You know, I was initially going to start this game with some
obvious criticisms. Some clear points focusing upon how minor changes have
greatly improved it and comparing it with other major releases of this time.
Instead I’ll just tell you what you need to know here and now – High Moon
Studios knocked it out of the ballpark. They took a sequel to a fairly good
game and turned it into not only something which can stand along side Arkham City in terms of its quality but,
barring Deus Ex: Human Revolution, is
quite possibly the best game I’ve played of this console generation. If this
year was to end tomorrow, I would have no reservations declaring this my top
game of 2012.
Let’s get the criticisms out of the way first, the few
weak-points in what is otherwise a truly great game:
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The first is that there’s a very visible lack of a
cover system. While it might have been problematic to have a character clinging
to walls when not needed and, perhaps, program each vehicle mode not to do this
it’s distinctly missing. Sections of the game such as when Cliffjumper is
sneaking about an enemy facility feel like they were designed with one in mind.
It’s not specifically a problem, it’s even good to see a third person shooter
without one after all the Gears of War
wannabes, but it feels like one should be there.
-
Secondly is that there’s a few voice actors who don’t
return to their roles. The lack of Steve Blum narrating the intro to each
chapter in his best Victor Caroli impression is something which is definitely a
step down, though he is still doing other parts. Similarly Johnny Young Bosch
doesn’t reprise his role as Bumblebee who, despite having a very small role and
losing his voice to help bridge things into Prime,
is sorely missed.
-
Finally, the variety of enemies isn’t that great. There
seems to be a few less than last time and many of the more powerful enemies
only turn up two or three times at most. Unlike the destroyers in War for Cybertron, the big ones do not
transform and lack the fun factor of blowing off their armour.
That’s it, there’s nothing else. Every single last other
thing is either good, outstanding, or at the absolute least passable.
The story this time takes place an undisclosed period of
time after War for Cybertron. Having
been fighting the Decepticons since the mass evacuation from the planet and
Cybertron itself entering a form of coma to recover from Megatron’s mad
ambitions, the Autobots are preparing to leave the dying world once and for
all. In his usual carefully calculated and reserved manner, Megatron declares
that no one can leave the world with his permission and proceeds to throw
everything into one final campaign to wipe out the Autobots.
Naturally after the massive wars which devastated the cities
and surface of the world, you’re not revisiting many settings from the first
game. Iacon is gone, you don’t delve deep into Cybertron’s core like last time
and there’s no racing across skyways. Instead what you see are a lot of ruins
and rubble, and it’s a credit to the designers that despite this they still
managed to give each area a distinct look. Autobot City
is distinct because of its lighting and the shades of metal, the ruins you’re
sent to directly afterwards stand out because of the rusted tints and Kaeon is,
well, still robot Mordor. The same can be said of the characters, some of who
have changed appearances somewhat since they were last seen but manage to retain
the overall aesthetics of their own factions. In both areas however, Fall goes several steps further than War in its efforts to differentiate the
feel of its characters and locations through its gameplay.
War for Cybertron
had its main characters moving about in trios and having players take advantage
more of their guns than any special abilities; Fall does the exact opposite. Mission
requirements and environmental aspects allow for a lot more variety between
each mission, with you constantly switching up between small or unique gameplay
elements.
For example, rather than being a common element a-la Halo 3 turrets only appear in highly
explosive parts of the game, usually with you killing something big or lots of
small minions. Of further note is that each level seems to be designed to use
these abilities, whenever a character turns up armed with a grapple he usually
spends time ripping down walls/doors/obstructions and swinging around the place
in a manner which would make Spiderman proud. Definitely a major improvement
from the dread people tended to feel when they accidently activated Megatron’s
hover jets and slowly lumbered about above cover being shot repeatedly.
Probably the best comparison to make with this is with good
DLC extensions like Mass Effect 2’s
Overlord. The sort which has you feeling like you’re never going to get
bored because at every moment there’s a new gimmick introduced or minor section
which you’ve not come across before. This tends to usually work around the
story showing you aspects you’d likely have not seen before, like the more
organised strikes by the Combaticons (effectively the Decepticon spec ops.). It’s
saying something when the start of the game has you acting as a target painter
for a city sized killing machine and the buildup to the finale has you wrecking
things as a robot t-rex. Even when you’re not fighting there are moments which
make you cheer included into NPC encounters and cutscenes, such as how Megatron
is dealt with the first time. No really, you won’t believe just how satisfying it is .
There’s really not much I can say because there’s so little
to actually criticise that most of my comments will just come off as fanboying
praise. The closest I can think of to compare this game with is the Avengers film from earlier this year – you
know the game’s not perfect, but you can’t help but just enjoy every single
well crafted second of it. Plus it does so little wrong you’re left grinning
from beginning to end. The story mode is only eight hours long but with its
sheer variety ends up giving it massive replay value as you’ll end up
revisiting specific chapters time and time again – and that’s without getting
into things like multiplayer.
Definitely get this one if you’re a fan of innovative third
person shooters.
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