Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review

By Dan Whitehead Published 29 June, 2009

Shot down and piston.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Contrary to what the slogans will tell you, these Transformers offer exactly what meets the eye. This is a game-of-the-film so beholden to formula that you can probably finish the review in your head right now, without even playing the thing. Did you imagine repetitive gameplay, uninspired missions and shiny characters stomping around a strangely inert and lifeless gameworld? If so, give yourself a biscuit.

Marginally better than the horrible 2007 Transformers effort, developer Luxoflux has addressed some of the more glaring problems but sadly hasn't managed to apply the same sheen that made its Kung Fu Panda game such a nice surprise. The problem of how to balance a game that needs offer third-person action, plus driving and flying, all within the narrative and time constraints of a blockbuster movie remains unsolved.

Once again split into two campaigns, Autobot and Decepticon, the openworld approach of last time has been ditched in favour of self-contained arena levels. You thunder through a story even more garbled and illogical than the one Michael Bay put on-screen, undertaking missions in Shanghai, America and Egypt, with a brief diversion to the ocean to explain how Megatron managed to rise from the depths.

Objectives are simple and limited in number. At their most basic you simply have to destroy a set number of enemy robots. Other times you're be required to find a tiny digital Shia LeBoeuf or Megan Fox and carry them from one place to another, or stand next to broken equipment and press a button to fix it. Escort and protection missions - oh joy! - make up the rest, with a couple of checkpoint races for good measure.

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Screenshot 1

BOOM!

It's gaming by numbers, in other words, but few would expect anything more from a movie tie-in. As long as you get to wreak havoc as a giant shape-shifting robot, who cares about things like innovation or ambition? Those who subscribe to that reductionist philosophy will certainly be amused (though I suspect they could be just as easily distracted by shining colourful lights on the wall and playing a kazoo) although even the most determined unthinking player will probably begin to flag under the sheer weight of repetition.

Some curious control scheme changes don't help matters. Unlike previous Transformers games, where pressing a button turned you into vehicle form with a-chunk-a-chunk-chunk, this time around you can only remain in vehicle mode as long as you hold down the right trigger button. This also acts as your accelerator, so transforming - an action that should be pretty central to a game about Transformers - becomes something of a nightmare.

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Screenshot 2

BANG!

As soon as your legs are replaced by wheels, you're rocketing off. There's no way of stopping or reversing - you just keep moving forwards. The left trigger allows for handbrake turns, but given that many of the levels are full of tiny cramped streets the whole design of the vehicle side of the game is a recipe for frustration. This goes double for the planes, which get jammed on walls with depressing frequency, laughing in the face of physics as they go. Complicating matters even further are an array of advanced combat moves. Charged by holding a face button while in vehicle mode, then releasing the trigger while keeping the button held down, it's a clumsy, finger-boggling way of activating something that should be bread and butter.

This over-complexity blights the structure of the game as a whole. The scoring system is convoluted, relying on multiple bonus objectives, secondary missions, hidden icons, time limits, medals and challenge points to progress and climb up the leaderboards. Not only are these parallel requirements vaguely explained - little more than a splurge of menus numbers and stats, dumped in your lap at the beginning and end of each stage - but it's also almost entirely pointless.

It gives the illusion of a game with lots going on, but there's little substance behind the statistics. Earning a medal for each mission in each location, for example, opens up that map for free-roam play. Of course, the word "play" takes on a different meaning when you realise you've been rewarded with a completely empty level, devoid of enemies and collectibles. There's not even any traffic. It seems these eerie ghost towns are simply there to help you grind your way through the requirements for unlocking bonus content, such as using Bumblebee's turbo 100 times. Some of the extras are worthwhile, such as complete episodes of the original cartoon, but it's hard to see why anyone would want to go to any effort to earn the numerous galleries of concept art.

The game lasts only a few hours per campaign, yet somehow the relentless onslaught of disconnected noise and imagery manages to dilate time so that it feels three times as long - much like the movie, actually. The single-player route through Revenge of the Fallen spits you out at the end feeling punch-drunk, jetlagged and a little confused. You know you've just experienced something, but you probably couldn't explain what or why beyond the fact that lots of things exploded. Something to do with energy and pyramids and prophecies and did that robot really have a beard?

'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' Screenshot 3

AND SO ON!

Where this game improves on its predecessor is the addition of a multiplayer mode. In any other game this basic offering wouldn't be notable, but the chance to four-on-four Transformer-tweaked variations on the expected flag capture and base-holding game types will certainly appeal to fans. A more ambitious game might have offered more than a handful of perfunctory maps, or offered a more nuanced distinction between unit types for a more strategic style of play, but small favours are better than no favours at all - you can pretend to be Optimus Prime and shoot your friend who's being Megatron. Yay.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is therefore the quintessential movie tie-in, a self-fulfilling prophecy of functional banality. On the surface it's brash, busy and superficially attractive, but underneath it's hollow, blatantly padded and more than a little monotonous. It's never much fun, but nor is it wonky enough to be terrible. It's simply there, a forgettable distraction. Some will doggedly plough through the whole thing in deference to their attachment to the source material or just to convince themselves that it was money well spent, but there's not much more on offer than that. The gaming equivalent of empty calories.

