The rumored next Platinum Games title is...

[GameHED]

For those worried that it's just a brwler you can relax. There is mode for shooting in third person like gears of war.

Look for gameplay vids on youtube. Devastator is like a giant monster in monster hunter games. Big telegraphed swipes and states of damage which gives you openings to exploit weak points. No need to call a holographic image to scare him away like in the cartoon :p

I would like to be able to play as devastator.

That would be an unlockable reward after you beat the game with all characters. Or maybe a fun minigame. The objective is destroy the decepticon bases as quickly as possible before the effect of the mind control chips wear off.

[Ben]

http://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/10/the-fi ... r-so-good/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

First five minutes of the game.

Also wtf, this is out tomorrow! ? I thought it was November at last check!

EB looks to be the way to go, $50.

[GameHED]

Looking forward to it. Love beat em ups. And 80s transformers. My two fave things.

Michael Bay killed the franchise. So glad this is using the cartoon visuals for nostalgia.

[t0mby]

$50?!?!!!? Fuck me that's cheap.

/checks Metacritic.

*edit*
78% average out of 4 reviews so far. Only major complaint is too short. Might bite this weekend as I got some Xbone games to trade in.

[GameHED]

It may be 5 hours but beat em ups are usually kinda short as they are arcadey experiences for the most part with no story.

The replayability to unlock shit is where this type of game shines. (as you get better and better you become a more flashy motherfucker when you obtain new toys to kill people with increasing style)

If you want length Hyrule Warriors is more for you. (more kiddy and less deep though)

Remember you couldn't play this shit on the c64 when 64kb of memory meant tiny sprites and poor scrolling and synthesised speech, so stop being a tightwad. The original voice actors for the 80s cartoon are in this!

It's either the bayformers shit or this. I bet the next ghostbusters movie is gonna suck btw. The 80s was superior to today.

Wish these guys could make a back to the future beat em up. This game came out of nowhere. Maybe they already are working on Smurfs videogame in secret?

[flipswitch]

It's also rather small at 8GB. Could be worth picking up digital in the future.

[t0mby]

Remember you couldn't play this shit on the c64 when 64kb of memory meant tiny sprites and poor scrolling and synthesised speech, so stop being a tight wad.

Your C64 was grunty as. Mine had 65,472k less memory than yours.

[Ben]

I'd be buying on steam if I had proper Internet, but I think I'll wait for a nice flash sale in the future. Going to get it on PS4 for now. Looking forward to it, no time to buy it today but sounds like a good weekender.

[Froggy]

I pre-ordered from JB online and it didn't arrive today.. hopefully tomorrow hanging out for this being a huge G1 fanboy

[GameHED]

Despite the 50 dollar pricetag it's still worth the buy:

Generally licensed stuff takes a hit in quality compared to the core games they make.

One thing they could do is a retelling of the whole G1 cartoon with modifications to events for fans of the show. Then release it as full price. This could be thier demo sort of like metal gear ground zero. They split it up into seasons.Every year is a season of the original show. Then after the last game the story continues on as if it were a sequel.

That way we get to see ultra magus, springer, kup etc in the game and quintessons. Activision can make this the COD of beat em ups.

[GameHED]

BTW I'm glad they chose combiner wars g1 Megatron toy (transforms into tank) over cartoon g1 megatron where he turns into a pistol. That is probably my fave version. Am I biased because I have the toy? Nope just that tanks suit megatron the most.

I wish they updated grimlock so he wasn't tail dragger anymore though. Classics grimlock dinobot mode was a great alternative. (bot mode wasn't that good though) Also don't mind his current cartoon form.

[Ben]

Picked up a copy today on my lunch break. Just got home, got blazed, and am thinking it's time to fire this baby up!

[GameHED]

Better than Bayonetta 2? So annoyed this isn't on Wii U to piss off all those anti nintendo retards on this board..

Also given that the game is short do you think it's a good thing or bad thing given how rpetitive beat em up are to the western gamers?

