Transformers (Armada PS2)

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Transformers
That's not a game. [shhhhhlink] This is a game!
Developer	Melbourne House
Publisher	Atari
Platform	PlayStation 2
Release date	May 7, 2004 (EU) May 11, 2004 (NA) 2004 (KR)
Ratings	ESRB: T
Credits

Transformers is a 2004 video game for the PlayStation 2, developed by Melbourne House and published by Atari. It is based on the Armada series, though it does not follow any pre-established storyline. The game features three Autobots traveling around the Earth to retrieve the missing Mini-Cons before the Decepticons. In September 2005, Atari released a "Director's Cut" of the game exclusively in the UK, which was identical aside from the inclusion of a bonus DVD containing a "Making Of Documentary".

Plot

Millions of years ago, the Mini-Cons fled Cybertron and crash landed on ancient Earth, going into stasis all around the planet. In the present, the Decepticons have conquered nearly all of Cybertron thanks to their Decepticlone army. As they overtake Iacon, only Optimus Prime, Hot Shot, and Red Alert stand in their way. Optimus and Megatron face off on a building until they are interrupted by the Mini-Con distress beacon. Both sides head off to Earth to recover the Mini-Cons.

"Finally, the egg cracks open!"

From their headquarters, the Autobots head out one-at-a-time through their space bridge to the different regions around Earth, beginning with the Amazon. After collecting Mini-Cons scattered around the region and fighting through Decepticlone patrols, they are confronted by Cyclonus in some ruins at the top of a mountain. Cyclonus declares Earth to now be Decepticon property and leaves one of the Decepticlone Heavy Units to attack them. After destroying the Heavy Unit, the Autobots reunite and discover the Mini-Cons Sparkplug, Jolt, and Longarm, who send out a call to the other Mini-Cons on Earth. The three Mini-Cons then partner up with the Autobots.

Following the signal, the Autobots then head to Antarctica. After making their way through an icy canyon, they come to a large open glacial area. While collecting Mini-Cons and avoiding Decepticlone Sentry Drones, they follow smoke to a human plane that had been shot down. They then make their way to a nearby research facility where a Mini-Con has been discovered and engage the numerous enemy guards. Starscream then erupts from the facility in a massive explosion and attacks the Autobot, both with his sword and his jet mode. After defeating Starscream, Optimus orders the Autobots back to the Amazon to stop Cyclonus, unaware that Starscream still functions.

In a deeper part of the Amazon, the Autobots make their way through the terrain and many Decepticlone enemies, including Guerilla Units, Artillery Units, Sentries, and Turrets. They make their way into and through a large ancient pyramid and, after reaching the base, take an elevator to the very top, where they are attacked by Cyclonus in his helicopter mode. After being defeated, Cyclonus crashes into the pyramid and explodes, while the Autobots observe the enemy Dropships flying away towards the Atlantic Ocean.

Your biggest nightmare... literally.

The Dropships arrive at Tidal Wave, in his massive warship mode, in the Mid-Atlantic. The Autobots make their way across multiple small islands and gain the ability to glide after finding the Mini-Con Slipstream. After fighting Jet Snipers and making it to a high enough island, the Autobot glides onto the warship, avoiding missile fire from its turrets. After fighting the many Decpticlone units on board and finding a way into the ship, they make their way to the warship's control room and learn that its destination is Alaska. It is then that Tidal Wave transforms from his warship form to his massive, towering robot form. Due to his massive size and heavily armored body, the only spot the Autobots are capable of wounding him is his head. After sustaining enough damage, Tidal Wave's internal systems begin to explode and he collapses into the ocean.

The Autobots then head to Alaska, believing it to be the location of Megatron's base, and make their way through a large mountainous region. They use a cave system to travel through one of the mountains and up to higher ground. Starscream, piloting a starship, purposely crashes the ship in an attempt to crush the Autobot. The ship ends up on a steep cliff and the Autobots infiltrate it. After making their way through the ship and battling through its Decepticlone crew, they confront Starscream on the bridge. The scuffle causes the cliff edge to be destroyed and the ship is sent plunging into the valley below. The impact of the crash buries the bow deep into the snow, forcing the Autobots to climb their way up and out to the surface. Once they make it out of the ship, they are confronted by Starscream once again. After being defeated, Starscream is interrogated by Optimus Prime. After proving less than cooperative, Starscream is knocked out and Red Alert hacks his warp transponder.

