In the last few years we have gotten some pretty impressive licensed games. The four games in the Batman trilogy, that Middle-Earth one, South Park: The stick of truth – just to name a few. And of course there where two Transformers games by High Moon Studios – the ones with Cybertron in the title, not the movie ones. They weren’t perfect, but considering the usual state of licensed games, they turned out pretty good. With Transformers: Devastation PlatinumGames took over the mantle and that got a lot of people excited. After all, if you like Action games you probably like Platinum, as they are one of the best developers currently around. But even fans were cautions since the last licensed game they developed for Activision was the disappointing The Legend of Korra. Not a bad game, but far from Platinum’s usual level of quality.
Transformers: Devastation luckily turned out quite good. It’s not as good as Revengeance or Bayonetta, but it is still a very fun spectacle fighter that genre fans might want to pick up.
Source: Activision / Platinum Games
Quick heads-up: I got this game strictly because it’s by Platinum; I know next to nothing about Transformers – and I don’t really care, to be honest. I’m sure a lot of fan-service flew right over my head, a lot of the dialogue sounded like gibberish to me and the lore left me somewhat puzzled at times. So if you’re looking for the opinion of a fan then that’s not me; I only wanted a fun action game and that is exactly what Devastation delivered.
So let’s jump right into the meat of things: The gameplay. It’s typical Platinum goodness with two types of attacks (light and heavy) which you can link together for different combos, a dodge function which initiates a slow-motion effect if you dodge at just the right moment (more or less taken directly from Bayonetta) and a special attack. Free aiming with long range weapons is an option and of course you can transform into a vehicle at any time. It’s a solid system that offers a fair amount of depth and complexity and rewards skill and dexterity. There are a couple of hiccups in regards to effort-to-damage ratio, but the system in place is still good solid fun. It’s not as good as in Bayonetta or Devil May Cry 3 but what’s here is still very much worth a look if you enjoy this type of game.
The game runs very smooth and the visual feedback for successful attacks and dodges is amazingly satisfying. You are playing as big-ass robots after all, so punches should feel heavy and impactful and luckily Devastation delivers in that regard.
Source: Activision / Platinum Games
Levels in Devastation are surprisingly sprawling and there are a lot of hidden item chests and even bonus missions to find along the beaten path. Some of these missions are more like short puzzles or races and I was surprised at how much variation Platinum managed to put in the relatively small stages without making them feel cluttered. But even if you skip these optional missions, Devastation occasionally mixes things up with 2D sections, car chases or races. It adds a nice bit of variation and since those sections are usually brief, the game never loses focus.
Another thing that adds variation is the character roster as the game features five playable characters to choose from. If you’re a fan of the Transformers you probably know these characters, I only knew Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. One of them transforms into a T-Rex, so that one became my favorite right away. I was initially expecting those characters to be simple model swaps but to my surprise they do behave differently enough to make a difference. Basic attacks and combos are identical, but they each have different stats and special attacks which adds a nice bit replay value and rewards experimentation.
Source: Activision / Platinum Games
While combat is a skill-based affair foremost, Devastation also utilizes some RPG mechanics – something Platinum isn’t necessarily known for. Characters can be leveled up and the game also has a weapon-loot system. It’s not the game’s strong suit though, I can tell you that.
The weapon system feels somewhat undercooked. Weapons have different stats and abilities and can also be upgraded up by fusing them together. The main problem here is that the system requires too much time. Upgrading weapons takes way to many clicks and quickly becomes a chore as you need to combine more and more weapons to see some results. It gets in the way of the robot punching action. The idea in it of itself isn’t bad but the poorly though out UI makes the system less enjoyable than it could have been. Even something as simple as being able to combine multiple weapons at once could have improved the experience significantly.
But for what it’s worth, the loot system could potentially add some replay value if you enjoy that type of stuff and don’t mind the cumbersome menus. The amount of weapons is staggering and I’m sure that experimentation yields some meaningful results eventually.
Source: Activision / Platinum Games
Devastation’s biggest problem is its lack of fresh content; the game feels very much like a budget title. First off, the game is really short as my first playthrough only took six hours. And during those six hours the game recycled a lot of content, like boss encounters and especially level backgrounds. It’s a shame that the game runs out of new stuff in such a short amount of time. The game is build around replayability and in that regard it certainly succeeds, but it still left me fell somewhat disappointed when I had to revisit the city level for the 3rd time within the first few hours.
A game’s worth shouldn’t be judged purely by length; as long as the game’s content is worthwhile and rewarding, length is just an arbitrary number. But it is still an issue for some people; they do spend their hard earned cash on a product after all, so they expect to get a certain amount of entertainment out of it. If you’re the type of person that plans on doing one playthrough only, then Devastation will leave you disappointed and the game might not be worth the asking price in that case.
As far as replay value goes, Devastation offers a lot of worthwhile content though. Beating the game unlocks a challenge mode which should keep you engaged for a while. The different characters alone make replaying the game justifiable and I’m sure that the looting system is appealing for some people – even though it doesn’t really do it for me. The game also offers five difficulty setting (two of which need to be unlocked) and those make a huge difference during gamepay and offer even more stuff to do.
I’m having a blast going through the game on those super tough difficulty settings but I acknowledge that not everyone is the same. Ultimately it boils down to personal preference and you gotta ask yourself if you’re okay with a game that is very light on new content, but instead focuses on replayability.
Source: Activision / Platinum Games
Of course Transformers: Devastation offers a narrative reason for why giant robots punch each other into bits. I have no idea who all those characters are, but I found Devastation’s story appropriate for the source material. ‘Some robots are good, some are bad, kick dem butts’ sums it up quite nicely, I think. It’s by no means a gripping story, but it does feel very much like an episode from an 80’s action cartoon, so it gets a pas.
Another thing I very much enjoyed is Devastation’s presentation. The game looks very nice, with bright colors, big character models and some very lush particle effects. It’s nothing ground breaking and stuff like flat textures and occasionally boring level design that rivals Final Fantasy XIII, lessens the impact the visuals have somewhat, but it still looks very nice and fitting. It also helps that the game runs very smooth, even on the PS3. There are occasional frame-rate dips here and there, but they are rare and they never interfered with the gameplay. I did notice some issues with shadows popping in during the first stage but other than that, the game’s presentation is very appealing.
The same goes for the music, which is surprisingly good. It certainly doesn’t reach Metal Gear Rising’s level of brilliance, but it’s still a great soundtrack that fits the game perfectly well.
Source: Activision / Platinum Games
Transformers: Devastation really took me by surprise; I was fully expecting it to be a mediocre experience like The Legend of Korra was. But it isn’t; it’s a solid – but flawed – action game. The combat system offers just enough depth and complexity to satisfy genre fans and on higher difficulty setting the game is a really fun challenge. The game offers a great selection of bosses and one character also transforms into a fire-spewing T-Rex, so that’s worth something in my book.
The game’s lack of content is a serious issue, don’t get me wrong. A six hour campaign that starts recycling content during hour two? That’s a problem, no doubt about it. Is it a deal-breaker though? That’s for you to decide. I had a blast going through the game and I continue to do so on higher difficulty settings. But that’s me, not everyone is okay with this design approach. Whatever your opinion on that matter may be, know that Transformers: Devastation is still a good game worth a look. Doubly so if you’re a fan of the franchise.
Give it a rent or wait for a price drop, but do check it out eventually as Transformers: Devastation is definitely more than meets the eye. (Ha! Transformers reference successfully implemented!) / 10
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