First Impressions – Transformers: War For Cybertron Multiplayer Demo

June 11, 2010 - By Jason Hamilton

Yesterday, the multiplayer-only demo for the highly anticipated game Transformers: War For Cybertron was released on Xbox Live. Within just two hours of going online, as many as 3,000 gamers had already joined the fray. The game is an exciting prospect for fans, both young and old and promises to be the Transformers experience they’ve always wanted. Being a total fan of the franchise since it’s introduction in the U.S. in the early 80′s, I wasted no time getting to XBL to download the demo.

The demo allows you to choose between Team Deathmatch or Conquest modes. Once you have been teamed up with other players, you can choose between playing as a Scout or a Soldier. All other play modes and character types have been reserved for the full game. You are allowed a few options in customizing your character with a few weapons, but the developer, High Moon Studios, promises that there will be many options for the customization of your character and more game modes to choose from, once the full version of the game is released.

I spent some time playing both Team Deathmatch and Conquest. The controls were pretty easy to learn, and it was almost as if I knew beforehand which button would do what. The camera is fixed over the right shoulder of your character in robot mode and is centered behind when in vehicle mode. Moving around in robot mode is pretty smooth, and the speed feels just right. Moving around in vehicle mode is even better and keeps the flow of play going smoothly. Additionally, the transformations between vehicle and robot modes are very impressive.

Playing as a soldier, you’re a tank, both literally and figuratively. When in vehicle mode, your character is a tank with a very powerful gun, capable making one-shot kills. At first, I thought this was very unbalanced, until I realized that the vehicle is slow, and the projectiles fired are not extremely fast-moving. The Soldier has some powerful weapons at its disposal but is somewhat slow-moving.

Playing as a Scout, you are smaller than a Soldier and a little weaker. You do have the ability, though, to make yourself invisible for a period of time. When you start shooting, you become visible again. You also have the ability to snipe with one of your two weapons. There are no one-shot kills here, which is fine, but the weapon still seems a little weak, overall.

Throughout the maps in both Team DM and Conquest, you will find power-ups for health and ammunition. Yes, your guns will go empty, and you periodically have to reload. But what’s really cool is that when any character is killed, their weapon is left on the ground for you to pick up. It doesn’t matter if they are a different character type. If you want their more powerful weapon, you can just start using it.

If the campaign mode in the full game lives up the hype, it looks like Transformers: War For Cybertron will be a hit. The game is scheduled for official release on June 22, 2010, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Nintendo Wii and DS.

If there was any doubt before regarding the game, this demo just sealed the deal and ensures I’ll be pre-ordering my own copy!

For screenshots, video trailers, and more information about Transformers: War for Cybertron, visit its official home on Xbox.com.