Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Review for Nintendo Wii

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen box art

System: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS	Review Rating Legend
Dev: Krome Studios	1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid	4.0 - 4.4 = Great
Pub: Activision	2.0 - 2.4 = Poor	4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
Release: Jun. 23, 2009	2.5 - 2.9 = Average	5.0 = The Best
Players: 1-2	3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
ESRB Rating: Teen	3.5 - 3.9 = Good

In theory, you could die after beating every single enemy, and yet continue to progress. Even changing the difficulty to hard doesn't change this. Also, the puzzle mini-game gets fairly tough later on, but if you want, you can simply bypass it and open the door anyway, which we found rather odd. (Though perhaps this isn't a completely bad idea; we used the feature once, when we encountered a puzzle we suspect is impossible.)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen screenshot

The game's presentation is decent. The graphics aren't anything special, even for the Wii, but we encountered no technical problems and all your favorite Transformers are instantly recognizable. The various environments lack detail, but never in such a way that it's confusing where you're supposed to go. The music supports the action without getting on your nerves, and the sound effects similarly do their thing without getting in the way. There's quite a bit of voice acting; the acting itself isn't too bad, but the dialogue is truly awful, though that's to be expected in a kid-targeted action title.

As for extras, there's a multiplayer arena battle mode that we didn't find too engrossing. Mainly, you run around the screen with a friend, fending off wave after wave of enemies. You can also unlock various images, and even Transformers cartoon episodes. For us, these features didn't add a lot of replay value, and at full price, the campaign costs about $10 an hour to play, so a rental will probably do the trick for most players.

All in all, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen provides a few hours of beat-'em-up/shooting action encased in a well-presented if corny story. The Wii isn't exactly teeming with playable action titles these days, so it might be worth a shot when you finish The Conduit this month. This is especially the case if you have fond childhood memories of the Transformers toy line, or if there are kids in the house.

By Robert VerBruggen
CCC Freelance Writer

RATING OUT OF 5

RATING DESCRIPTION

3.6

Graphics
Not bad for the Wii, but not great, either.

3.2

Control
Very imprecise, but the game is easy enough that it's not that big of a problem.

3.6

Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Few complaints here, except that the dialogue is really cheesy.

2.7

Play Value
The campaign only takes about five hours to get through, the multiplayer isn't very fun, and the unlockables don't provide a lot of replay value. We recommend renting.

3.5

Overall Rating - Fair
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

A unique array of attacks specific to each Transformer ranging from powerful missile attacks to explosive energy blasts and visceral melee strikes.

Offline co-op challenges and brutal head-to-head battles.

Play as your favorite Autobot or Decepticon.

Intense, heroic mission gameplay that makes the difference between survival and destruction as you drive, fly, fight, and shoot your way through gripping levels.