One trend I hav noticed is the asians don't get board of beat em ups and play dynasty warriors games a lot.
While the west never gets board of shooting guns at things and buys up military shooters that are just expansions to call of duty 2.

Do you think if the game was 10 hour it would not get 8? I think platinum could get away with an expansion of this game that doubles the length. (expansions to rpg like witcher are like 10 hours - it wouldn't be that hard)

On one hand they get angry that mad max is too long with "too much stuff to do - it's just busy work that artificially extends the life of the game with backtracking". On the other hand they say this game (a beat em up aimed at generation X fans of transformers that is 30 years old and which kids will probably ignore) should have been a longer game.

My point is they can't make up their fucking minds. You either get value but with a feeling of quality being watered down a bit by repetitive tasks (similar to mmo games where people feel angry if they are paying a subscription and have nothing left to do after playing for so long) or you have shorter games with a fast pace that have replayability.

The game community is the most entitled group of all. I paid $50 for double dragon advance on GBA. Why is $50 not ok for an arcadey beat em up with a license attached to it? Don't they remember when games only lasted like 40 mins to win? (many ports of arcade game for example - eg Die Hard Arcade on the dreamcast)

Did you guys get angry when dungeons and dragons arcade was only about 1 hour long after you completed it? No you replayed it over and over again like Final Fight or streets of rage. This is how games of the old days used to be.
I paid $30 for Galak Z. That's pretty expensive for an indie title but I had fun. If this game is fun that fun might be why it's $50. It's all about perception. I have bought many games and usually the short stuff like Mario Kart, Street Fighter, Wipeout, Sin and Punishment, Star Fox etc have enough depth that replaying them is fun and challenging and the gameplay is designed for people with a shorter attention span and with less time than others.

If they make a game too long people might lose interest and not see the whole story. Look how turn based rpg have died out today. They have been streamlined for the dumb guy so they don't have to think before they act. That kinda thing could be happening to other genres to attract more people. People buy lego games all the time and they are the same thing. People buy call of duty all the time and its the same thing. People buy dynasty warriors and assassin's creed all the time. And its just more of the same. Platinum just gives you different things and we almost didn't see sequel to Bayonetta. So to say the game needs to be more repetitive by making ADHD gamers struggle to win the game by doing more work may go against the license. Some people who by the game might just be fans of transformers G1 rather than necessarily platinum games fans. Just like there are people who like Marvel Vs Capcom for the marvel characters not to play as capcom characters.

Will be picking mine up today. While you guys play remakes of last gen games in HD (Tomby who is rebuying the unchartered games on his sony console instead of buying new wii u games) because that is the trend, I want new stuff like this. This is what keeps the library of games interesting.

Go back and play outrun, star fox, afterburner, wonder boy, ghouls n ghosts, final fight, streets of rage, gunstar heroes, bangai-o etc Go and play god of war. These games were fast paced games not epic rpg like witcher. Perhaps over time people lost touch with why they even play a game. It's not the story.

If they did an expansion to this game which last another 5 hours it would probably satisfy the complainers I think.
God of War had roughly 10 hours through first playthrough. That is what people expect. But then they'd pay more.
Most arcadey games only need about half of that. House of the Dead, Outrun 2006, Splatoon. (only lasted me 5 hours single player.) I think capcom should hire platinum to do a remake of megaman franchise. Use cel shading and make it an arcadey beat em up and shooter like transformers. (have megaman zero as the melee focused one and X be the bullet spammer, and maybe introduce new enemy tools after each completion of the game, and use vince dicola rock music. They used vince for this transformers game didn't they? )

[GameHED]

This game is a trilogy according to activision:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015- ... same-story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

First game is only a prequel. "Optimus Prime will return" *victor coroli voice*

Maybe the game should just have alternate branching path like the dragon age games? Try something innovative guys.

Even final fight 3 let you choose your path a bit. Depending on the path you get different story and endings. Not hard to do. This will encourage replayability.

