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Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)

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Beast Wars: Transformers
Developer(s)SCE Cambridge Studio
Publisher(s)Hasbro Interactive
SeriesTransformers
Platform(s)PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: December 5, 1997
  • EU: March 1998
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: May 31, 1998
  • EU: 1998
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Beast Wars: Transformers is a third-person shooter developed by SCE Cambridge Studio and published by Hasbro Interactive on December 5, 1997 for PlayStation and May 31, 1998 for Microsoft Windows. It is based on the Beast Wars: Transformers animated series,[1] specifically the first season, after the introduction of Airazor and Inferno.

Gameplay

The game allows the player to play as either the Maximals or the Predacons in a series of missions to sabotage the other side's attempts at gaining a tactical advantage in the Beast Wars.[2] There are six playable characters on each side, one unlockable by finding a stasis pod in a specific level and the other only accessible in Rescue missions, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. They all have both a health meter and an Energon tolerance meter that slowly goes down while in Robot mode (staying in Beast Mode slowly refills this meter); once this meter is empty, the player takes damage from the ambient Energon radiation in the air. If the player fails in a mission and gets the character killed, the character can be 'revived' by finding a mini game icon in that same level. The mini game allows the player to take control of Airazor or Terrorsaur to recover the fallen ally.

Reception

Beast Wars: Transformers received negative reviews. Critics were uniformly frustrated at the mechanic of transformers being unable to attack in beast mode, and being frequently forced to transform into beast mode in order to avoid dying from energon exposure.[4][5][6][8][10] GameSpot commented, "While this process does have a certain Power-of-Greyskull charm initially, taking damage every time you want to deal it out gets old fast."[6] IGN additionally said that the game looks like a first-generation PlayStation title, the mission briefings are excessively vague, and it is too easy to get lost.[8]

Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed that the lack of variety in the terrain makes it easy to get lost, and criticized that the level designs and enemies are nearly identical whether playing as the Maximals or the Predacons. His co-reviewer Sushi-X felt the game was passable but was disappointed at the job it did adapting the cartoon, remarking that "It doesn't scream Transformers, it whimpers MechWarrior."[4] GameSpot found the targeting system difficult to the point of being crippling to the player, though they concluded the game to be "tolerable".[6] Game Revolution said that the terrain graphics are fairly impressive, but that the animations and the designs for the beast forms come across as a poor knock-off of the ones seen in the cartoon. He praised the use of sound to help the player locate enemies, especially those above eye-level, but found locking on to elevated enemies is cumbersome and leaves the player character vulnerable and opined that the game overall is "not worthy to bear the Transformers name."[5]

PC Gamer described the PC version as "just another sterile PlayStation port with a tacked-on license", deriding the targeting, the graphics, and the mechanic which forces the player to spend much of the time haplessly running from attacks in beast form.[10] GameSpot likewise commented that the PC version is just a straight port of the PlayStation version, with graphics that fail to hold up to contemporary PC releases even when 3D accelerators are used.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Protos: Beast Wars". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 97. Ziff Davis. August 1997. p. 46.
  2. ^ "Beast Wars: Transform your PlayStation". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 101. Ziff Davis. December 1997. p. 102.
  3. ^ "Beast Wars: Transformers for PlayStation". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Review Crew: Beast Wars". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 104. Ziff Davis. March 1998. p. 121.
  5. ^ a b c Tony V (May 1998). "Transformers Minimize! Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d Smith, Josh (February 24, 1998). "Beast Wars Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Smith, Josh (July 10, 1998). "Beast Wars: Transformers Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c Douglas, Adam (January 16, 1998). "Beast Wars: Transformers". IGN. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "Beast Wars: Transformers". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 1998.
  10. ^ a b c Williamson, Colin (September 1998). "Beast Wars: Transformers". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 2, 2000. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  11. ^ "Review: Beast Wars: Transformers". PSM. 1998.
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