The latest Transformers game doesn’t have the benefit of having a blockbuster movie to accompany its release, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Transformers: Cybertron Adventures tells the story of the original conflict on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons. All the familiar names and faces are the in the game such as Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, and many many more.

The Wii version of the game was developed by Next Level Games who you may remember as the developer behind both Mario Strikers games as well as last year’s Punch-Out!! for the Wii. While I initially had very low expectations for the game, I was pleasantly surprised as I played through the game. Cybertron Adventures allows you to play through 2 different campaigns, one as the Autobots and one as the Decepticons. The campaign mode allows you to take control of various transformers for each mission. One mission may involve Bumblebee while another might have you play as Megatron. There are 2 basic ways you’ll play through each mission, on foot and on wheels. The gameplay is very simplistic and can be likened to an on-rails 3rd person shooter where most movement on foot is done automatically and you only need to shoot and duck behind cover (like the Time Crisis games). The on-wheels gameplay allows you to shoot various enemies and speed along a set path to the next battle. When in combat, you can select different weapons by pushing the analog stick Up, Down, Left, or Right. All weapons have unlimited ammo but certain weapons fit a situation better than others.

Health is also regenerative so it’s mostly just a point and shoot without worrying about accuracy much or number of lives. The game also allows a second person to join in by giving them an extra crosshair on-screen to blast away enemies. The graphics for Cybertron Adventures leave much to be desired but it’s not the worst looking Wii game by any means. Animations were fluid and models were decently detailed.

Conclusion

All in all, Transformers: Cybertron Adventures isn’t as bad as all the media outlets say it is. The game offers some pretty decent, although shallow, gameplay while also offering a cool story with beautifully rendered cutscenes. If you’re a big transformers fan, it’s at least worth a rent.

Transformers: Cybertron Adventures gets a 7.5/10