[t0mby]

Picked up a copy today on my lunch break. Just got home, got blazed, and am thinking it's time to fire this baby up!

Impressions please Ben.

[GameHED]

Will be picking my copy up soon.

eurogamer review says recommended.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015- ... ion-review" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is only one attack that's able to puncture Megatron's shield, which throbs rather un-menacingly in fetching pink. First Bumblebee must transform into a car (not the testosterone-ripped Chevrolet Camaro of Michael Bay's brash trio of scrapyard-assault films, but rather a cutesy Choro-Q-esque love bug). Then, by driving in tight circles, you must find top speed. Once the necessary momentum has been gained, aim at Megatron and, milliseconds before you crash into his shield, transform back into your mecha form, animating into a farcical uppercut as you do so. The shield shatters into pink shards and Megatron is knocked into the air.

A light flashes in Bumblebee's eye, signalling a new opportunity: strike the transform button in time and, in a single, balletic move, he'll curl back into the shape of the car, rev on the spot (causing sparks to fly improbably from his rear wheels) before launching at Megatron for the follow-up strike, and another, and another. There's more. Back into robot form and, while still airborne, the combo can be continued with a flurry of punches. As the pair thud back to the ground Megatron's eye glints red, signalling the counter attack. Hit the evade button at the right moment and Bumblebee will pull out of his punch, and slide elegantly through Megatron's legs. Time slows. The air turns a moody shade of blue and, in this precise moment, know that you are experiencing a hyperrealistic recreation of how it feels to be a Transformer in every eight-year-old's imagination.

The pitch is simple and strong: Transformers Devastation is a revisiting of the 1980s Transformers cartoons, as seen through the eyes of Platinum Games, a Japanese studio which, since the quiet decline of Treasure, has become the best action game developer in the world. While this is clearly a game made on a semi-tight budget (the game takes place in just two primary locations, while the enemies you meet come from a small, repetitive selection; the brisk story mode is designed for multiple replays as a way to stretch out the game's substance) it feels luxurious and well crafted in these hands. No doubt some lines of code have been lifted from Platinum's more lavish titles - Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising, Vanquish - as the combat in Transformers Devastation is as refined as in any of its back catalogue. Dodge an incoming attack at the last second and you'll initiate 'Focus', where time is slowed in exactly the same manner as Bayonetta's Witch Time. After the disappointment that was last year's The Legend of Korra, another cut-price downloadable title from the studio's pairing with Activision, this is a laudable land grab for the mid-tier console game territory, an area that has been almost squeezed out of existence in recent years by the lavish blockbusters on one side, and the legion of plucky independent on the other.

After an introduction during which you're shown the basics of combat, you're free to choose between a number of Autobot protagonists -- three initially, five eventually. Each handles in much the same way, albeit with different types of combo-ending attack and special move. Combos are strung together by linking strings of light and hard attacks, and these can be interspersed with Transformations whenever a blue light glints off your bodywork, or one of two special moves, made available when the relevant gauge is filled. This is no dull button-masher. Later you're able to purchase the kind of attacks you're more likely to find in Street Fighter than a third-person brawler. One, the parry, which allows you to nullify all damage from an incoming attack by pressing in the direction of the attacker at the precise moment of impact has been lifted directly from Street Fighter III: Third Strike. This is a game that allows for sumptuous levels of showboating for the talented player. As in Bayonetta, each skirmish is rated from 'D', the worst, to 'SS', the highest. Earning anything above a 'B' rank will require you to use a rich array of mix-ups, special moves, defensive slides and counterattacks.
The game's structure is best described as open world-lite. Budget has restrained the geography. The starting city is a network of corridor streets that criss-cross in interesting, disorientating ways. There are numerous collectibles dotted around and chests that contain power-ups and new weapons. Mostly you travel as a car between wider areas where you battle bosses (often two at a time). Platinum adds variety with car chase sequences (the roads often include booster portals which, if driven through, will propel your car forward at a speed which can break barriers). In the game's mid-section there is some plaforming, but combat provides the main attraction. You can return to the Autobots' Ark headquarters often to arrange and synthesise any weapons you've collected. Combining weapons allows you to transfer buffs between pieces of equipment, and, as each of the five playable characters - Optimus, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Wheeljack, and Grimlock - has four weapon slots, the game affords you considerable scope for customisation. Each Transformer also has two slots of equippable chips. These must be made in Wheeljack's workshop via a micro-game that involves a mixture of skill and luck.

