Transformers: War for Cybertron (PC/PS3/X360 & NDS/Wii)

[Andy_Why]

Damnit, this is good. Wasn't sure after the first couple of games, but then it clicked. I can't afford all this shit...

[angel]

Shockwave's death was way worse than even Prime in the movie. I was most fucked off as a child.

especially when DH squashed his mind chip to really confirm it.

[Cyhwuhx]

I might go for PS3 AND X360... Though PS3 gains preference at the moment, I have a double role as Soundwave/Ratchet to fulfill with some fellow TF-freaks.

[moosegrinder]

Someone remind me to download this tonight for some funz tomorrow, cheers

[utero2001]

I never understood people's fascination with bad guys. How can anyone's favourite transformer NOT be Optimus Prime? Prime and Luke Skywalker were my heroes when I was a kid.

what would you rather be? a car or a fucking fighter jet?

I'm really impressed with this game, they've finally hit the nail on the head, cannot wait for the single player campaigns.

[Cyhwuhx]

Plays delightfully smooth. Having the accelerator on LT feels completely weird though. I do hope the environments are a bit more clean in the end. Unreal's trademark grittiness is a bit odd here. And despite High Moon's dubious claim about there being very little source material for Cybertron's look and feel, the Molten map was more something I would expect on Chaar or Junkion rather than Cybertron. Guess that's what Bayformers 1 and 2 do to a franchise...

Likewise, I was expecting the original '80s motif or the Bayformer one to be in there SOMEWHERE, but so far it's going down the generic orchestral soundtrack route. The PS2 version at least tried to introduce its own motifs instead, here its really just background music. Also not completely charmed by the 'flappy organic' bits and bobs. Again, that's something I really disliked from Bayformers and why it was put in here, I have no idea...

Still, the actual combat is solid enough. Though I'm mostly here for the single-player and co-op. Multiplayer always has limited appeal to me and for something that's so IP driven it's practically useless to be playing around with the IP stretched as thinly as it is in this game mode.

And if I am making comparisons: I liked the 'weight' of the characters better in the PS2 version, though this allows for faster gameplay. (God help us, if Cacophanus plays this.)

[Mr Ben]

The map looked like a war torn Cybertron to me. There are slag pits on Cybertron as well, fair bit of molten metal. Check out the stories with Blaster and Lord Straxus if you dont believe me. Man, Lord Straxus! I think I've found the name for my Decepticon multiplayer character

Now if only some company would man up and claim Shockwave for pre-order this would be perfect.

[Cyhwuhx]

Yeah, the Melting Pits and such are there, but still it's not the first thing that pops up when I think about Cybertron. (It also didn't help that the last depiction of Cybertron I saw was from the Beast Machines era, which is clinical by design.)

So far my Decepticon is going to be called Cypher.

Autobot will probably be called Cycloid.

Can you spot the theme?

[moosegrinder]

I look forward to a deluge of 0p1mu5pr1m3xxx666 and the such like.

[Cyhwuhx]

I look forward to a deluge of 0p1mu5pr1m3xxx666 and the such like.

You mean Neme515 Pr1m3xxx. ;P

[edit] I wonder if someone is going to call himself Nexus Maximus...

[noizu]

Shockwave is the preorder character at Gamestop, just made my order today. This is in Dublin, mind you, but he's bound to show up everywhere else too

[Space Renegade Ulala]

Bagsy Impactor.

[Mr Ben]

Shockwave is the preorder character at Gamestop, just made my order today. This is in Dublin, mind you, but he's bound to show up everywhere else too

Err isnt that in the US though? I didnt know there was a Gamestop over here

Bagsy Impactor.

Already bagsied waaaaaay back, and is my soldier in the demo atm

[Mr Ben]

So that means no Shockwave for us in the UK? That'll be total crap if thats the case

[MDY]

I look forward to a deluge of 0p1mu5pr1m3xxx666 and the such like.

Someone in one of my games was declaring loudly he wanted to be known as 'Shatimus Pants'

Each to their own I suppose...

My gamertag will do as a TF name I think...

[Asura]

Here's a more general TF question then...

Transformers seems to have a lot of alternate universes. In the case of most franchises that have alternate universes, there tends to be a "prime" universe that most people regard as the main one, then the other ones are regarded as splintering off from that. It's usually easy to tell as for most things, it's the first, original version of the franchise, but in the case of Transformers, there's UK comics, US comics, animated series, IDW stuff...

