Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

The third Transformers movie is out and the folks at High Moon Studios decided to come along for the ride. As you can expect, Activision was prepared to ensure a video game release just ahead of the Michael Bay blockbuster summer film that shares its title. While the verdict is not yet out on the movie as of this writing, the Transformers: Dark of the Moon game is very much a settled deal.

For those following the series, Transformers: Dark of the Moon follows up on last year’s well-received Transformers: War for Cybertron. While past attempts at the franchise have not been entirely successful, Activision has seemed to find a winning formula with the third-person shooting action. It’s a good fit for the franchise and High Moon Studios continues that tradition in this game.

The biggest change is the introduction of what Activision is calling “Stealth Force” mode, a hybrid between the robot and vehicle modes that fans are used to. Essentially all this means is that you can attack while you are still in the form of a car (or truck), which has the advantage of taking less damage. Why that is the case, I do not know, but it makes the game a lot easier than before.

Whether you play as a robot or a vehicle does not depend much on the situation as it does your gameplay style. Since there is no ammo to speak of, you can just as easily play the game with one weapon out of the many to choose from. It is not nearly as satisfying when you do not have to seemingly work for powerful weapons.

Each of the Transformers that you play as have their own unique weapons and abilities. Some of them have shotguns while others have sniper rifles. As far as abilities go, you will need to take advantage of things such as a cloaking ability, supersonic blast and others to make the levels easier. Not all of these abilities are required to be used in order to advance, although some are. Still, it never hurts, especially in boss fights.

My biggest complaint with Transformers: Dark of the Moon is its lack of direction. The third-person action is fine and the ability to play as multiple different Transformers is a definite plus. You even can play as the Decepticons. However, the driving is tedious at best and each of the levels seems to be the same with new characters. Fans of the movie will probably get a kick out of it and should definitely consider a rental. It would also make a good game for kids to play since it is fairly easy.