Zzap


Transformers
By Activision
Commodore 64

 
Published in Zzap #24

Transformers

Once again, the evil Decepticons are attacking Earth in search of energy. It's up to you to marshall a force of eight Autobots and fight off the despicable robots. Strategy is combined with arcade action - seven key installations provide targets for the invaders, and part of the gameplay involves making sure that at least one of your defensive robots is on hand when an attack is mounted on a particular location.

Each of the eight Autobots you command has its own special blend of characteristics and attributes affecting its capabilities.

The overall picture is revealed on the main map screen, accessed at any stage by a press of the M key. All the locations are shown, together with the roadways that link them - the eight Autobots are represented by numbered squares. When a location is under Decepticon attack it flashes red if an attack begins while the screen display is being generated by the visual unit of an Autobot currently under your direct control.

The Transformers

To move Autobots around the terrain, press D when the map screen is in view, followed by the number of the robot you wish to move. Enter the initial letter of the destination location, and the selected robot begins the journey and you are free to get on with other things. All the Autobots may be sent to a single location, or the team may be allocated to locations according to preset deployment patterns.

The V key allows you to take direct control of a specified robot, in which case the map screen is replaced by the view-screen generated by that robot's visual circuits. A cross-hair sight is used to target the on-board weapon system and if the nasty Decepticons are active at the location, a shoot-'em-up sequence commences. More than one Autobot may be at a single location, and the B key involves the autofire mode - up to eight 'targets' can be placed on the scren by moving the sight and pressing fire.

After a short delay, the cannon shoots automatically until all the targets have been shot at once. Meanwhile, you can take control of another Autobot and do battle with the Decepticons as a team.

The Transformers

During battles, your robots' ammunition and energy reserves are depleted and damage may well be inflicted by the attackers. Sending battle-worn defenders back to base allows them to be repaired and re-armed, but if too much damage has been sustained it may be impossible to repair an Autobot completely. Severe damage is indicated by a blank, grey screen when the View-screen is accessed. An overall status report on the current Autobot may be examined by pressing S while in View-screen mode, or by entering S followed by an identifying number while the Map Screen is displayed.

The aim is to keep your own energy reserves as high as possible while preventing the invaders from stealing too much energy from key locations - such as an oil well, a pipeline, and a nuclear plant. Counters at the base of the main screen keep a tally of the energy reserves accumulated by the two sides in the conflict, and if the Decepticons get too great a lead the contest is lost. Earth is taken over by the evil invaders, and you can choose from a list of nine numbered hints before having another go.

It's not just energy the Decepticons are after, however. Some of the locations contain items that prove very useful to them in the course of their flight for world domination - it's important to make sure that they don't get their metallic claws on some space dust found in the shuttle base. For instance - it comes in handy for creating giant, marauding hippos!

RE

The Transformers

If there's anything I hate the most about games, it's waiting for minutes on end for something to happen.

This happens recurringly with Transformers, especially on the map screen where the action only happens once every two or three minutes. Then, when you consider the effort it takes to reach any of the destinations, on arriving the ecepticons fly around as such a speed that it is quite impossible to hit them with the slow-firing laser that is provided.

The graphics are of a similar standard to the sound - poor and irritating, and no matter how long I played it I felt I was making no headway.

The Transformers

Generally, Transformers is annoyingly dull and I advise you not to waste either effort or money on it.

JR

Everything about this program is rubbish. For a start, the plot is so awful that it wouldn't convince a three-year-old. Next come the graphics, and these are in the same league as the plot, as they would disappoint the same unfortunate child.

Actually, they look as though they've been drawn by someone of that age. Obviously concepts such as perspective, shading, 3D and colour were all a little too much for the artist is to cope with.

The Transformers

The sound is an out-and-out joke, and it all gets boring after a couple of plays. How the programmers could pass this off as a professional product is beyond me entirely. Don't buy this - not even if you think the toys are the best thing since sliced bread.

PS

There's an impressive credits list on the inlay, and given the talents involved it's surprising that the end product isn't up to much. The sound and graphics are mediocre, and the gameplay falls between the two stools of strategy and arcade action.

The pace varies from slow on the map screen to cumbersome in the arcade sections. If you want an excellent toy tie-in, go for Zoids. Transformers isn't very pretty, nor is it very compelling.

Verdict

The Transformers

Presentation 70%
Good instructions, and inspired in-game presentation which is awkwardly executed.

Graphics 39%
Large, but not very detailed, colourful or remotely convincing.

Sound 31%
Disjointed tune plays throughout and is rudely interrupted by simple spot effects.

Hookability 54%
Slow, cumbersome and easily frustrating.

Lastability 38%
Unrewarding and inelegant - not one to tempt you back.

Value For Money 32%
Ten quid is well out of order.

Overall 40%
A weak tie-in which bears little relevance to the toys - David Crane tries to do for Transformers what the Electronic Pencil Company did for Zoids. And it simply doesn't work.