Playing A Game Transformers: Devastation PC

Transformers: Devastation starts strong, with a gorgeous cartoon aesthetic, flashy character introductions, and Peter Cullen's commanding voice. The fighting action is tightly-crafted, but still approachable and easy to learn. Its narrative points move quickly, from one fast and focused encounter to the next; and it even has some optional, non-linear objectives to encourage a little map exploration.

This first chapter of the game is really promising, despite how completely dumb the plot is. Getting to listen to "the Transformers sound effect" more than makes up for that. But unfortunately, as the game marches forward, its early luster starts to fade.

Initially, the game decides which character you play as, for each particular mission; then, after the main cast has been introduced, you get to choose which one to play. The catch is that the 'bots gain experience points from fighting, so whichever characters you aren't choosing will gradually become more and more under-leveled and underpowered. So I guess I'm just Bumblebee forever, then.

Well, there is an intricate equipment and upgrade and currency/shop system which can help build a bot's experience level ... I think. These menus and options suddenly appeared after the game's first chapter, with little explanation as to how to use them effectively. It was kind of bizarre, the amount of complication that just spontaneously appeared all at once.

I did sell a bunch of unwanted weapon drops - oh yeah, enemies drop ... various items, of dubious utility - to earn robot-points and purchase additional abilities. And I don't think I ever used any of those abilities.

The combat doesn't really evolve after that first chapter. Once I learned how to read visual hints for dodge timing, how to effectively chain attacks in a combo, and how to use vehicle mode to take down enemy defenses -- every fight the game threw at me felt very familiar. Whether I was fighting fast-moving jet 'bots, swarms of insecticons, or a big hulking multi-bot boss, the tactics never really changed much.

And the dumb-as-a-dinobot story doesn't help later missions feel engaging or compelling at all. Even the optional text diary pick-ups that fleshed out the background of "the core" were dull and uninteresting. Just keep following that macguffin, Autobots.

I really, really enjoyed the presentation and gameplay of Transformers: Devastation in the beginning; but several missions in, I just became bored. It would have been great to see more mechanical depth in progressive fights, or to see more self-directed experimentation with the first chapter's open-world-ish map.

But it felt like, after Chapter 1, the wheels came off this game and it just kinda laid there.

Better than: Transformers: War for Cybertron
Not as good as: Ōkami HD
Basically as good as: Vanquish

Progress: Finished Chapter ... 4, I think?

Rating: Meh