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

Cyhwuhx

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Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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I missed the previous thread and if this one is anything to go by then that is a good thing.

Quite. It ruined the entire discussion about the game (which might not have been perfect, but was a jolly good romp for a licensed third-person shooter).

Anyway, so far we know this is probably going to be Gears of War-like with both sides playable.

Optimus (who isn't a Prime yet), Bumblebee and Ratchet will be on the Autobots side, which is basically an exact replica of the characters available in Armada (Prime, Hot Shot and Red Alert). This at least seems to imply they know that kind of worked.

I heard that the Decepticons will have to fight Omega Supreme (or at least a Guardian, based on the trailer), so it seems logical the Autobots will at least get to rumble with one of the gestalts. Devastator seems like the obvious choice here, especially when you take the cartoon continuity into consideration with respect to Omega Supreme.

As for the transformations. Considering they are using Cybertron itself as the setting, I don't see how they can be limited in applying alt-forms to the environment. Armada suffered in a way, because the PS2 was far better rendering rolling landscapes instead of 'structured' environments and the game was tailored towards that strength. That probably won't be a problem this time around, and with Cybertron being their homeworld and somewhat alien to human eyes, they could get away with literally anything (I hope).

I'm also intrigued in how this all will work out for online multiplayer (basically Battlefield with everybody being a vehicle as well as a soldier?) and how many players it will support. And more importantly, will it allow gestalts? Six/five players controlling a single TF might be a bit awkward though... :D

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Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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Official press-release:

TRANSFORMERS™: WAR FOR CYBERTRON EXPLORES A BRAND NEW, PIVOTAL CHAPTER IN TRANSFORMERS LORE

New Action Game Delves Deep into the TRANSFORMERS Universe, Introduces All-New Visualizations of Iconic Characters in 2010

Santa Monica, CA – December 16, 2009 – Experience the legendary battle between the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS as Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Transformers™: War for Cybertron is in development by award-winning High Moon Studios. Based on Hasbro’s legendary TRANSFORMERS property, the game takes players to the TRANSFORMERS characters’ home planet of CYBERTRON for a new look into the epic story of the grand civil war that spawned one of the most brutal rivalries of all time.

“Transformers: War for Cybertron is an origins story, taking players on a gripping, adrenaline-fueled journey that precedes the TRANSFORMERS characters’ arrival on Earth,” said Rob Kostich, head of marketing, licensed products, Activision Publishing, Inc. “The game transports players to a living, metallic planet where they will battle as giant converting robots in single player, online co-op or head-to-head multiplayer matches that are fully immersive from start to finish.”

“For the first time, Hasbro is working with Activision to drive the TRANSFORMERS fiction forward into new story arcs, demonstrating pivotal moments in Transformers history that defined who they are,” said Aaron Archer, Senior Design Director, Hasbro. “This remarkable video game helps us to tell a critical event in TRANSFORMERS lore that will be used as canon for future storylines in a way we could have only dreamed of a few years ago. It is a testament to the success of the TRANSFORMERS brand and a key element to the story we look forward to telling in 2010 and beyond.”

Transformers: War for Cybertron features two distinct storylines: the AUTOBOT campaign tells a story of heroism to save their home planet against overwhelming odds, and the DECEPTICON campaign tells a story of an unquenchable thirst for power to control the universe. For the first time in a TRANSFORMERS title, fans will be able to play the game with their friends through team-based online co-op, or go head to head in a variety of intense, online multiplayer game modes. The game features a sci-fi art style that introduces to fans the entire living, metallic world of CYBERTRON, as well as all-new visualizations of the iconic TRANSFORMERS characters in their original Cybertronian forms.

Transformers: War for Cybertron is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Windows PC, Wii™ and Nintendo DS™, and is not yet rated by the ESRB.

For more information and to receive exclusive updates about the Transformers: War for Cybertron video game, visit http://www.TransformersGame.com.

CO-OP! ONLINE! WOOHOO!

The bolded bit gives way to some thought. If anything it seems as if Hasbro is a bit sick of all the different stories rummaging around and is trying to pull everything together again. Then again, I suspect the event itself is probably something like launching the AllSpark into outer space, depleting Cybertron's resources, awakening Primus or destroying the Matrix of Decepticon Leadership. (Megatron's going to have a field trip. Again.)

The announcement of Wii and DS versions scares me btw. Very much.

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Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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I wouldn't worry about it. If they're anything like the movie games then DS/Wii will be very different from what will appear on 360/PS3/PC.

Well, thats the thing. We don't want them to be anything like the movie games. ;) But we'll see. I'm afraid they'll be a bit too much filler.

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utero2001

utero2001

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I nipped in and picked it up last night. And i have to say after posing it on the stand, its absoloutely amazing to look at.