So what's Transformers's "main" universe? I had always assumed the animated G1 series was "how it is" (because I never read the comics as a kid), and the rest of the stuff, comics etc, were just throwaway non-canon "extras". It seems though, reading up on it online, that this isn't actually the case. So are the US comics the definitive universe?

[Cyhwuhx]

Here's a more general TF question then...

Transformers seems to have a lot of alternate universes. In the case of most franchises that have alternate universes, there tends to be a "prime" universe that most people regard as the main one, then the other ones are regarded as splintering off from that. It's usually easy to tell as for most things, it's the first, original version of the franchise, but in the case of Transformers, there's UK comics, US comics, animated series, IDW stuff...

So what's Transformers's "main" universe? I had always assumed the animated G1 series was "how it is" (because I never read the comics as a kid), and the rest of the stuff, comics etc, were just throwaway non-canon "extras". It seems though, reading up on it online, that this isn't actually the case. So are the US comics the definitive universe?

Oh. Dear.

You really want to know?

And then there's Axiom Nexus, TF's "Sigil" from Planescape:

In one of the oldest dimensions in the multiverse, one Cybertronian city, Axiom Nexus, is a hub for travelers from other dimensions. According to New Arrivals Coordinator Silverbolt, it is a city "unlike any other in the multiverse". To continue its harmony, all Megatrons, Primes, and MacGuffins are considered illegal.

To top it all off, each universe has its own designator:

The Transformers multiverse consists of at least 15,962,782 cataloged universal streams (1,176,325 of which have "come to termination"), according to the TransTech Cybertronians' exhaustive records. There are at least 59,927,225 realities that the TransTech Cybertronians have yet to catalog. Bug Bite claims that there are fifteen quadrillion concurrent realities.

These are the handful of as-yet officially-named universal streams and the continuity family or individual continuities they refer to:

Malgus—the Animated continuity family

Malgus 1207.26 Alpha—the Transformers Animated cartoon continuity.

Primax—the Generation 1 continuity family:

Primax 984.0 Gamma—the Marvel Comics US continuity

Primax 207.0 Epsilon—the Classics continuity, a splinter timeline of the Marvel Comics continuity

Primax 1291.0 Zeta—the "Another Time and Place" text story continuity, a dead-end splinter thread of the Marvel Comics continuity

Primax 095.0 Beta—the universal stream that's home to Generation 2 Bullet Bike's tech spec bio

Primax 787.3 Alpha—the Japanese The Headmasters cartoon continuity.

Primax 109.0 Beta—Original home of Alternity Convoy.

Primax -408.24 Epsilon—if one breaches "the dimensional barrier between the Positive Polarity Universes" and the Negative, one can reach the Shattered Glass universe.

Primax 903.0 Beta—the Alternators/Binaltech continuity.

Primax 406.3 Eta—the Kiss Players radio drama.

Quadwal—a strangely divergent continuity family.

Quadwal -3760.925 Theta—The world in which Jim Sorenson and Bill Forster were recruited to write the AllSpark Almanac.

Tyran—the live-action film continuity family

Tyran 707.04 Delta—The 2007 film itself.

Tyran 407.01 Beta—"To Die Game!" mentions this stream, corresponding to the tech-spec of Protoform Optimus Prime.

Aren't you glad you asked?

[Lothar Hex]

Yeah, this thing has more plot/streams holes that fecking Star Wars.

[MDY]

Here's a more general TF question then...

Transformers seems to have a lot of alternate universes. In the case of most franchises that have alternate universes, there tends to be a "prime" universe that most people regard as the main one, then the other ones are regarded as splintering off from that. It's usually easy to tell as for most things, it's the first, original version of the franchise, but in the case of Transformers, there's UK comics, US comics, animated series, IDW stuff...

So what's Transformers's "main" universe? I had always assumed the animated G1 series was "how it is" (because I never read the comics as a kid), and the rest of the stuff, comics etc, were just throwaway non-canon "extras". It seems though, reading up on it online, that this isn't actually the case. So are the US comics the definitive universe?

Both animated G1 and the US comic have the widest exposure, but the UK G1 comic is SO much better written (filling out what were otherwise minor characters, many of which are now fan favourites due to the way the UK comic portrayed them..)...

