Transformers is the elephant in our particular room, an elephant composed of a million billion shiny, sinister mechanisms. To the man or woman who tames the beast, exposing its secrets to the world, shall be awarded mighty web traffic increases, as legions of fans around the internet focus their adoration. Is OXM reader SidTheSloth that heroic individual? He's certainly put the hours in, as the below history of Transformers in videogames makes plain. Read on for details of how the forthcoming Transformers: Fall of Cybertron succeeds where earlier Transformers outings failed, and if you've got a hobby horse of your own you're eager to flaunt, by all means message an article idea to "OXM ETboy".

The Eighties. The glam rock loving era of the weird and wonderful. Calvin Harris may feel differently, but not everything was acceptable back then. The good news though is that for every Dynasty, T'pau & David Hasselhoff, we had an A-Team, Guns & Roses and (ahem) Knight Rider...



It wasn't just Mom and Dad who were enjoying themselves, though. It was also the golden age of '80s kids TV. He-Man, The Smurfs, GI Joe, Thundercats and even the (Teenage Mutant Hero/Ninja) Turtles - all were fantastic, but the pinnacle was reached for me and many others, with Transformers. Giant robots that could transform and disguise themselves as almost anything mechanical - forget spelling tests and multiplication tables, respect was earned by knowing your Cybertron from your Cybertonium, with bonus points awarded if you could name all five Stunticons!

Like many a good thing, the show sadly became a victim of its own success. Interfering old folk, or grown-ups as they may ironically have been known, took the franchise's direction to task. The grim, darker approach introduced with Transformers: The Movie marked the beginning of the end. While the movie was well received by fans at the time (and continues to hold cult status), the death of series regulars - not to mention legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime - ensured that the third season started with a host of unfamiliar faces. A Mass-Effect-3-esque fan backlash saw the resurrection of Optimus at the end of the third series, but unfortunately the damage had been done and funding was cut following a three-part fourth series.



That was 1987. Skip forward to the present day, and the Transformers brand has been rebooted and diluted so many times that fans are generally beyond caring. Initial hope was replaced by scepticism in 2006 when it was announced messrs Spielberg and Bay would combine forces to produce a live action Transformers movie. On release the film was considered a commercial success, with solid returns guaranteeing a host of sequels. Whilst the films by and large entertained, they ignored the core ideology established in the earlier (and in this respect, better) TV show, and thus failed to fully awaken the wonderful nostalgic memories so many of us have buried away. In fairness, the films did try to embrace old die-hards - recruiting Peter Cullen to reprise his role as the voice of Optimus Prime was a masterstroke, as was including familiar names such as Bumblebee and Ironhide. But that familiarity bred only contempt when long term fans found little else to fixate on beyond Megan Fox's sculpted abdomen.



Transformers videogames haven't always exactly dazzled, either. There was a decent outing on the PS2, but this focused on one of the obscure reboots and as such failed to shine or grab the bulk of fans. Since then publisher Activision has passed the license around like a hot potato, with the first two films releasing alongside video game tie-ins that all but wore a "Bargain Bin" sticker when they left the factory. It's practically become a fact of life that franchise tie-ins fail, time and time again - players expect them to be rubbish, and publishers are aware of this, so they make sure to spend as little as possible, hoping some gullible fool (read: parent) will buy the thing because little Jimmy enjoyed the film so much.

Enter Rocksteady. If there's one thing the Batman Arkham series of games has taught us, it's that games based on established franchises need to be made by passionate development teams. The guys at Rocksteady are Batman enthusiasts first and foremost and that's obvious from their work - you can tell they enjoy what they do, and that they're completely at ease with the lore and the feel of the world.