Platinum is to be praised for filling such a relatively small container with so many ideas. Nevertheless, for some it may not be quite enough. The story mode can be finished in a few hours and, unless you head back in as a different character, or at one of the other two difficulty levels, you will likely be replete. Fifty short challenges provide extra curricular activity, but these soon prove repetitive. No matter. Platinum's game draws out much of the smooth, knockabout fun of the hyperactive cartoon-world of early Transformers, which has otherwise been lost to time. This is the best Transformers game since Melbourne House's memorable 2004 game. Its best tricks may have been pilfered from Platinum's back catalogue, but they're no less appealing in disguise.

No sexy females in it so your girl friend (who isn't confident in her looks) will not get jealous that she is a fat arse compared to the girls in videogames. Good game to get if you are too pussy whipped to buy bayonetta 2 on wii u because you are treated like a 5 year old child who is not allowed to play leisure suit larry on the amiga despite the sex scene being censored and crappy pixel art.

[Ben]

Definitely enjoying it thus far, combat has got the platinum feel to it. A little basic so far, but that is the way brawlers typically play out, get you used to the initial mechanics then it opens up much more once you hit the first teletraan upgrade point and can upgrade and equip new weapons, buy equip and forge new passive skill slots, and buy new moves, stuff like the frame perfect dodge (dodge at the exact moment of enemy hit, and will escape and activate witch time) and other staples along with the more unique moves.

Each of the auto bots play similarly but with different move sets, speeds etc. Each has a unique special move that slowly powers up through combat, for optimus it's and instant transform to truck, fhe trailer flies in and you do a spin sweep attack, but for side swipe it uses only part of the bar for an instant teleport dash. There's also a secondary super bar that fills up through combat too I think, which is like an ultimate move, again unique for each character, optimus is a giant area of effect ground smash, sides wipe is a missile barrage.

Weapons combat is not too bad, I'll always struggle to a degree cause it's default stick controls, but it has a nice snap lock on system, basically use one trigger to ready the weapon and it'll snap to a nearby target and stay locked. As soon as you hit the fire trigger it will stop locking and it's manual aiming until you re-aim, so it's quite easy to lock and get a quick shot off, dodge and repeat, but also the option to completely aim manually like a third person shooter, and you'll definitely benefit to be able to do it on the fly. You can also aim and shoot whilst in vehicle mode so that's handy.

Transforming is done by holding the dodge button, nice and quick to fit the pace of the game, and the sound effects are just perfect. Driving is done all with the left stick, basically just like controlling in bot form and not like a driving game where you have accelerate /brake buttons.


Story is a great nostalgia blast, perfect cheesy transformers cartoon style that just open and drops you straight into one of megatons plots. Dialogue has some hilarious forced lines to get the usual "more than meets the eye" et al style stuff in there but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Not a lot more to say on that front yet, but froom whay I've played it's great how many old characters that have popped up so far already, and had a chance to play as 3 of the characters seems mostly linear but if you backtrack there are secret missions and collectibles to be found.

Once I've beat it I'll have slightly more authority on it, but so far it is shaping up to be a fantastic game for transformers fans, probably won't get quite as much out of it if you're not already a fan, but therr is a solid combat system that is a lot of fun underneath that you might get something out of if you're a non fan but might enjoy a campy action brawler romp.

[t0mby]

Once I've beat it I'll have slightly more authority on it, but so far it is shaping up to be a fantastic game for transformers fans, probably won't get quite as much out of it if you're not already a fan, but therr is a solid combat system that is a lot of fun underneath that you might get something out of if you're a non fan but might enjoy a campy action brawler romp.

