Ouch, IGN score for the Wii game. 4.2/10
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review
What has happened to our beloved '80s franchise?
by Chris Roper
US, June 24, 2009 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen hits theaters nationwide today, and it's no surprise that the film has gotten a videogame adaptation. Or, should I say multiple videogame adaptations, as the Wii and PS2 versions of the game are nothing like their PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC counterparts.
Now let me start off by saying that I haven't seen the film yet, though a number of folks in the office have, and after going over what happens in the game with them, it seems that this version of Revenge of the Fallen only very roughly follows the story of the movie. There are still the same "boss" Transformers that show up (like Devastator) and the story reaches roughly the same climax, though the in-between stuff seems like it's very much different. So, if you're looking for something that gives you the movie experience point-for-point on your console of choice, this won't do it for you. On a positive note, Shia Labeouf isn't in the game at all, save a couple sentences that he says at the end of the game (though you don't even see him), so there's that.
The game is a third-person action title where you work straight through its story and switch between playing as Autobots and Decepticons as the story dictates. In other words, there's no exploring to do (aside from looking around a corner for a hidden pickup) and you can't choose which side you want to play as, like in the PS3 and Xbox 360 games. While this straight-forward style should theoretically make room for some big action sequences and perhaps a tighter experience, that's not really the case at all.
A big part of this is that it's incredibly repetitive. What basically happens is that you walk into an area, have to kill a handful of dudes to unlock a closed door, and then move on. While this is true in a number of games (even some very good ones), you don't see very much variety in the enemies, and the combat is so awkward and, at times, frustrating that you will very quickly get sick of fighting anything.
For the Wii version of the game, you move with the analog stick on the Nunchuck and use the Wii Remote to aim a reticule on the screen at what you want to shoot at. The camera is static, so you don't have to worry about manipulating it (for better or worse).
One problem with this setup is that since your character is in a 3D space, but your reticule essentially only lies on a 2D plane, you don't always shoot at what you're pointing at. There are angular issues at times because the reticule doesn't necessarily mean that's what you're shooting at, but rather where you're shooting. So even though you might have your reticule right on top of a guy, your Transformer may be shooting straight past him, even though technically speaking your shots are indeed going through your target. Also, if your reticule goes over something in the environment, perhaps maybe a pillar that's near the camera, you'll shoot at that object instead of the enemy on the far side of the screen.
The control issues extend to the melee combat as well. Rather than tapping a button to fight, you need to hold down the C button and then waggle your Wii Remote either side-to-side or up and down. The problem is that you have to make sure your pointer clears both sides of the screen during these motions, which means small wiggles won't cut it - you need to wildly move your arm back and forth to make it register as an attack rather than simple aiming.
The controls aren't nearly the end of the game's problems, however. You'll get through the first 75% of the content in about two hours, but then the game pulls a Halo and copies-and-pastes corridor after corridor after corridor to extend the playtime. There's a section where you play as Bumblebee and run through the same three or four rooms over and over again until your brain begins melting. And then when you finally finish it, you take over as Megatron and go through these same sections for a while longer.
And then, during one of the final sections of the game, the setup of having to kill a handful of enemies to open a door becomes having to kill 20+ enemies to open a door, repeated a good dozen or so times. I must have spent at least 30 minutes straight fighting through a path that would have taken about 30 seconds to walk if there weren't enemies around. Absolutely annoying.
Once you finally get to the end, the bulk of the last boss' fight is simple standing there, waiting for him to stomp the ground and send out a shockwave, jumping over it and hitting him once or twice. Over and over and over again. You can't hit him more than twice as he'll then hit you, but you cause so little damage that this takes forever. Were the fight actually exciting or maybe even challenging then its length would be fine, but it's so mundane that you're just doing this stupid tactic over and over until you either pass out from boredom or finally kill him.
Did I mention that death doesn't matter? When you die, you simply respawn at the nearest checkpoint, which is probably at most 100 feet from where you were, and everyone that you had already killed stays dead. So it's really only a matter of time before you pass a section. The only exceptions to this are the boss fights, all of which can be annoying and frustrating for various reasons.
The problems continue. You can't transform at will, but rather only when the game needs you to. Some Transformers' melee moves are so slow that if an enemy is close enough to use it on, they'll perform a quick swing and throw you off before you can land it. You can unlock three episodes of the original Transformers cartoon (parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Ultimate Doom trilogy), but the screen where you choose to play these videos has neither a representative image nor title for any of them. Before you play them, you have no idea what you're about to watch as there's just a picture of a play button.
I don't think I need to go on.
Closing Comments
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has close to zero redeeming qualities. I only say "close to" in case I actually forgot something, though at the moment, I can't think of any. Well, I guess the almost complete lack of Shia Labeouf is one thing.
4.0 Presentation
The story doesn't really follow the movie (for better or worse), the dialog is bad and the video screen doesn't give you any clue as to what you're about to watch.
5.0 Graphics
While it doesn't look terrible, per se, it's not impressive in any fashion whatsoever. There's not one thing that you would say looks good.
5.5 Sound
What little music there is isn't bad, but the dialog is pretty poor and the sound effects are very bland.
4.0 Gameplay
The controls are wonky, the action is repetitive and it's just very boring.
3.0 Lasting Appeal
The game is over in about 4 hours, maybe less, and there's not really much to come back for.
4.2
Poor OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
