the control layout and the camera movements, but liked everything else, and gave it 2.6/5.[3] Game Vortex gave it a relatively high score at 70%, though cited the common complaint that the save checkpoints were often far apart.[4]
References
External links