4 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Dan.

About Dan Whitehead

Dan has been writing for Eurogamer since 2006 and specialises in RPGs, shooters and games for children. His bestest game ever is Julian Gollop's Chaos.

Read more articles from Dan by visiting the Dan Whitehead archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (47) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mikeck #1 3 years ago

    a self-fulfilling prophecy of functional banality

    So a must buy then! :)

    I would have been intrigued enough to play this because playing as a fuck-off huge robot should be obvious fun, but that is a pretty poor score, perhaps a rental when there's nothing better out. I'm still playing RF:G and Call of Juarez is out this week too, so I'm in no rush.
    Edited by 1 at 29/06/09 @ 11:37

  • JohnnyWashnGo #2 3 years ago

    I was tempted to wait for it to hit cheapo price before buying it as I quite fancied running around and transforming etc.

    But this score has put me well off of it.

    Shite film, shite game.

  • Lukree #3 3 years ago

    Yet another childhood toy brand ruined! Next coming up: GI Joe!

  • Nephirion #4 3 years ago

    Not as good as Mechwarrior then ...

  • Triggerhappytel #5 3 years ago

    Wow, and I'm so surprised this review wasn't up before the game was out.

    Just buy Melbourne House's Transformers game on PS2.

  • XdarXideX #6 3 years ago

    Pfff... "shite film"... the film was good entertainment. Lots of CG robots smashing each other up. That's all it was and all it was trying to be. Job done.

  • DFawkes #7 3 years ago

    I didn't mind the first, but then again it was a tenner and I wasn't expecting much. But that control scheme seems bizarre, that's something I wouldn't have guessed given the controls in the first were functional enough.

  • HiredMan #8 3 years ago

    Megatrowned

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #9 3 years ago

    of course it was going to be a movie game cashin. Look at TMNT, pritty ok CGI remake and the game was 'meh' and look at TMNT:Smash Up it's looking damn fun to play, same with Spidey Web of Shadows far better then the movie games...

    What Transformers needs to do is find a dev team thats fans of the IP and make a completly new game tats NOT a movie related one, like the ps2 one, there is very rarly a good move based game, the reverse is true as well, you can't cross that divide unless your a diehard fan or the actal orginal creators of somthing
    Edited by 1 at 29/06/09 @ 11:54

  • collateral89 #10 3 years ago

    the film was awesome and the game is shit thats my review on transformers :)

  • gourry #11 3 years ago

    The film was awful, a fantastic example of taking all the bad bits from the first film and making them 'bigger'. Sounds like the game follows suit. Particularly if the controls for transforming are as bad as described.

    Bah - Transformers needs another reboot, preferably one that doesn't involve michael bay.

  • SuperNashwan #12 3 years ago

    Melbourne House - that takes me back. Would rather play Way of the Exploding Fist for a full year than pay money encouraging this kind of cynical paint by numbers bullshit.
    Edited by 1 at 29/06/09 @ 12:04

  • muscleblade #13 3 years ago

    Still a lot better than the first from what ive heard.

  • anomagnus #14 3 years ago

    I've seen the movie three times. It is what it is. I loved it.

    As for the game, i've long since stopped trusting this sites review, but i have a mate, probably the pickiest fucker i've ever met, and he loves the game, but he would say the same things. Its a rental only.

    Anyway, shock horror, a movie tie in game isn't great.

    Can't say i like this new comment rating.

    I notice that two people liked the film, and had their ratings carpet bombed.

    Its pretty clear that censorship has reached a new democratic high, where we can all remove each others views from site.

    How progressive.

    Fuck it, i'll say if for all the pseudo intellectuals that lurk behind the internet. It was a fucking giant robot movie. What the fuck were you expecting? Go back to waiting for Driving Miss Daisy 2, and let those of that want 2 hours of mindless action enjoy a film.
    Edited by 1 at 29/06/09 @ 12:13

  • bad09 #15 3 years ago

    Ah man I knew it would be another lame tie in :(

    Still I'm gonna rent it as the online does look fun on this one. Besides as Dan put it "you can pretend to be Optimus Prime and shoot your friend who's being Megatron. Yay."

  • Dezm0nd #16 3 years ago

    Rented this on friday and even though I enjoyed it alot more than some games recently, it's still very boring after an hour or two.

    It's just the same for every mission, which results in a poor game. Shame really, Vigilants 8 was great fun but this misses alot in the variety aspect.

