Now I'm going to do a switch from my usual toy reviews and instead review one of the games based on the various incarnations of the Transformer franchise.

---

As with nearly every blockbuster movie released nowadays, there will inevitably be video game tie-ins that generally shove you into the plot of the film and deny you of the freedom to team up with the Joker instead of stabbing him in the eye with a rusty fork. They are generally one a platform. However, with the games based on the 2007 Transformers movie, there is a difference in the DS department. Rather than choosing between an Autobot campaign or a Decepticon campaign, the choice is at retail, meaning that, if you want to play one of these games, you have to decide whether to join the forces of good or the forces of evil. As one may presume from the title, I chose the latter. However, this game doesn't force you to do one mission after another, as shall be seen.

In terms of plot, TF presents a different storyline from the film. Rather than being filled with humans who get caught up in an intergalactic war, instead it's focused on the misadventures of the Decepticons as they blunder around earth in search of Megatron. I like this-a game about Transformers should be about the titular robots. The Autobots show up from time to time, but the notable characters are all bosses-most of the time, you're fighting random Autobots who are in vehicle mode until they notice you blowing stuff up or you blast them, forcing them into robot mode.

You play as a rookie Decepticon who you can name yourself-I named my guy Topkick. You crash to earth under the command of Starscream, who instructs him to hook up with Barricade to search for the Decepticon whose distress signal was picked up. It is actually quite enjoyable-moreso than the film. Starscream is very much his G1 self, all treacherous and power-hungry. The other 'cons are also interesting-in particular, Barricade is fanatically loyal to Megatron (which should really have been Blackout's role) and Brawl is a psycho who gets all the good one-liners. The game actually manages to characterise the robots more than the actual movie did.

What's notable is that voice-acting is extensively used in this game. It is used in all the cutscenes, something unusual for a DS game. It is also rather good voice acting. Notably, the original voice actors for BOTH Optimus Prime and Megatron are present-something the film decided not to do in favour of Hugo Weaving. Optimus really gives off a sense of authority with his voice. Megatron, though, sounds like G1 Megatron with bronchitis- a result of Frank Welker trying to emulate Movie Megatron and failing.

However, it's the gameplay that really matters. The missions in this game generally fall into distinct categories: blow stuff up, boss battle, defend a target, and stop a convoy. They are actually kind of fun, in regards to the blow stuff up part, especially in one where you run around and kill the Autobots in their protoform modes. The others, not so much. ESPECIALLY not the last two. In one, you play as Blackout and have to stop a military convoy. The problem here is that the surprisingly fast tanks which guard the convoy fire missiles which knock you over and out of vehicle mode if you are in it. This is extremely annoying, considering the speed of the convoy means that you can get caught up for way too long with the tanks, letting the convoy get away.

Aside from the really annoying missions which make you want to take the cartridge out and destroy it in frustration, they don't last long-I beat them in three days. However, the game doesn't end here-instead, it becomes something like Grand Theft Auto, in that it's essentially a free-roaming game with optional missions to do to further the completion status of your file. You can pick from four different areas-a casino strip, Tranquility (the largest area; basically Mission City), Qatar, and Hoover Dam. There is actually quite an amount of space in these levels, meaning that you can explore as much as you want. Hoover Dam in particular is riddled with secret passages that lead to Sector Seven's base.

You can play as six different characters-your player character, Barricade, Brawl, Blackout, Starscream, and Megatron (WHY NO BONECRUSHER?!?!!?!), and vehicle modes are divided into cars, jets, and helicopters (Brawl counts as a car-resulting in a tank which can accelerate). The advantage that the player character has over the other 'cons is that he doesn't have a fixed vehicle mode. You can scan the vehicles (and other Transformers, incidentally) to unlock them as vehicle forms-which you can customise in a limited fashion by changing two colours. These vehicle forms also determine your stats in both vehicle and robot modes. Several-like the Attack Copter-are hidden, and others only appear under certain conditions. So far, I prefer playing as flying vehicles because it's just so fun to cruise around in the sky (like a vast, predatory bird!) and then conduct a bombing raid on civilians. The other advantage of vehicle modes-aside from mobility-is that nothing tries to attack you when you are a vehicle-which leads to ludicrous situations when everyone is ignoring the giant alien jet flying overhead.

You can also transform any time you want by the touch screen. This is fun-swooping down in jet mode, changing into robot mode, wreaking havoc, then flying off really fast is giddy fun, and it does give you an idea of what being a giant transforming robot would be like.

Optional missions are scattered around the place, and are generally variations on the main mission formulae. They're actually fun, such as one in which you throw as much stuff as you can. However, I tend to forgo them in favour of exploring and randomly blowing up cars. The game helpfully gives you an auto-targeting system if you want to blow stuff up-and surprisingly, the auto-target works properly, instead of latching on to a chair rather than Optimus Prime's face. However, you have to be facing your opponent for it to work-which can be frustrating if they move too fast.

Like GTA, committing random acts of violence attracts the attention of the police-and the Autobots. However, I found that the police showed up more than the Autobots, which was annoying. The G1 theme song does not go ''Decepticons wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the human police". I want to fight the Autobots, not the humans! But to be fair, having brawls with tanks is kinda fun, especially with the random banter you pick up from them, which is actually funny.

The graphics for this game are surprisingly good. It is entirely in 3D-albeit limited by the DS' capabilities. While I'm amazed by giant cityscapes rendered on a handheld usually given sprites, it does cause problems, namely that it can appear quite foggy at a distance. Also, you can often deal with your opponents by simply running away, as the game cannot keep track of everyone running around the area. Character models generally look good if you aren't looking at them close-up (otherwise they're masses of pixels), and the transformations give the impression of, well, transformation, even if they are just the character models spinning quickly.

I think I've said enough already. Bottom line: it's a fun game, more for the GTA-style antics rather than the missions. Get it if you want to see what being a Transformer would be like, or if you were annoyed that Frank Welker didn't get to be Megatron in the movie.

4/5