If I’m honest, my knowledge of the Autobot’s plight was a little on the basic side. As a child my brand endeavours didn’t escalate beyond owning a toy Optimus Prime, the Beast-Wars equivalent and watching the cartoon from time to time. It’s perhaps for this reason that War of Cybertron was largely lost on me and remains unfinished to this day. Having crudely caught up on the basics I approached Fall of Cybertron with a more open mind, although I needn’t have – High Moon’s latest attempt is an engaging enough proposition on its own, transforming a sceptic into some kind of awesome metaphor-appropriate hybrid.
Events pick up directly after War of Cybertron’s climax, chronicling the falling back of the Autobots and their attempted escape from Cybertron upon their vessel, the Arc. Throw in a good guy gone AWOL and you have reason enough to start blowing apart Decepticons. The narrative is largely personable enough to keep you invested regardless of the extent of your lore-awareness. Like the first game, the player takes part in the conflict from both sides of the fence. Unlike the original, where this side could be chosen, Fall of Cybertron, bar a binary end-game decision, presents a strictly linear, scripted sequence of high-octane events – a savvy move given that it massively enhances pacing; you’re rarely doing any one thing for too long.
One issue resulting from lack of player agency in this regard, however, is the jarring way with which the transition often takes place. At multiple points, mid cut scene, the player will switch transformer, having entered the scenario as another. It’s a minor problem, but one that that, in the end, makes investing in either side problematic. Also, the po-faced nature with which these transforming-robot-car-men go about their business is at times bizarre. Profound Transformer musings such as “The least likely can be the most dangerous – Bumblebee”, pop up during loading screens, phrases that require just a little too much cognitive distancing for me.
Re-grabbing the reigns of a hulking pile of metal will feel instantly comfortable for anyone practiced in the first half of this war, a few revisions adding some finesse to proceedings. A key one is the ability to switch between left and right firing arm, shifting the camera along with it. It’s a seemingly minor addition that actually adds a great deal to a cover-less third-person shooter – adapting to the environment to get the drop on the enemies is much easier. Dashing around the battlefield as a surprisingly sprightly metal man is as fun as ever and it remains refreshing to see a third-person shooter not relying on the ‘stop-pop-and-fire’ mechanic, instead, pushing an outright offensive style of play that requires reaction as well as strategy. Throw in some upgradable weapons and consumable perks and you’ve got a robust arsenal of death-delivery. Things generally are pleasingly responsive and polished this time round, reflecting a more confident studio in High Moon.
By considerable distance, the best alterations made are the vastly varying play styles afforded by each Transformer. Before, every robot felt largely the same to play as. This is not the case now. One moment you’re sneaking Solid-Snake style as a cloaked Cliffjumper, the next you’re destroying a colossal bridge as the helicopter-fusion, Vortex. At one point you may even be ravaging the land as Grimlock, the lad who is also a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Whilst not all of these are executed perfectly (the stealth systems are especially simplistic) they’re fundamentally entertaining and more importantly, never around too long for you to get bored. Even the vehicular counter-points drive and react to gun-fire very differently, keeping you constantly on your toes throughout the campaign. The environments are also a considerable improvement; many of them are vast open expanses and made especially intriguing when you factor in Jazz’s grapple shot for example. More often than not the objective will be simply to get to the other side and it’s up to you to mosey your way through in a hail of gun fire and “hell-yeah”s.
If all this wasn’t enough, High Moon have kitted out Fall of Cybertron with a truly comprehensive multiplayer suite. There are four consistently available classes/types of Transformer that you level up via use. All models are fully customisable, right down to colour selections and shoulder guards. It’s a decent enough conceit to have you ravenously coming back for more. For the most part, the modes are recognisable; however a certain amount of gravitas is added to online gaming when turning into an escape vehicle is a viable tactic. Also packaged is the seemingly obligatory hoard mode, titled Escalation. It’s fine but breaks the mould in few ways.
A certain amount of artistic licence continues to dominate the general aesthetic. The character models tread the line between overhaul and homage, managing to satiate both elements admirably. Generally Fall of Cybertron is a great looking game that only rarely succumbs to performance issues. The voice work is solid, with a token Nolan North sprinkled in there somewhere but overshadowed by the likes of Peter Cullen and Fred Tatasciore, the history-bringing original animated series voice actors.
To the casual observer, Fall of Cybertron probably seems to be a similar beast to its father. Whilst the core mechanics remain, it’s actually a far more complete, diverse and entertaining experience. From a gameplay perspective, it’s a blast, its shortcomings never lingering long enough to become a nuisance. On the expositional front, the job is also an admirable one, at times taking itself just that bit too seriously. That being said, a play through or two has awakened in me a degree of respect for a franchise built around a Hasbro children’s toy and that, to be fair, is no mean feat.