The pictures of it really dont do it justice. :wub:

We just had a look online if our local had some in, found out there were two and legged it down there. :)

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incapable hulk

incapable hulk

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We just had a look online if our local had some in, found out there were two and legged it down there. :)

I hope you like it as much as i do :)

At first looking at it in the box its not so impressive- but once I got it out and into a decent pose it really looks ace.

Did you reserve it? I didnt, and then got down there and discovered its not in the catalogue, so had to go onto the website on my phone to find the item number :lol:

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Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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You guys are trapped now, next thing you know you will be hunting down Masterpiece Prime, Megatron and Grimlock.

Im talking from experience here.

The problem being? Personally, I'm much more happy with my Alternity Convoy...

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incapable hulk

incapable hulk

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You guys are trapped now, next thing you know you will be hunting down Masterpiece Prime, Megatron and Grimlock.

Im talking from experience here.

I've got prime....and I originally wanted starscream (he was my fave character as a kid). But skywarp just looks so much cooler. I heard hasbro were planning on releasing a us version of mp grimlock (im sure i read it somewhere!) so i'll grab that :)

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utero2001

utero2001

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I hope you like it as much as i do :)

At first looking at it in the box its not so impressive- but once I got it out and into a decent pose it really looks ace.

Did you reserve it? I didnt, and then got down there and discovered its not in the catalogue, so had to go onto the website on my phone to find the item number :lol:

No, I saw the link on the site, raced over to a fellow TF nerd, put in our work postcode and saw that the local ARGOs had two left, fortunately it was only 5 mins away by foot. I've got mine all posed on top of my PC for the office to see :eyebrows:

might try and transform him at lunch

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Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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Some tidbits via Seibertron:

Greetings Seibertron. Counterpunch here bringing word down from the mountain.

The Staff here at Seibertron.com was privileged to participate in a conference call with Aaron Archer of Hasbro and Calvin Wong of Activision regarding the upcoming War for Cybertron game that you may have seen in our recent news cycles.

We were given free reign to ask questions and pry for information on your behalf and over the course of the interview found out some interesting and intriguing information. The conversation was free-flow and just presenting the questions as they were flatly asked would not really give you the same information that this article presentation will. A lot of what was said, wasn't said and knowing what was repeated or had emphasis placed upon it is just as important as the straight answer to the question. I will do my best to provide summary of the important topics and then I will simply bullet-point any other information that did not fit easily elsewhere.

The Backstory

This is a project that has been in development since 2007. Hasbro indicated to us, that the idea is to create a more linear story and that the game as a story-telling device is a "jumping off point". Specifically, they stated that the events of the game will live longer/carry-on past the life of the game itself. The basis of the story is the Cybertron Civil War. From our conversation and our inference at what was said, it appears that they are finally telling that part (the pre-Earth, Civil War) of the Transformers mythos the way they want it to be told. The word "canon" was used several times as we discussed this and when asked if this game/story was creating a canonical back-story for G1 ... we were not told "no". Of course, over the years, it has seemed that Hasbro has been careful to never truly define certain things, the origin of Prime, origin of the Constructicons, etc. The feeling that I and others had was that the plan was to tell a Cybertronian Civil War back story ... and if it so happens to make perfect sense as the canon G1 Civil War story ... well, that's how it is. Repeatedly, we were told that the effort is to tell great stories. Specifically, we were told that "Canon is a good word ... " I'm not sure there's a G1 fan out there who wouldn't consider the Transformer's Civil War Story to be the kind of great story they've been waiting on for years.

So, what else? What other specifics can we give? The story will be set on Cybertron. The Civil War will be hot and volatile. This will be the story of the Autobots and Decepticons before they left for Earth, before they really even know of other races. The setting and visualizations of Cybertron will be new and different. The one resounding piece of information seemed to be that this game will have a significant impact on the life and direction of the franchise over the next few years.

Toys

I know you all want to know about this, but there's not much to discuss. They weren't allowed to talk about the product yet. However, things that they aren't allowed to talk about are still things that exist. So, we know that there will be corresponding toys to the story and game.

The Game

The game itself is scheduled for a 2010 release date. Judging from the time it takes other games to hit the market, my personal opinion is that we'll see it sometime in late Fall or Winter of 2010. It seems to me that a summer release would be ambitious. We were told that the game platform provides for a very sizable audience for this story. The use of games as story platforms has taken off in recent years and seems to be in line with Hasbro's expansion of the brand ideal. The focus on gameplay discussion centered around the intensity of the combat and situation on Cybertron. This was described to us as a "Gamer's Game". The presentation of the in-game story is set to have dark overtones with large scale impact. ["Emo-ticons! Merge for the self-kill!" -Cyh.] Specific information on the game such as the number of playable characters or names of individual characters was not available for release yet. Along side this information becoming public, Activision plans on releasing a significant amount of assets (rendered pictures) and press info on Wednesday. At this point, we were told that on-line multi-player aspects of the game are key and are recognized as important play elements.