I'm keen to give it a go since it's cheap as but yeah, I fall into the "not already a fan" category as I never had to chance to see the cartoon when I was a child (Voltron and Voltus 5 were the only Gundam/Mech/Transforming bot style I had access to) and subsequently didn't bother as an adult. I did love Vanquish which is my favorite Platinum game so will give this a chance.

[Ben]

I guess in that regard I could liken it a little to The Wonderful 101, it's an awesome campy Saturday morning cartoon feel. Great fun, fast paced action combat system that anyone could enjoy but has some real depth if you delve in to the techniques, but you will likely get a real kick, some nostalgic fun and a lot more out of it if you were a fan of the source material, for W101 it's Power Rangers / Super Sentai, and Transformers Devastation, well yeah, Transformers.

From a design standpoint visually, it looks great, the Transformers design are all on point to their 80s counterparts and the the sound is just so on point, from the metal clunking of footsteps to the transforming sounds, to the blaster sounds (Though I haven't heard the awesome original laser sounds yet) . The battle music reminds me of Metal Gear Rising, lot of fast metal riffs, no vocals outside of the main menu music "transformers. ..more than meets the eye". The dubsteppy background music in the background of the upgrade shop is a little annoying and maybs out of place, but so far just localized to that shop. Would have been cool to have some other touches like actual incidental music from the series, and maybe the autobot/decepticon insignia flip with the scene change sound, but now I'm just being picky.

It has a few rough edges visually here and there, and a bit of stiffness to some cut scenes, for some they might stick out but for me it kind of adds to the charm. Possibly harder to look past if you are fresh off some offering of the latest unreal engine, but real gamers are unbiased right?!

[GameHED]

Bought my copy today along with Kirby on wii u.

Yes I wish they used the license in a way that the music was cheesy 80s rock and metal. (ie just like megaman type background music)

One of my fave was post unicron death tv series where it started to go more electronic-y which suits the theme of robots more:

The older music was more *rock tunes.


I think if platinum were smart they could do some DLC with Jazz and maybe Ironhide in it. Ironhide would be fun as he is the "Ironman" of transformers with tough exterior. (voiced by peter cullen so you can reuse the same voice actor)

He's be perfect in a brawler because he can soak up lots of damage.
Jazz would be good as the token black guy in the group. (michael bay killed him in the first live action transformers movie - must be racist) If I recall he was the spec ops guy in g1.

People have often said they wish they could be the decepticons so maybe platinum could have a .5 prequel with decepticon missions that show battles which they won and tell the story of how megatron got started. (this way people unfamiliar with g1 have backstory info about character origins) Definitely want to see jetfire in it. Have him die early so you feel a genuine loss unlike in the cartoon where they brought him back from the dead and ruined the story just to advertise the toy again ol. (he is one of the few autobots that can fly anywhere)

Edit:
anyone here think they should remake the entire g1 cartoon series using cg models with celshading? I think they could probably sell it with the game. Just copy frame for frame what the cartoon did but use CG. These would be the unlockable teletrann-1 files.

*lots of old 80-90s music goes well with transformers cartoons: (this is a good music clip of rocky 4 theme with old g1 footage of the cartoons and ads. If it's rock or electronic music I think this is the safe choice - don't modernise it or it loses nostalgia value!)

[GreyWizzard]

Jazz isn't the same without Scatman Crothers.

[Replica]

I enjoyed it. Geeked out a few times with some of the boss fights(the Blitzwing and Soundwave fights were particularly good). As well done as the visuals and presentation were it definitely felt like this was done on a budget, I guess the price reflects that. I wish the camera was better, the enemies and environments more varied and the combat system was a lot less repetitive. As fun as this was, War for Cybertron was a much better game. Hopefully if this does well Activision will drop some more coin into a follow up and we get something Bayonetta quality.