Another Transformers video game was announced around the same time Rocksteady's caped crusader came to fame, prompting the barest murmur of discontent from burne-out fans. A few months passed with little information wanted or given, but the first handful of screenshots saw many changing their tunes. The newly titled Transformers: War For Cybertron was a clear homage to the franchise 80's roots, crafted by a relative newcomer to the console development arena.
High Moon's prior work - the somewhat dodgy 'Bourne Conspiracy' - didn't inspire much confidence another tie-in, but the studio managed to offset this via a charm and gameplay video offensive. What became very clear in the process was that, like Rocksteady with Batman, these guys 'get' Transformers: they disliked the films for the very same reasons fanatics did and do. Talk is cheap, of course, but the proof came when the title finally released.

A third-robot shooter, the game was split into two campaigns, telling the story of the Transformers war on the home planet of Cybertron, first from the point of view of the Decepticons, then from that of the Autobots. What followed was a fan service heavy, solid if not spectacular romp through many a corridor/battlefield controlling a surprisingly responsive walking, talking robot who at the click of a stick could change into a car. Or a tank. Or a plane. None of that Battlefield-esque racing for possession of vehicles here! The strength of the title was the marrying together of each of the different Transformers subfictions into one that satisfied all but the fussiest of fans.



The game itself was let down not by the level of detail, but by basic level design and pacing issues - the Autobot campaign felt superior in both aspects, making the early part of the game something of a chore and a turn-off for both franchise newcomers and old hands. The other critical failure was that while transforming felt consistently awesome, there was often little need for it - surely such a unique selling point should get a little more focus?

The multiplayer component tried its utmost, but as with a lot of new IPs, unflattering comparisons were made. Though enjoyable and very promising (there's still an online community for it), the game always felt a little restricted compared to Gears of War, the game it handles most like despite the lack of "click-in" cover mechanics.



Sales weren't amazing, but were enough to persuade Activision to greenlight a sequel. Considering the hard work that High Moon had put into restoring prestige to the brand, it beggared belief that Acti insisted High Moon's next game would be a movie tie-in for the third, underwhelming film. But insist they did, and predictably the game was as much fun as tonsillitis, seemingly created by the work experience interns. Having washed their hands of the thing, High Moon could focus on the sequel proper and it wasn't long before Fall Of Cybertron was announced, along with the kind of trailers that would make any Transformers fan weep. Explosions of all kinds, more familiar transformers of old were in - including fan favourites the Dinobots, Bruticus and E3 reveal Metroplex.

Building on an already sound base, the sequel promises to have tightened up on the 'wonky' bits from the first game. The level design seems to have improved, with certain Transformers at a strategic disadvantage, so your choice of hero (or anti-hero) is more important, as no doubt will be the loadouts. A demo was recently released, and at a hefty 2GB you'd be forgiven for thinking five or six times about trying it, but as demos go it's certainly one of the better ones.

From the little playtime in the campaigns afforded everything seems to be tighter, guns feel solid and a welcome change from your standard military fare, and the insta-click transformation is just as addictive as ever. Who needs a sniper rifle when you can jump off a building, transform into a jet and slingshot across the sky to deliver a rocket to your opponent's face? If that sounds like something you'd like to try, believe me, it is and you should.



The multiplayer has a much fleshed out "create-your-own" Transformer section which seems to follow the Mass Effect 3 class system but with skills unlocked and loadouts customisable as is standard fare in most shooters. It's unclear from the demo just how much depth there is to this section - my gut feeling is DLC may flesh it out at some point, which should add longevity, but it's the game types themselves which will need to be engaging from the off.

Why should you care about any of this? Because deep down inside you remember that Transformers were once cool, and that the first car you ever wanted was one that turned into a robot (something Citroen were all too aware of). Whether it was Jazz, Bumblebee, Soundwave (Golli?) or Optimus himself, anyone who watched even one episode had a favourite, and it's more than likely he (or she in the case of Arcee) will have a part to play in FOC.



The first game was good, but hopes are really high for the sequel. At long last, perhaps, we'll have a Transformers game that we can call great. Big robots fighting? Check. Laser guns & swords? Check. Fighter jets and tanks? Check. Sports cars that can turn invisible for sneaky back attacks? Erm, check! Stan Bush? CHECK!

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