So, this is what a planet-eater's stomach looks like.

Thanks to the info extracted from Starscream, the Autobots have discovered Megatron's true base: a volcanic island in the Pacific. The Autobots are forced to glide and fight through the hundreds of various types of Decepticlones swarming the island. They make their way around the island's perimeter then up the side of the active volcano at its center. They descend onto a platform built above the lava and Megatron reveals himself and attacks the Autobots. After a long and fierce battle, Megatron is defeated and the volcano begins to erupt. Optimus Prime attempts to save his nemesis, but after delivering a final bitter insult, Megatron allows himself to fall into the lava and perish. The Autobots escape the volcano and believe they are victorious, unaware that far away, Unicron looms over Cybertron.

'Til all are one!

Unicron hovers over Cybertron and begins to destroy the planet. The Autobots then return to their home with all of the rescued Mini-Cons, who combine their power to give the Autobots the strength to stop Unicron. Given a special jetpack and extra power, the Autobot flies around Cybertron and into Unicron's maw itself to attack his core before he can destroy the planet. After suffering enough damage, Unicron utters his final words before his body erupts in a massive explosion. The Autobots and Mini-Cons then celebrate as Cybertron is now safe and at peace.

Characters

Hidden Mini-Cons

Gameplay

Please remove any liquids from your bag before entering the warp gate.

In the game, players take control of one of three Autobots (Optimus Prime, Red Alert, or Hot Shot), each with unique gameplay styles and capable of transforming between modes at any time. The Mini-Cons Sparkplug, Longarm, and Jolt join their toy-partners after the player completes the first level, acting as support fighters that follow the player and shoot at enemies. The player can also "Powerlinx" with their partner Mini-Con, allowing for a Max Payne-style "bullet time" mode, though this drains the player's health.

Players explore large open environments in third person, finding hidden Mini-Cons (including multiple original Mini-Con characters not part of the toyline) and battling generic Decepticlone forces and larger Decepticon bosses. Once collected, up to four Mini-Cons can be equipped at a time, one for each of the controller's shoulder buttons, each of which gives the player access to a new weapon or ability. Some combinations of Mini-Cons also have additional synergistic effects, such as faster weapon recharging or a larger life meter. Players can leave levels without completing them through warp gates, and return to any previously-played level to discover more areas using their newly collected Mini-Cons. In addition to Mini-Cons, players can also collect Data-Cons that unlock bonus features in the game's main menu, including game artwork (development sketches, renders, and the like), toy instructions, toy prototype photos, the toy pack-in mini-comics, and five previously-unavailable-elsewhere Generation 1-era PSAs.

Soundtrack

Melbourne House's Gavin Parker composed much of the in-game music while Ric Formosa, Danny Beckerman, and Ricky Edwards provided the music for the cinematic sequences. American band Dropbox and Australian band Regurgitator were recruited to create their versions of the classic Transformers theme song to promote the game, while funk band The Brown Hornet sung over the end credits.

Tracks

Themes

1. Transformers: Armada television theme
2. Transformers orchestral theme arranged by Ric Formosa
3. Transformers by The Brown Hornet
4. Transformers theme by Dropbox
5. Transformers theme by Regurgitator
6. Wishbone by Dropbox

Cut Content

As with many games, Transformers has a good chunk of content which was cut or changed prior to release. A non-exhaustive list includes:

