Zero Punctuation: Transformers: War for Cybertron

Kayevcee

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Mar 5, 2008
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I am 28, and I do own a Transformers duvet cover. I used it to cover my dealer table at the British Transformers convention in Birmingham, but I was still just a little bit creeped out when it seemed like Yahtzee was talking to me directly.

Sadly, I reckon the review was spot on. Transforming wasn't used as effectively as it could have been, the enemy types are depressingly similar cookie cutters, everything's bloody *grey* apart from the characters' faction-oriented highlights and there's almost no difference in the play styles between the Autobot and Decepticon campaigns. I got genuinely annoyed when I started up as Optimus Prime and saw Bumblebee and Ratchet blasting away at crippled, defenceless Decepticon troopers. Oi! We're supposed to be the good guys!

I agree that the best part of it is the dialogue, though. I would totally watch the cutscenes on their own and just skip the shooter bits in between.

-Nick
 

ewhac

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Sep 2, 2009
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This is one of the most artistically varied ZPs I've seen in a while.

First off, we get the parody of abstract B&W Eastern European animation, which was great.

Then we get the robots done in ZP style, which only seems dead simple if you've never tried to do this sort of thing yourself.

But then appears Robot Grandma, complete with robot gray hair in done up a robot bun. Can't explain why, but that little detail really impressed me.
 

Dandarez

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Aug 25, 2010
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Funny review as always.

I myself loved this game, granted I used to love Transformers as a kid too, and the game on the PS2.

I bought it on release, fired up the single player and played a couple of hours, and absolutely loved it. Only game I finished this year. It was a fun straight forward, kinda challenging 3rd person shooter and the pacing kept me going, never a dull moment for me. I found myself using vehicle mode quite often during boss battles to make sure I didn't get hit (always playing on the hardest difficulty I find in a game). Then after a few chapters I started the multiplayer now this is what made the game amazing to me, but also made me hate it. The action is absolutely amazing, felt a bit like Unreal Tournament, but there were so many problems with the multiplayer I stopped playing it after a few weeks. I wonder if they patched it, cause I would love to give it another go.

Man, what a nice incoherent piece of text I produced here.
 

mental_looney

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Apr 29, 2008
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Probably been said already but would the type of people who like transformers even know what Othello was other than something they heard about once when they were in school...
 

Pebkio

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Nov 9, 2009
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My favorite bit was the cardboard box, holding a staff and yelling "You shall not pass!".

Seriously, I think the transformers game could've been the opposite to "big bads vs you the midget" games; instead being a larger than life smashathon. Instead of the bosses being super huge to you, everything else is supposed to feel tiny.

Did the game do that well? I don't know near... anything... about the game, and the premise is enough keeps me from even trying (pretty much the same as how a lot of people would react to a Twilight video game).

I mean, c'mon... giant robots from Giant-Robot World 3 can have battles in space and across time instead decide to settle down on Earth and just, I don't know, fight over the pyramids... or the Eifle Tower...
 

Cobaltmotari

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Nov 30, 2009
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Just saw the review, and I have to be honest, Yahtzee, thank you so much for insulting Shia LeBoeuf twice for me. My night is officially complete!

*ahem*

I haven't played War for Cybertron yet, but I'll admit it looks ok. Not groundbreaking, but like Section 8, it's enough to hold my attention.
 

Bakfiets

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Feb 18, 2009
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Great review this game was hugely overrated by the "mainstream" game journalists (probably the nostalgia speaking) I've played it for an hour then decided that it sucked donkey balls.
I couldn't see 10ft in front of me the entire screen was one big cluster fuck of conjoined brown and grey shapes.
 

RowdyRodimus

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Apr 24, 2010
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I loved the game, but I freely admit to being a huge Transformer fanboy. I've been buying the toys, comics and videos/DVD's since 1984 and never stopped, it's just my thing and I feel no shame in admitting it.

The thing about this game is that it isn't for people who don't care about the characters and the mythos, it's for people like me that are fans of the series or shooter fans who might want a break from WWII or Space Marines fighting oversized bugs. Yes, that does limit the audience a bit but no more than releasing a stealth based game that punishes a player for going outside the parameters of sneaking without killing or flight sim.

Not every game is made to appeal to everyone. So while I disagree with most of the negative comments about War for Cybertron and the Transformers in general, I admit it is a niche game and license that won't hold the same appeal to the general public that it does for me. However, that doesn't negate my opinion the same that my love of the franchise doesn't negate the opinion of Yahtzee or those that agree with him.

(I wonder, can I still say I'm a fanboy even though I don't flame people who disagree with me or just come out and say " you're wrong, it's the best game EVAH! You just don't like it cause you're ghey!" or something like that?"
 

theriddlen

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Apr 6, 2010
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You are going on holiday, so you won't release new video when it's needed the most? Freakin new school year! Without any depression remedy there will be suicides all over the world.
 

Android2137

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Feb 2, 2010
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Entertain ourselves for seven days? Don't you mean two? Anyway, have fun on your holiday, oppressing those South Pacific natives or whatever you said in your XP.

Anyway, there was actually a bunch of things I didn't understand about Transformers. Why did Megatron turn into a gun? Everyone transforms into cars and tanks and helicopters and whatnot, but they've all got guns built in already. Why was the leader of the pack the guy who transformed into a gun? And since he was supposed to be an enormous robot, how did he fit all that into something so tiny?
 

Zero Serenity

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Nov 21, 2009
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Wait a second...in the caption picture and starting at 3:58...is that a VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross?

Nice oversight. Zing!
 

RowdyRodimus

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Apr 24, 2010
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mental_looney said:
Probably been said already but would the type of people who like transformers even know what Othello was other than something they heard about once when they were in school...
Yes, since many of us are well read and educated. The thing about fans of Transformers is that we don't exclude anyone like many other niche groups. We accept young, old, black, white, yellow, red, gay, straight, male, female, skinny, fat, educated or dropouts as fellow fans of the franchise. Really the only thing that causes any turmoil (which usually is played for laughs anyway) is when the subject of which generation (G1, G2, Beat Wars, Armada, Car Robots, etc.) is the best.

I know it was a joke, but I think it's funny that you make that generalization when my library of, as Yahtzee calls them, "proper, wordy books" would probably dwarf that of many who claim to be a fan of the written word.
 

TheKKCQ

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Aug 25, 2010
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Poor, poor Yahtzee having to do a Transformers review...

Poor man.

"Coloured PROUD red and FABULOUS purple... Respectively."

Favourite line!
 

RowdyRodimus

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Apr 24, 2010
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Zero Serenity said:
Wait a second...in the caption picture and starting at 3:58...is that a VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross?

Nice oversight. Zing!
The VF-1 was used to create the Jetfire toy in the G1 Transformers series. It was licensed out to Hasbro by Takatoru Toys which led to Matchbox not being able to release it as opart of it's Robotech line and that led to the VF-1S being created in it's place.

So no, it isn't an oversight. (Understandable though since many people think of Jetfire as the Blackbird from the second Michael Bay movie)
 

Not G. Ivingname

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Nov 18, 2009
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Lucane said:
Not G. Ivingname said:
~Snip

True, but you think that the Decepticons would instantly change their tactics from "shoot auto-bots" to "shoot anything that moves."
Well all of this is superseded by it's based off of toylines before making a backstory to tie it all together but,playing any shooter game will tell you it's a real bad idea to shoot at everything that moves before you figure out it's friend, foe, or a streetlamp becuase sooner or later you'd either get tired,paranoid,distracted or worse of all run out of ammo before they actually attack,Actually the wosrt cast scenario would be shooting a teammate at least in my book.
Ok, I give, you win.