  • smernicki #17 3 years ago

    that control system sounds totally bizarre!

  • paulf #18 3 years ago

    I guessed the score before i even read the review, I wonder if Michael Bay will be moaning about the lack of marketing for the game

  • Dizzy #19 3 years ago

    For once a game that is better than the movie?

  • Artemus #20 3 years ago

    Another bad movie licenced game. How surprising.

  • muscleblade #21 3 years ago

    "4/10 - ouch
    Isn't this like, no.1 or no.2 in the charts? - I pitty those that buy such crap "

    Idiot! The metacritic average is 70% wich is pretty good. 4/10 is nothing but one mans opinion. Since when was that a testimony for something being crap? Im not getting this game, but i rather buy this than Overlord 2 tbh even though that was given an 8/10 on this site.

    Edit: Oh my god -19
    Edited by 1 at 02/07/09 @ 14:00

  • lambtron #22 3 years ago

    "Fuck it, i'll say if for all the pseudo intellectuals that lurk behind the internet. It was a fucking giant robot movie. What the fuck were you expecting? Go back to waiting for Driving Miss Daisy 2, and let those of that want 2 hours of mindless action enjoy a film."

    You seem to think it's impossible to like mindless action and still think Michael Bay is fucking shite.

  • Darren #23 3 years ago

    GameSpot gave this game 7.5 and IGN gave it 6.0 so they're totally at odds with EG as in it's "above average" rather than "below average". I'm not saying that they're right as such, I haven't yet played the game, but EG rated the surprisingly good IMO X-Men Origins Wolverine 5/10 when it has averaged mid-70s % on GameRankings and Metacritic. I think it deserved 7/10 personally as I loved the game, enough to complete it and play through it again, something of a rarity for me.

    I've ordered the game for the PC on that basis as its sub-£25 online price point makes it worth the risk.
    Edited by 2 at 29/06/09 @ 13:24

  • Freek #24 3 years ago

    And probably also because the action scenes weren't that good, and constantly intercutt with useless footage of the US army. I came for Transformers, not tanks and bombers with people in them.
    And it also wasn't just an action movie, it tried adventure, it tried a love story, it tried comedy, some of it worked, most of it didn't. Which made the movie a mess.
    Edited by 1 at 29/06/09 @ 13:31

  • cam_guin #25 3 years ago

    Parents trying keep the kiddies quiet over the summer holidays will be buying this one.

    How about a King of the Monsters/Rampage semi 2D mashup?

  • Yodzilla #26 3 years ago

    PS2 wins again...

  • brappbrap #27 3 years ago

    I just don't get it. You have to hold a trigger to make your character change into a car, but then that same trigger makes you accelerate, and you have to hold it to stay as a car? So if you want to be a car you have to be constantly accelerating?

    Should be a 2/10 purely for that retarded control scheme.

  • spookyzombie #28 3 years ago

    I thought it was a lot better than the first game.

  • Darren #29 3 years ago

    @brappbrap - To be fair the trigger is analogue so you can press gently to go slow and press all the way to go fast. If you want to stop then you may as well be a Transformer robot rather than a car. I've not tried the game yet but the controls don't sound all that bad to me. OK so they're perhaps not the best control system but it doesn't seem like a game killer to me. We'll see though... tomorrow!

  • Beek4257 #30 3 years ago

    Do a Google-picture search for Megan Fox. Should take the edge right off.

  • rhinoxious #31 3 years ago

    "Just buy Melbourne House's Transformers game on PS2"

    Why didn't they just buy up that game, change the graphics for super-swizzy HDness and make some new levels to vaguely match the movie. I bet 99% of the ankle-biters who play this new TF game have never played the old PS2 one. And it could all have been done in the 9 months the dev team probaly got to create this pile of mediocrity.

  • woodyrulesok #32 3 years ago

    @ anomagnus

    Just quickly about the film and all the people that liked it and say 'what do you expect from a dumb robot film', it's the fact that Transformers could have been an amazing film. Using the source material in the right way we could have had some classic films, instead we ended up with trash. I think more people (like me) are just annoyed at the makers for doing such a poor job when there was such potential there. The other annoying thing as that because crap like this makes so much money they keep churning it out.

  • onyxbox #33 3 years ago

    So, No.1 of the all formats chart by next weekend then.

    :-D

  • murphy1978 #34 3 years ago

    Whilst reviews are all subjective opinion, and this is hardly likely to change the outcome, it does help if a reviewer either pays attention to the game's tutorial or documentation.

    Holding down the LB button will slow you down, then ultimately reverse the vehicle mode.

    Those that are knocking the control scheme without playing the game for themseleves shouldn't. It takes getting used to, but you do get used to it. If you want to stay as a car, racing around, stopping, reversing etc, buy Burnout Paradise.