• Jetbikes were ridable vehicles which could carry the player and Medium Units. Medium Units piloting the Jetbike can be observed delivering out-of-range Medium Units to the player in order to sustain firefights. As the Jetbike is only a two-seater, this isn't a very effective way of transporting troops. The bike also has built-in machine guns which the player can utilize as a weapon.
• Unused data suggests that Scavenger and Smokescreen were once intended to be playable characters. Unfortunately, it appears there wasn't much work put into them before they were cut.^[1]
• Two additional enemy types, the Lightning Rod and Heavy Tank, were cut during development. While a plethora of enemies were conceptualized for the game, these two in particular got far enough into development to have been implemented into the game to some extent. Concept art of the Lightning Rod can be viewed in the Extras Menu, while the Heavy Tank only appears in two Pacific Island storyboards.
• At least 21 Mini-Cons were cut from the game. Three of the most notable ones include:
  • Endgame (Dark Energon Gun) can summon a black hole which deals an absurd amount of damage to enemies. Enemies who don't immediately perish from its immense power will ragdoll and get sucked into its center whilst taking damage. The player can charge the Dark Energon Gun to increase the size of the black hole. This Mini-Con was cut very late in development and has most of its data present in the final game. Endgame was originally found on the lone Dropship patrolling the volcano in the Pacific Island level. The Mini-Con's appearance would have been similar to Twister, with a red color palette.
  • Bug-Out (Emergency Warp Gate) can summon an emergency warp gate in front of the player, returning them to HQ. However, this only functions one-way, with the player unable to immediately return to the spot they were warped from.
  • Fake-Out (Decoy Launcher) is described as summoning a holographic projection of the Autobot to lure enemies. Fake-Out is the least functional, as its holographic projection is a mere half-ellipse which fails to distract enemies.
  • Other Mini-Cons which were cut include a tier 1 Ribbon Beam, an upgraded Energon Shield, a tier 1 Heavy Cannon, and a stronger version of the Impact Gun. Some of the more peculiar cut Mini-Cons include a Repulsion Beam, an Airstrike weapon, an Energon Whip, and a "Cold Projector". It's difficult to ascertain how these particular Mini-Cons could have functioned.
• Development sketches unlocked in the game show that several characters were ultimately dropped from the original plans. Demolishor was to be a level-boss in the caves, and Tidal Wave's partner Mini-Con Ramjet was going to harass players before they could board the Decepticon battleship.
• Design sketches reveal that initial plans for the levels were different than what is present in the final game.
  • The Amazon and Deep Amazon levels were originally merged, with Cyclonus being the boss of the level.
  • Antarctica originally featured objectives present in both the Alaska and Starship levels, with Demolishor being the boss fight.
  • Pacific Island (which was initially named Easter Island) originally featured objectives from Mid-Atlantic, such as boarding and fighting Tidal Wave. There was also an additional level nicknamed "Volcano" which was cut, with its concepts being implemented into Pacific Island.
• Most of the music underwent changes prior to release. A few music tracks were cut from the game as well.
  • An early version of Tidal Wave's theme features flailing guitars one minute into the soundtrack.
  • Cyclonus' theme was completely different.
  • Probably by accident, the intro to Megatron's boss theme doesn't play, instead going straight into the main composition when the fight begins. Whoops.
  • An early build contains an instrumental version of the Armada cartoon theme.
• Earlier iterations of Pacific Island featured rainy weather. While rain effects are disabled on the level, various regions of the level are still set up for rainfall.
• The game's difficulties, in descending order, are internally referred to as Normal, Hard, and Extreme. Unused text indicate that an Easy difficulty was cut.
  • Also evident by unused text, the Turbo Mode cheat code was considered to be a difficulty mode at some point, with Extras Menu items locked behind it.
• A variety of audio transmissions belonging to both the Autobots and Decepticons were cut. These only exist in text and were not professionally voice-acted.^[2]
  • The Autobot transmissions detail Scavenger, Smokescreen, Jetfire, Blurr, and Side Swipe investigating the "Hyper Power cloning tech" being used to create the Decepticlones on Junkion. It's eventually discovered that Decepticon forces raided Junkion to steal the Hyper Power cloning tech and left the planet in ruin. The transmissions eventually conclude with Junkion being destroyed by a monster, with it heading straight for Cybertron.
  • Decepticon audio transmissions often involved Megatron bickering with his troops or demanding they complete various tasks. Tidal Wave speaks in the Mid-Atlantic transmission, while Sideways shows up to intimidate Megatron on Unicron's behalf in the Pacific Island transmission.
• A clip of Megatron proclaiming "I still function!" to act as sequel bait was cut from the credits.
• At some point in development, Data-Cons were referred to as Golden Disks.

