When I look up the definition of an asset flip, this game comes up in search results.
Most of what makes this game horrible is that it is aWhen I look up the definition of an asset flip, this game comes up in search results.
Most of what makes this game horrible is that it is a sequel to the two best Transformers games ever made-- War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. This game, if it were an original product without those predecessors, might get a 6-7/10. But it is shamelessly lazy and the developers (Edge of Reality) lacked the knowledge, care, and dedication that made High Moon Studios so great and respected.
The first major red flag is that it attempts to merge TWO SEPARATE CONTINUITIES in one story. The continuities are not meant to intermingle unless designed to. The movie universe and Aligned continuity are different. Its possible to get it to work if you really wanted to bridge the gap, but that takes a strong understanding of TFs to do, and the studio behind RotDS didn't have that, nor the skill to execute it. This amounts to a cash grab to make one game instead of two and it feels painfully recycled.
The story is somewhat believable, but its forgettable and not well executed. Characters reuse famous quotes in a blatantly pandering way because EOR really don't understand the characters; its night and day compared to HMS. The characters are stale because 1. they lack development because you have two rosters of characters and not enough time to go through all of them, and 2. they basically stick to a character bio and don't show any type of character development or exploration. The animation in the cutscenes are acceptable, though the camerawork could be refined. Dialogue is passable.
I appreciate that EOR attempted a new take on boss battles, like with the Insecticons or CliffJumper, but the execution just doesn't land right. It amounts to a boss battle in a non-boss area (like a typical room where you'd fight normal enemies). Enemy weapons often feel stupidly OP (Sharpshot's sniper rifle taking you out in two shots) and you can't just focus on the bosses; they will regularly have soldiers ganging up on you and you will end up dying alot. You get stuck for a second or two and you are dead. It was nice to have Bruticus fight the Autobot titans, but it just didn't feel as satisfying as when you played as him in FoC. The scale and presentation is way off when you look at how it was handled before. Boss battles in RotDS (except Lockdown) are just (unintelligent) multiplayer NPCs with abilities. There's nothing special you have to do to take them down. in FoC, playing as Bruticus was an epic event; fighting each of the Insecticons was unique and separate; playing as Grimlock made you feel like you controlled each area you entered. RotDS just doesn't do any of that.
The level design is very bland. They often lack unique locations, memberable landmarks, or atmosphere. The game dumps you into an area that doesn't really let you take advantage of it, especially with certain characters. Sure, the areas with grapple and flight are ok, but stages work against you when playing as Grimlock. Levels are thrown together without much thought into world building.
The animations, weapons, gameplay, environments, abilities. COMPLETELY RECYCLED. I actually have to think about what EOR made that was new. AoE Grimlock uses the same animations as FoC but with less impact and presentation. The weapons (again with the problem of mixing continuities) look out of place on the movie characters. Same Teletraan store, but with lootboxes, which makes progression terrible.
The enemy AI and balancing are frustrating because they often feel broken, bland, or unfair. NPCs repeat lines of dialogue that drive you crazy. EX: The turret drones in Shockwave's missions are COMPLETELY unbalanced; they'll take you out in two shots. You have no time to react, they are small and easy to miss, and are supposed to be weak. Throughout the game you might get bored at repeatedly killing enemies before you get to the next objective (bad pacing) and the level design doesn't help. Character AI is a pain; they physically get in your way, aren't very smart, and can die forcing you to restart. Nothing like WfC's co-op NPCs.
I never got to play online because for some reason my PS3 never was able to connect to any matches (and it was like this since launch).
Positives: You get to play as Shockwave with his signature gun; FoC and WfC never let you to do that. You get to explore more of Cybertron with FoC characters.
To summarize, this game does not have the same level of quality as the previous games. There's really nothing new or special about it. Its lack of originality and understanding of lore are its biggest letdowns. The only reason I would suggest playing this game (and why I would go back to it) is because I crave more of what FoC gave in terms of gameplay, environments, and characters that I want to play and explore more of Cybertron. WfC, DotM, and FoC are both what makes this game an utter disappointment and the only reason to go back and replay it.… Expand