[GameHED]

big w seem to have it cheap at $44 so be on the lookout. sale on Thursday oct 15th.
https://www.bigw.com.au/bigw-catalogues ... 00&page=27" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(page 27)

That's cheaper than most new 3ds games tomby. Don't be a tightarse. activision will die without your money. Look at how low budget the biuldings look. No environmental damage or anything.That's because people like you are buying preowned.. If you don't buy it at least get an autobot symbol tatooed on your forehead with the words 'g1-only fan' to show your support for g1 transformers over the bayformers. We are outnumbered by these bad fans who think triangular shards and half naked robots are better than blocky covered up robots from the 80s where you could see what the fuck was happening during fights.

The hollywood film industry wants to make transformers more pornographic by not clothing the robots with enough armor the dirty pedophile cunts.

[Candy Arse]

I'll grab the superior PC version during a Steam sale.

[GameHED]

You buying Fallout 4 from ebgames candy?

There is loads of cool merch you can preorder on ebgames:

eg nuka cola cap:
https://ebgames.com.au/loot-211840-Fall ... a-Cap-Loot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


vault tec tshirt:
https://ebgames.com.au/loot-211825-Fall ... Small-Loot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Had a short go of Transformers and noticed the levels look like something from a phantasy star online game.

Wish platinum made this into a full on action rpg like PSO because if you think about all the rpg stats they added into the weapons and stuff I think a lot of people would play it online.

The animation is smooth and you don't need much skill to dodge stuff. Just dodgeroll when they coil up like in puchout game or shoot them while driving away. (driving and shooting take effort though. You should do combos involving hitting, ramming and shooting while they are at about medium range then, rinse ad repeat.

Megatron looks good. They need dungeon fighter style mmo version of this game where you can develop a generic transformer, name it, and choose what type of vehicle you want (air, ground, sea, space) and make it about exploring planets for energy.
Then over time moves are learned. The game would feel slightly post apoc because of the shortage of energon and you would have to fight close range a lot.

This game would have been awesome on wii u.

So which character do you guys use? I tend to go with prime. (levelled up his axe to level 5 and grenade launcher to level 5 too)

He has this dragon punch move straight out of the animated movie. press light punch, then hold down the light punch. Innstead of uppercut on the second hit he jumps up and dragon punches. Lot of creative combos in this. It's built for replayability. As an action game I think the shorter playtime is ok. Combining hitting, with shooting and ramming while trying to dodgeroll and counter makes you feel more like a badass from the newer cartoon transformers where there was a lot of bullet time effects. (ie transformers prime) The newer cartoons had way more impressive action and fighting in them. With how nice the cel shading looks in this game I wonder why hasbro don't just remake g1 cartoon universe for a new younger fanbase that wasn't around in the 80s and use cel shaded cg?

instead of the original g1 designs they can update the characters with the generations design instead. So star scream is in fact a big f-22 jet and there is no mass shifting. In the trasnfroemrs Prime cg toon, they just let big guys be slow hulking masses who had teams of small guys fighting them all at once like in x-men when they team up to kill a sentinel. That's what new G1 should do from this point on. Big guy is slow but powerful and the small guys are quick and agile. If devastator were to be re-animated he would be like what brawl was in the first bay movie. A slow monster sized robot which takes long time to kill but can be beaten with sustained effort.

In fact imo Megatron would be tougher in health/armor than prime but slower and not as skilled at fighting. He would have lot of power but lose out in accuracy because he has such large gun. Ultra magnus would be about the same as megatron in strength, (due to the amount of armor he can hold and move in, but without as much intelligence. (he can only defend area but not plan long term in winning war.) Haven't seen the sequel to Trasnformers Prime yet but I bought some of the figures. I don't like the cartoonified look of the heads of the new toys. I wish they would go back to making the characters more robotic in appearance for the head, and just make great fighting and action scene. (big budget) As much as I like trasnformer animated it kinda went in the direction of kids with the look of the show. I prefer more serious look.