Demos

Prior to the game's release, Atari distributed demo discs for the game, consisting of the "Amazon Basin" level playable with a single character. In the UK, fans could sign up online^[3][4] to receive a free copy of Transformers: Red Alert in the mail.^[5] Transformers: Optimus Prime was offered for free to customers who pre-ordered the game from GAME. Transformers: Hot Shot was distributed via the MCV trade magazine,^[6] and likely via other means. Issue #46 of Official PlayStation 2 Magazine came with a customary demo disc featuring Transformers amongst other titles.^[7][8][9]

Impressions and sales

The game was well received by critics and fans alike, and at the time was often considered to be the best of all Transformers video games, despite this being damning with faint praise. Some review sites and magazines seemed to reject the game outright for not being based on the Generation 1 series, though some seemed to begrudgingly accept it due to the gameplay and graphic flair, the latter being one notable standout considering the difficulty of developing games for the PS2, especially as the game sported graphical effects not commonly found in most titles of the era while also maintaining a smooth framerate.^[10]

The most common actual gameplay-related complaints are the disappointingly small roster of characters, sometimes stiff control, high difficulty level (not born of bad design, the game is just set too tough), and a lack of a "directional" guide resulting in players getting lost in the vast environments.

Transformers was the #7 top-selling game across all consoles for the month of May 2004... and that's only because the incredibly popular "Red Dead Revolver" was on two different consoles. On the PlayStation 2 alone, Transformers ranked #6. It sold over 600,000 copies by the time the "Directors Cut" was released, although the total was ultimately less than what Atari had hoped for.

In 2010, Transformers was ranked #83 in the Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games list by IGN.^[11]

Cancelled follow-ups

In an interview with Eurogamer, director and executive producer Andrew Carter mentioned the possibility of future sequels being released on non-PS2 hardware.^[12] The team developed a pitch for a PlayStation Portable game, titled Transformers: 2nd Strike, which reused assets from the PS2 game but featured strategy gameplay more conducive to the portable format. However, this never made it past the proof of concept stage.^[13]

Melbourne House had also begun work on a sequel based in part upon the Cybertron series. The general story for the sequel would have placed the game immediately after the ending of the Armada game, with the death of Unicron causing a black hole to form near Cybertron. In order to save the planet, players would have to travel around the galaxy, visit different worlds, and gather keys in order to transform Cybertron and save it from destruction. However, according to a member of the Melbourne House team, the Cybertron game was only a few months into development when Atari moved the studio onto a different project, effectively nixing the sequel.

Dang.

Notes

Transformers references

• Some of the dialog used in cutscenes is recycled from The Transformers: The Movie.

Errors

• A rare glitch sometimes occurs at Megatron's death, in which when he falls down, his tank barrel sticks out of...an unusual location on his body.
• Very rarely, enemies can end up underneath the map. While it's impossible for you to actually shoot them, their projectiles can hit you just fine!

Trivia

Ouch.

• Transformers uses Melbourne House's proprietary game engine, allowing for large, detailed outdoor levels with no slowdown. An impressive feat of the engine is allowing for many ragdolls to be on-screen at once. Oh and of course, be prepared for your character to ragdoll around a lot.
• At the game's launch party, Atari's venue served several signature drinks named for the game-exclusive Mini-Cons.
• Hidden in the files of the game is the first story draft written for the game.^[14] It features many characters who appear in the Armada cartoon series and a completely different premise. The full story can be read here.
• One of the game's working titles was Transformers Armada: Prelude to Energon. Another one, used in pack-in catalogs during the Energon line, was Transformers Armada: Battle for Energon.
• During his boss battle, Cyclonus is shown with the cockpit design similar to the third mode of his Mini-Con partner Crumplezone, indicating the latter being Powerlinxed with him. This would mean that the Autobots essentially kill the Mini-Con along with his master, as the cockpit piece is attached to Cyclonus when he crashes into the temple and explodes. His character model omits his folded up default cockpit kibble.
• It is possible to get an alternate 'Bad Ending'. This ending can be achieved if Cybertron's health meter gets to zero. The full motion video of this ending will be unlocked (as well in the gallery), showing Cybertron's destruction by Unicron.
• During the end credits of the game, Tidal Wave is doing push-ups while the Decepticlones are all doing jumping jacks and side-bends. So that's how Decepticons keep in shape.
• In the 'Recruit' difficulty, you need to collect 30 Mini-Cons to form the Matrix Cannon, 35 in the 'Veteran' difficulty, and 40 in the 'Commander' difficulty.. Which means all of them. All hail the cheats.

References

External links

• Official Transformers game page at Atari.com (dead link)
• Transformers game rankings for May 2004 at Gamespot
• News post from Seibertron.com for Atari's announcement of Regurgitator's involvement

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