WFC2 - Fall of Cybertron game revealed

[Hursticon]

Again courtesy of TFW2005.com, it would certainly appear that a NDA (Non-disclosure Agreement) has been lifted indeed as 3 (Count them: 1, 2, 3! ) more articles have been released by IGN.com, Machinima.com & Kotaku.com respectively.

• IGN's article incorporates an interview with High Moon Studios 'Game Director' - Matt Tieger and discusses from a game design perspective what we're likely to see in Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and how it compares to their previous effort with 2010's Transformers: War for Cybertron.
  (Includes some in-game video footage)

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• Machinima's article is a video interview that goes a little more in-depth than Ign's, with yet another interview with 'Tiege' and shows off some more video footage that is in-game and does a good effort of tackling it from both a Transformers Fanatic perspective and from a non-fan angle.

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• Kotaku's continuation of their coverage comes very much from the perspective of "a kid from the 80's" whose never really forgotten Transformers and the impact it had; a video is supplied that does away with audible narration in favour of on-screen annotations which allows us to hear some of the voice-over 'awesomesauce' with banter and instructive dialogue but also a veiled character reveal in Perceptor who appears to be voiced by Paul Eiding!

[SharkyMcShark]

They lost me at 'character specific level'

[Hursticon]

They so need to make a 'clone wars' type show for this game

You sir need to be on the board of directors at hasbro

Oh man, that would be so cool in both respects!

I think I'm in love. They need to stop teasing me with all these amazing features! Can't wait any longer! WFC is almost all I've played for the last year and a half and this is just making it worse!

I know huh?, I can't wait to get my hands on it either - Hell, it's doing an almost single handed job in convincing me to purchase a PS3!

now they just need to make this into a G1 reboot!!! That would be awesome!! A show based on this would be insane!!!

Indeed it would, as it would also be very amusing to watch all the Gee-wun purists cry out in unified agony!

But this seriously has a lot of potential for a cartoon, though due to it's lack of Human involvement it'd likely never come to pass; as both The_Damned & Bartrim were making the point to me over the weekend though, G1 survived and flourished beautifully with a severe lack of Human character involvement so what is preventing them from doing it again?

They lost me at 'character specific level'

Just out of curiosity dude; what is it about 'Character Specific Levels' that deters you so?

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Just out of curiosity dude; what is it about 'Character Specific Levels' that deters you so?

Not speaking for SharkyMcshark, but for me, I have an issue as 'character specific levels' have a tendency to not be all that good in in any one sense.

they are essentially designing 3 or 4 different types of games for each level, which usually amounts to none of them being all that good. DOTM was 'character specific levels' and some of theose totally sucked. Mirage/Dinos level was one I found especially tedious. Half assed stealth like gameplay because it was limited to the controls of a shooter from the start. What they should do is concentrate one one style fo gameplay and work that so its awesome, chuck in a couple of set pieces for wow factor, add the odd different skill for characters and we'd be away.

Character specific levels = Jack of all trades, master of none.

Moving on.

I see Metroplex is an indirectly controlled character. Erm, so you have no control over him at all then. Man it pisses me off that people chuck in 'buzz words' and other BS and it ends up making the meaning harder to decipher.

So, metroplex has gone from being a character the Prime controls to one that is uncontrollable in less than a week. By that scale he should have disappeared from the game by the time it's released.

I am curious to see how they use the triple changing thing. And if Vortex's triple changing abilities changes him from a helicopter to a jet and the jet is just the boost mode for the helicopter, I will have two instances of BS and Buzz words clouding meaning...

Nolan North. Not always a good thing.... Everytime I hear CJ talk, am I gonna think of Nathan drake?

Still have to watch the vidoes and I have no doubts about the fact that I will buy this game.

[Gutsman Heavy]

I see Metroplex is an indirectly controlled character. Erm, so you have no control over him at all then. Man it pisses me off that people chuck in 'buzz words' and other BS and it ends up making the meaning harder to decipher.

No doubt it'll be "press 'x' to make metroplex smash debris out the way" gameplay. It could at least look very cool ala God of War 2.