The cartoon was simple and kid oriented by comparison, whereas the comic still holds up pretty decently - lots of US fans have subsequently discovered it thanks to the internet and I think it's still the most highly regarded 'universe'.

The tone of the movie was more in keeping with the UK comic, where it seemed to be quite a jump from the animated show..

But because there's been so many different versions - with more on the way - I think most fans are just happy with continued revisions and expansions of the G1 'universe' via the toys themselves.. certainly more so than are happy with the movies.

[Cyhwuhx]

Yeah, this thing has more plot/streams holes that fecking Star Wars.

The worst part of that remark being that Star Wars is actually linked to TF due to the Crossover universe. Vector Prime can supposedly detect the Force because of it... (Though personally I like to see that as SoulCalibur-esque one-off.)

[Lothar Hex]

Though I'm mostly here for the single-player and co-op.

If you get the 360 version, shall we team up in co-op and geek out?

"Oh look it's Iacon!"

"I wonder if they have Xaaron round here?"

"Only in robot mode."

*both laugh*

3rd guy: "What the fuck are you two twats talking about?"

[Asura]

The worst part of that remark being that Star Wars is actually linked to TF due to the Crossover universe. Vector Prime can supposedly detect the Force because of it... (Though personally I like to see that as SoulCalibur-esque one-off.)

....Wha?

[MDY]

If you get the 360 version, shall we team up in co-op and geek out?

"Oh look it's Iacon!"

"I wonder if they have Xaaron round here?"

"Only in robot mode."

*both laugh*

3rd guy: "What the fuck are you two twats talking about?"

I'd laugh but my mouth doesn't open properly.....

[Cyhwuhx]

OK, those posts actually had me laughing out loud.

[Cyhwuhx]

....Wha?

Oh you know, Darth Vader and Yoda crossing over into the SoulCalibur universe because of Force-reasons*.

*: money-reasons

[Space Renegade Ulala]

The worst part of that remark being that Star Wars is actually linked to TF due to the Crossover universe. Vector Prime can supposedly detect the Force because of it... (Though personally I like to see that as SoulCalibur-esque one-off.)

It's connected to Star Trek, Star Wars *and* Doctor Who. Cybertron is the glue that holds the multiverse together.

[Lothar Hex]

God I wish this demo had host migration. So annoying when whiny losing twats quit, especially when they're on my team.

[Mr Ben]

It's the G1 series from the '80s and the 1986 movie. Anyone who says anything different needs to be tortured slowly, never ever being allowed to die.

G1 UK comics you mean

It's connected to Star Trek, Star Wars *and* Doctor Who. Cybertron is the glue that holds the multiverse together.

Actually its the way Marvel time travel works, so you travel back in time you get an alternate version of the timeline, which more or less creates alternate realities whenever someone time travels. It was sort of explained for why Galvatron couldnt remember anything Megatron experienced when they teamed up in Time Wars, and also the epic Target 2006 storyline.

Whats worse though, is that Gobots are one of the many alternate timelines. Go check here if you dont believe me. Apparently one of the Transformers realities is causing their reality to "die", and some Gobots get sent to check it out, with new Transformer bodies as disguises no less. So Transformers really were out to kill off the Gobots, in more ways than one

[Cyhwuhx]

G1 UK comics you mean

Actually its the way Marvel time travel works, so you travel back in time you get an alternate version of the timeline, which more or less creates alternate realities whenever someone time travels. It was sort of explained for why Galvatron couldnt remember anything Megatron experienced when they teamed up in Time Wars, and also the epic Target 2006 storyline.

Whats worse though, is that Gobots are one of the many alternate timelines. Go check here if you dont believe me. Apparently one of the Transformers realities is causing their reality to "die", and some Gobots get sent to check it out, with new Transformer bodies as disguises no less. So Transformers really were out to kill off the Gobots, in more ways than one

I love how Megatron kills off what seems to be Cy-Kill in a combat arena during his origin story-arc. But yeah, ever since Hasbro bought the rights to Go-Bots they've been popping up here and there. The name Leader-1 was even used for Megatron's personal Mini-Con during Armada.

And then you have these... abominations...

[Lothar Hex]

Not really any worse than the original Go-Bots: