Review: TRANSFORMERS: Devastation (Steam)

The TRANSFORMERS are back, and this time they’re in the hands of acclaimed developer PlatinumGames, who have combined their over-the-top brawler action with comic book inspired art to create a TRANSFORMERS game like none other.

Pros:

• Awesome anime art style that brings the game to life.
• Extensive graphic settings: Res, Fullscreen, V-Sync,Low medium and high default settings,Blur,AA,Texture, shadows and filter settings available under custom.
• Full controller support.
• Four default controller layout options.
• Can rebind keyboard controls.
• Auto aim, Invert X+Y axis, Tracking and sensitivity settings.
• Story mode and challenge mode.
• Three difficulties: Scout (easy), Warrior (normal) and commander (hard).
• Brawler gameplay with a semi open world to roam around.
• Fast action gameplay.
• Steam achievements.
• Fully animated in engine cutscenes that seamlessly blend from cut scene to game.
• Full voice actor list including the original voices for many characters.
• Collectibles: Collect logs for background story, Bouncing Kremseek creatures for bonus art and concept level designs.
• Ongoing tutorials with video examples.
• Buttersmooth framerate with no screen tearing or frame drops even in big huge battles.
• Can equip four weapons for quick access.
• Missions flow into each other and end at the chapter end. This cuts down on the stop start mentalility and allows you to just keep playing.
• End of mission rank awarded.
• In depth robust combo system. You can dodge, go into slow mo, swap weapons out mid combo juggle or just go all button smashy up in here.
• Challenge mode is a wave based arena mode. Clear enemies as quickly as possible for a rank and earn bonus unlocks and rewards.
• Story mode is the as it says but does contain optional side missions.
• Loot: dropped from enemies, found or served as rewards, Loot is guns and items that can be either equipped or broken down to upgrade other weapons.
• T.E.C.H: Mini game involving Wheeljack. Pay 1k or 5k credits and stop the needle on yellow to unlock rare tech item buffs. Stopping anywhere else can result in a lower tier item or nothing at all.
• Three T.E.C.H slots can be equipped and offer buffs to the player like more exp from kills, longer slow mo time or many others.
• Synthesize: Here is where you can break unwanted guns down and infuse them with other weapons to level them up and add buffs to guns.
• Lab: In game shop where you can spend credits on weapons, items and buffs. You can also sell unwanted items.
• Status: You can spend credits on exp and level up the many sections of your character from health to strength to intelligence to speed.
• Credits can be found from destroying enemies, rewards and hidden in chaches.
• Caches are hidden within levels and contain loot.
• Hidden caches exist where you trigger a button that changes something in level for a short time.
• Ark: Basically your hub. Here it houses Lab, Synthesize, Status, T.E.C.H and allows you to change the difficulty.
• Auto saves regularly.
• Gameplay changes as you play, By this I mean its not all just fighting, You do car chase sequences, Overhead item scavenging and much more.
• Huge frequent boss fights that always have a unique feel to them.
• Unlock new characters by playing through story mode.
• Can replay levels.
• A lot of fan service including parts of the classic film making its way in.
• Handful of areas to play in from the streets to San Francisco bridge to spaceships.
• Rewarding gameplay,
• Very much a pick up and play.

Cons:

• Driving can be tricky especially when trying to execute quick turns.
• Repetitive gameplay.
• Occasional difficulty spikes.
• No description for each part of the status screen so you are unsure of what the benefits of upgrading that part is.
• Annoying platform sections.
• In chase sequences you can easily lose your way.
• Re uses a lot of areas early on in the game.
• Painfully short game overall. Story mode will take no more than 4 hours to finish.