GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Mediocre
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 07/15/2009
- Released on: 06/23/2009
- Originally published on GameSpot: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PSP) Review
Blockbuster action movies and video game tie-ins have joined lemonade and lawn chairs on the list of summertime icons. PSP owners tempted to combine these things by heading outside with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen should seriously reconsider. This third-person run-and-gun shooter is ultimately functional, but the poorly-tuned gameplay is uninteresting at best and aggravating at worst. Though blasting your way through hordes of enemy robots can be satisfying, the inconsistent shooting mechanics, unwieldy melee controls, lackluster visuals, and horrendous sound effects seriously dampen the appeal. There is a substantial amount of game here, but you'll be hard-pressed to find any fun.
6212807NoneHere we see Optimus Prime destro... wait, is his gun going to keep making that noise?
Revenge of the Fallen features two sizable campaigns, Decepticon and Autobot, which loosely follow the plot of the movie. The plot is conveyed through voice-acted dialogues and intermittent cutscenes that look like a botched attempt to visualize what goes on inside a computer. While the voice acting is well done and the music is sufficiently dramatic, the sound effects are just awful. Explosions, robotic clanks, and power-up twinkles all blend together in a muddled, muted cacophony that is drowned out by the incessant sound of your guns. Laser beams are merely monotonous, but machine guns are aggressively bad. As in, a kindergarten class armed with pots and wooden spoons bad. And because you shoot your guns almost constantly throughout every level, the only respite is to turn the volume down from the main menu. This takes away the offending effects and leaves the dramatic music in a strange auditory limbo that, sadly, is your best option aside from total muting.
The action plays out from an isometric viewpoint that gives you a more or less top-down view of whatever corridor you are currently traversing. City streets, parks, construction yards, and enemy fortresses are just some of the varied environments you'll visit. They are adequately detailed and filled with destructible items that you can usually explode and walk over without issue. Sometimes, however, these explosions will knock you down or the leftover debris will trip you up. This inconsistency is annoying and can also be dangerous when you are beset by hordes of enemies.
You can tell it's a Decepticon from the salty language.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PSP):
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