    If you want to play a fast paced, action packed shooter, where the point of the vehicle mode is to quickly evade a situation or use one to an advantage (the combos from going from vehicle to robot can turn a battle in your favour) the give this a go.

    It's not for everyone, fans will love it, the multiplayer is a blast and it IS better than the first game.

    How long did the reviewer actually play for? How much multiplayer was actually attempted? As it is brushed off in a few lines when it really is fun.

    Do you even actually like Transformers? I doubt it given the tone of the review. Perhaps someone who might have been more interested should have reviewed this.
    Edited by 3 at 29/06/09 @ 17:42

  • shotgun44 #35 3 years ago

    I heard the film is full of ridiculous humor like robots being stereotypes of stereotyped people. My worst kind of humor...

    Disappointment awaits me I think...

    And the first film was awesome! (Apart from the bit where they introduce themselves in cringeworthy fashion. 'Comedy' like that makes my eye twitch with rage!)

  • AberrantSpark #36 3 years ago

    Transformers 2 is at least a 7/10. I would suggest that one play it oneself and see.

    To each his own, I guess. I will respectfully disagree with Mr. Whitehead's (somewhat bitter sounding) assessment of this game's quality.

    The control scheme lets me seamlessly transform and do crazy attacks and maneuvers between running/driving/flying/whathaveyou. It's quite fluid and unique. I especially love the special kills, and overdrive meter.

    I've been playing Transformer 2's multiplayer like a mad man. The single player is fun, too. There is so much destruction and mayhem. It's quite cathartic.

  • Retroid #37 3 years ago

    The film was bloody awful.

    It takes a special talent to take alien giant robots fighting eachother and blowing shit up to be so sodding boring. >:(

  • Rodchenko #38 3 years ago

    Here is a great review of the movie. "And [Sam] has the hottest girlfriend in the universe, Megan Fox, for whom banality is a huge aphrodisiac. The more pathetic Sam gets, the more Fox's lips pout and her nipples point, like little Irish setters."

  • vegard #39 3 years ago

    @murphy1978

    i'm sorry that they slaughtered your game:)

  • FooAtari #40 3 years ago

    GameSpot gave this game 7.5 and IGN gave it 6.0 so they're totally at odds with EG as in it's "above average" rather than "below average". I'm not saying that they're right as such, I haven't yet played the game, but EG rated the surprisingly good IMO X-Men Origins Wolverine 5/10 when it has averaged mid-70s % on GameRankings and Metacritic. I think it deserved 7/10 personally as I loved the game, enough to complete it and play through it again, something of a rarity for me.

    So?

    Do all reviewers have to agree? Would make for a pretty boring world if everyone was the same as everyone else.

  • davisorle #41 3 years ago

    So an Epic movie with an Epic Fail game version. Not a first, though too bad... More or less we all love the theme. I dont know why its so freaking hard to make a game thats at least half the joy to play than watching the movie. Leave the arcade crap. Try to push it a bit.

    Spielberg is working on games. Why the hell dont they make him responsible for the game's project as well instead of making a same date release movie/game and make the game a dissaster? I rather wait for it even a year more than the game being such a failure and never play it. I dont know why its so hard for them to not waste their time and our interest in something like this. What a bummer.

  • 3william56 #42 3 years ago

    Just as the PS2 Transformers game was a lucky hit of quality followed by tedious rubbish that totally missed the point of what made it good in the first place, so is Transformers 2 the movie proof that Michael Bay making the first one surprisingly brilliant was a one off flash in the pan, and that he's firmly back to Bad Boys II era right wing macho posturing b*ll*cks.

    But, at least the competition for article tag line of the year is hotting up. "Piston" indeed! :p

  • murphy1978 #43 3 years ago

    "@murphy1978

    i'm sorry that they slaughtered your game:) "

    Don't be sorry, even if you are not serious. I'm sorry that the majority of people seem easily swayed on the say so of someone that clearly wasn't taken by the game, and his negative views on the game, despite clearly not playing it for very long or with any attention.

    I was trying to offer an alternative viewpoint. But then, I like Transformers, and didn't mind the movie. I also like fun multiplayer games.
    Edited by 1 at 30/06/09 @ 07:49

  • Lamb #44 3 years ago

    "Shot down and piston"

    HA! Nice byline Dan! It reminds me of a moment in the Heartbreak Kid. :D
    Edited by 1 at 30/06/09 @ 11:18

  • roz123 #45 3 years ago

    Heres a great review of Transformers 2 by one of the uks top film critics Mark Kermode

    http://ww w.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/2...

  • Collymilad #46 3 years ago

    I love people who rip the movies.

    Why exactly did you go and see it? Anyone walking into a cinema to watch Transformers and wanting/expecting more than watching giant robots kick the crap out of each other is an idiot.

  • CWolf #47 3 years ago

    Why is there no review for the totally different DS versions of the game? Much better - as per the DS of the first film was much better that the others.