As good a distraction as Transformers: Dark of the Moon was on Xbox 360 and PS3 last year, it just didn’t measure up to the monstrosity that came out a year before, the boldly original War For Cybertron.  Featuring a great new storyline, thrilling action and strong multiplayer, the game was a must for fans of Hasbro’s long-running franchise.  High Moon Studios recognizes this, and recently invited us down to Las Vegas to get a first glimpse at the upcoming sequel, Fall of Cybertron, which is introducing some bigger players into the picture – literally.

Rather than divide the campaign into two halves, it instead intertwines control between both parties – the Autobots and Decepticons – as they battle for control over the automated planet of Cybertron.  Eventually, it gets to the point that the Decepticons are winning the battle, and Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, just wants to manage an escape using a space ark.  The events that unfold throughout the game tell this story, which introduces a number of key players who will help you win the war – or survive it, anyway.

The first thing you should know about Fall of Cybertron is that High Moon is doing away with the co-op aspect, one of the appealing factors in the original game.  But before you get all sad, there’s a reason for this.  It’s instead focusing on a bigger single-player campaign, one comprised of sequences that make use of the Unreal Engine 3.  Yep, there are bigger environments this time around, including some outdoor battles that really show you just torn up Cybertron is.

There are plenty of moments that High Moon showed us that made an impact when it came to single player.  The first involves a Decepticon attack on a bridge, and has the player switching between automated form (helicopter and jet), attacking targets from a distance with missiles, and then switching over to robot form, fighting a ground battle against incoming Autobots using a gun and melee attacks.  The way this game switches between the two is almost seamless, and a huge leap forward in what the first game did in terms of scope and range.  It’s beautiful.

Then we were introduced to Bruticus, a huge robot made up of five Decepticons that transform into him.  Taking control of him is almost like stomping through Tokyo with Godzilla, as you fire a continuous laser at everything, stomp through bridges and use a spinning blade to do mega damage while deflecting incoming shots.  This guy could have some of the biggest impact in the game, outside of Grimlock.  (More on him in a second.)

Following that, we moved on to Jazz, who moves very quickly thanks to his use of a laser whip, which allows him to grab ledges and pull himself out of harm’s way.  Good thing, too, because a bunch of Decepticon snipers are in the area, and Jazz will have to be quick on the draw to dispose of them with head shots.  Luckily, according to the demo, the controls aren’t nearly as frenetic as the action they showed us, and players will be able to get into it quite easily.

Moving on, it was time for Optimus Prime to step up, dishing out battle justice on Decepticons with a nifty pulse rifle, which electrocutes enemies and turns them into piles of garbage.  What’s more, he voices commands to an enormous Autobot called Metroplex, telling him which targets to trash and then watching the destruction take place.  It’s a really cool sight, and the dual control set-up is almost seamless, so you can continue your ground attack while Metroplex trashes everything in sight.  It’s crazy.

About the Author

Robert Workman

Senior Writer/Editor

Robert has years of experience in the video game industry, writing for such sites as AOL GameDaily, PlanetXbox360 and Comic Book Resources.  He can also outdrink you any day of the week.  And twice on Sunday.  Follow him at www.twitter.com/thedcd.