Other Information of Interest

* When asked if this game/story was meant to be the filler between now and Transformers 3, the answer was a fairly strong, "no". The movie universe was described as its own separate entity, which of course we all realize. The point seemed to be, that this storytelling event via the game and the things that are to come after it are not just distractions to hold us over until the next film, but are instead the firm foundations of the next few years of the franchise.

* Hasbro is co-developing the story alongside Activision. Creative control seems to be something that they are paying close attention to. Statements such as "We're really looking to leverage what's happened before" and "This era in Transformers is full of opportunity" show that the development teams on both sides are really looking into the things that long time fans have been after in regards to the story elements. We were told that "Anything that's taken place on Cybertron has been mostly in comics" and that they were eager to explore this new venue.

* The story and the game are not movie based.

* Character identity appears to be a recognized issue. If you've seen the pictures for Optimus Prime in the game, you will automatically recognize him. For core characters, the design teams are taking visual cues from those characters across the continuum of Transformers History. After all, most of the G1 gang did not have the most flattering Cybertronian modes when you think back on it.

* When asked if any of the design work borrowed from Transtech (because elements of the new Prime model do reference it ...) we were flatly told that Transtech hasn't been discussed in the office in 10 years (we know that's an exaggeration, but the point remains the same). I could hear the dreams of some of you shattering right there and then.

* Hasbro paid some genuine complements to High Moon in regards to the character designs.

* An emphasis on bringing some very obscure characters into focus for this story was highlighted to us. While no one was specifically named, we were told that they were referring to characters that hardcore, long-time fans would be interested in seeing.

Thanks for reading. I will be around to take questions on any of this, to clear it up, or to speculate along side you. I'm sure Seibertron, First Gen, and Mkall will also be happy to add their input into the discussion.

Thanks go out to Hasbro as well as Activision for making this possible and for reaching out to the community. It is greatly appreciated.

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/new...ybertron/17547/

So far, I'm happy!

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Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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And a Q&A with High Moon:

Question: Please reference for us what the play-style will mimic. Will it be similar to the RotF game? How does the gameplay compare to other shooter games such as Modern Warfare 2?

We are targeting not only the Transformer fan but also the hardcore gamer. Gamers can quickly discern the difference between a good game and a lousy one – it has to feel right. We have spent the entire project driving toward the right feel in every aspect of the product so when you get your thumbs on it, it is going to be a great shooter, not just a great TF game. Gears, COD and Halo are all reference games we often look at.

Question: Are there any RPG elements to the game?

No response given.

Question: Does the game use the same engine as any of the previous Transformers games?

We are using the Unreal Engine, which is the powerhouse behind Gears of War and Batman (along with scores of other great games). No other Transformer game has used the Unreal engine to my knowledge.

Question: Will there be downloadable content to enhance the game?

We are fully committed to this game and plan to support it after it ships as best we can, but we’re not ready to talk about specific details just yet.

Question: Will the story progression be linear?

There are 2 separate campaigns (Decepticon and Autobot) each is completely original and unique, and yes since the beginning we have been about telling a great story so there is a natural progression through it. Both campaigns are unlocked at the start. The Decepticon campaign takes place before the Autobot campaign (but you can play them in any order), and I like to think of it as the prequel game to the Autobot game. Both are full fledged unique stories and levels - players don’t travel through the same level ever!

Question: Will the transforming be done with a button press or a button hold action?

Will combat damage be self healing over time or will there be an absolute health gauge?

Are both factions playable?

How will the issue of air superiority be addressed for multiplayer? (the flying mechs were vastly more powerful in RotF)

This is a very valid question, however I am going to save my response for a bit until we are ready to talk about all our multiplayer details, which I’m really excited for – stay tuned.

Question: Will there be any epic level battles (Shadow of the Collossus style or Tidal Wave from the Armada game style)?

You see the big guy in the teaser trailer (you know who I am talking about)? How does fighting vs. him sound – epic enough? And we’ll talk about more soon.

Question: What was the most important thing learned from the RotF game that will be corrected in this new game?

At what point in the "War for Cybertron" is the game starting storywise?

Will there be any bonus attacks for characters such as Powerlinking or Minicon boosts from previous eras?

Being that the game is set for all platforms, will each system carry its own version of the game ala Revenge of the Fallen or will every system feature the same campaigns?

The story follows the same major beats on all platforms, but there will be some differences on the NDS and Wii versions. High Moon is developing the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC versions.

http://www.seibertron.com/transformers/new...ybertron/17548/

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  • 4 weeks later...
Cyhwuhx

Cyhwuhx

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http://goo.gl/1o01

Announcement trailer on IGN which is full CG and contains an ad of course. But who cares when THE DECEPTICONS ROLL OUT THEIR MOBILE ASSAULT PLATFORM! :(

*glee*

Very odd voice-choice for Megs btw. He's neither G1, nor Beast Wars, nor Armada. Sounds like an entirely different character and far too grouchy.

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