When toymaker Hasbro was putting its final touches on the original series in 1984, they were probably unaware of the profound impact their line of trumped up toy soldiers would have on an entire generation of then-children. I almost cried when Optimus Prime died in Transformers: The Movie, and it's one of my life goals to hold an original series Megatron figure in my hands.

But despite the fact we twentysomething's are easily won over by nostalgic trips, and have enough disposable income to afford games in the first place, we are not the target audience for the new wave of Transformers. No, we've passed the torch onto the ethereal generation of youths or, more specifically, the focus group leaders and publishing executives who believe this transient demographic to be the goldmine of commercial success.

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Transformers: War For Cybertron, then, is a rather shameless compound of popular franchises that box-tickers and penny pinchers have decided would work well together in contemporary times. is clearly the strongest influence, though there's the occasional glimpse into plenty of other popular current-generation games.

What came as a bit of a surprise to me was the discovery that this blatantly shameless attempt at commercialisation (though fitting for a series conceived to sell action figures) has stumbled upon a potential Transformers success story, probably in a similar fashion to whoever first discovered that a mix of oil and vinegar tastes great when thrown over salad leaves.

As a prequel/reboot of sorts, High Moon Studios has opted to set the game entirely against the steely background of mechanical planet Cybertron, long before the Autobots and Decepticons landed on Earth. Adding in plenty of impressive mechanical architecture, that twists and shifts like the Transformers themselves, is a brilliant design choice. The studio has managed to create a planet that looks and feels alien, and it's a definite pleasure to explore Cybertron in its best moments. The environment is also rarely dull, despite the fact the level design often falls into all-too recognisable tropes that we see time and time again. Whatever you do, don't go in the (not)water!

But the initial highs fade away when you hit the meandering, plodding combat. It's little more than routine usage of your standard pistol, shotgun, assault rifle and sniper rifle, although the odd character gets a fairly nifty unique weapon, and then using those standard weapons to pick off enemies in the same way over and over again. The Gears of War influence is strong, but War for Cybertron has few of its clever set pieces and enemy combinations. The most dramatic part of the game's design is when you realise you have to shoot some enemies in the weak spot on their back as opposed to their head.

The game also abandons Gears' snap-to cover system, which feels odd considering it makes employing cover a necessity thanks to its rather stingy allocation of health. There's also something distinctly off about the game's implementation of using the left trigger to focus your aim - it just doesn't feel quite right when you're moving. Which you will be, because there's no cover system.

Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh. War for Cybertron is never a bad game, but it never quite manages to do anything great, either. The beautifully ornate architecture and excellent character licenses don't really help alleviate the frustrations caused by chugging through unremarkable shootouts in repetitive corridors. There's potential here, but it's a love of the Transformers franchise, rather than the game itself, that spurs you on to the end credits.

It is also disappointing to see that so many interesting confrontations have been unceremoniously avoided. With such an extensive selection of established characters to choose from, it's particularly depressing to see so many of the combat sections revolve around taking on yet another swarm of indistinguishable cannon fodder. It's also disappointing when there is little change to the combat after the roles are reversed half-way through the game: War for Cybertron splits itself into two campaigns, with the Decepticons starting first, and when you finally get hold of Optimus and his Autobot crew you simply take out the same enemies you've become accustomed to only now with flashing purple bits.

You do get the opportunity to play as one of three characters in each level, though why you'd choose anyone other than Megatron or Optimus Prime is completely beyond me. Those two make up the Leader class, which means they're a little slower than some of the other units but generally pack whopping great guns. There are also nimble Scouts, like Bumblebee, and health-dispensing Scientists, like Soundwave. There is also a chance to play as Starscream, who is beautifully conniving and can fly.

It's very short, though. Each 5 level campaign can be polished off in an afternoon, and even if you try and drag the game out across a whole week of play it's still hard to see the game as anything other than a bit thin on the ground.

Replay value is nicely boosted by a surprisingly well-implemented mode, however, which has you customise your own Transformer (using one of the same classes as in the single-player mode) and level them up with customary perk and weapon unlocks. Team Deathmatch seems to be the only mode with a currently active roster of players, but it works well and the basic (yet balanced) map design helps ensure you're immediately familiar with the game.

There's also campaign co-op and a survival mode for co-operative multiplayer fans, and it's here that the abilities afforded to the Scientist and Scout classes really get a chance to shine. A bit of co-op also livens up the campaign a bit, but the inevitable nattering of your teammates get in the way of the lengthy dialog sequences and Edward Cullen's totally ace (and mandatory) performance as Optimus Prime. The guy they've roped in to play Megatron does a poor job by comparison.

It's okay, basically. Still, I can't help but think High Moon Studios is capable of producing better on all fronts, and I'm not sure whether it was a lack of time, money or creative talent that held the studio back. Either way, if took a gamble and invested a little more of whatever it is they need, I'm sure we would have seen a far more pleasing end result.

As for what was actually made, Transformers: War for Cybertron is a solid but unremarkable effort that occasionally shows glimpses of its true potential. It provides a complete, if a little too short, package of modes and features in a genuinely interesting setting. It just needed a little more spark.

73%

By Martin Gaston