I am curious to see how they use the triple changing thing. And if Vortex's triple changing abilities changes him from a helicopter to a jet and the jet is just the boost mode for the helicopter, I will have two instances of BS and Buzz words clouding meaning...

Definitely BS, the "jet" is totally his boost. By this logic every WFC/FOC Transformer is a triple changer

Nolan North. Not always a good thing.... Everytime I hear CJ talk, am I gonna think of Nathan drake?

While North totally relies on his generic "smart arse" voice work he can do a decent job when needed. See his work as the Penguin in Arkham City. He also voiced Brawl in WFC.

[SharkyMcShark]

The thing with character specific levels tied to character specific abilities is that no one ability is ever fully developed enough in games like this to make the levels fun. Example: DOTM.

When you look at games like Deus Ex (1 and 3 specifically), the characters have special abilities but you're never forced to use any specific one over and over and over, so It felt fresh and a bit emergent in terms of game play. Ditto things like Mass Effect and Bioshock (ie shooting/action games that also focus on character abilities). This is because in a standard development cycle where you've also got to focus on like 9 or 10 other special abilities no single one is going to ever be developed enough to to be fun and deep enough to use consistently for a whole level. It essentially becomes like playing a series of mini games.

This is why I'd prefer a transformers game with a slightly larger scale and focus - give us more sandbox battlefields (not necessarily a full sandbox game mind you). A sort of Mass Effect/KOTOR style ability system where you can not only choose which abilities and to what degree (low levels in all of them, or high focus on a small few, etc), but also larger battlefields in which to play around and try combinations of abilities. It increases replay value too - imagine being able to approach a massive conflict one time as a stealth flying bot who uses melee attacks, and the next time out as a heavily armored long ranger.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

No doubt it'll be "press 'x' to make metroplex smash debris out the way" gameplay. It could at least look very cool ala God of War 2.

Just finished watching the machinima chat thingo and it looks like Prime can 'Target' enemies and then a load of pain is released upon siad enemy. Sounds a bit like the airstrike ability in World at War and other games like that. Sadly you dont get to see what happens. It would be cool to see a missive fist or foot crush whatever is targetted.

Definitely BS, the "jet" is totally his boost. By this logic every WFC/FOC Transformer is a triple changer

Yeh just saw that too. Bah. It does remind me of Miles Mayhem's vehicle from M.A.S.K though, so it aint all bad...

[Hursticon]

A report of a recent Activision Preview Event where Matt Tieger of Highmoon Studios showed off more of an early build of the upcoming game; Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, has been posted up on TFW2005.

As mentioned in Sol Fury's recount, there wasn't a great deal of anything not already known that was shown at said event; That is, with the exception of the 1st proper showing of Cliffjumper and his Level:

Moving along to the Autobots, the third segment of the presentation was Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper was shown in actual gameplay here for the first time, and he plays as a nimble character that is a bit less resistant to damage, unlike Vortex or Bruticus. Cliffjumper instead has a stealth mode, so he can go invisible and execute stealth kills on enemies. That seems to be the driving idea behind Cliffjumper’s stage - taking out opponents by stealth and cunning rather than in out-and-out firefights, though that is of course also available if that is more your style. Stealth kills look fun, and involve things like Cliffjumper leaping on an opponent’s shoulders before taking off their heads with his blade. The segment we were shown was Cliffjumper’s first battle with a new type of enemy, who is able to detect and jam Cliffjumper’s stealth mode. You have the option of dodging the enemy’s scans and taking it out stealthily, or if you are feeling brave you can take the thing on in a firefight - the balance of the fight meant that while it is a challenge to fight one-on-one, Cliffjumper is agile enough to evade his slower opponent and get a few hits in while it locks on and charges up its guns.

The other segment shown with Cliffjumper was the previously mentioned observatory sequence. Cliffjumper’s voice in this sequence seemed younger than Generation 1 or Prime Cliffjumper - I’d describe it as a mixture of Generation 1 Cliffjumper with a bit of Generation 1 Bumblebee’s voice. The voice fits the personality of the character and his playstyle, and it is not unreasonable to think that this character could mature into Generation 1 or Prime Cliffjumper over a few million years.

The full report can be viewed here, accompanied by a slew of Screenshots.