Transformers The Game (PSP)
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 If you're a mid- to late-00s kid and remember this game, then your childhood was honestly pretty weird and unsavory. | |||||||
| Developer | Savage Entertainment | ||||||
| Publisher | Activision | ||||||
| Platform | PlayStation Portable | ||||||
| Release date | June 19, 2007 (NA) July 18, 2007 (AU) July 20, 2007 (EU) | ||||||
| Ratings | ESRB: E10+ PEGI: 12+ | ||||||
Transformers The Game on the Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP) was developed by Savage Entertainment and published by Activision in conjunction with the 2007 live-action Transformers film.
Unlike most versions of the game, the PSP version supports multiplayer.
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Gameplay
In contrast to the console version of the game, which features two separate sets of missions for the Autobots and the Decepticons, or the Nintendo DS version, which is split across two games for the factions, the PSP version is one continuous adventure, placing control of both the Autobots and the Decepticons in the player's hands at different stages of the story. Players bust, stomp, blast, smash, drive and fly through twenty levels, telling a much-expanded version of the movie's story with an increased cast. As the game proceeds, the player unlocks several bonus "rewards", including music tracks and image galleries (including concept art and a lot of Dreamwave images), and several additional characters for use in the game's online multiplayer mode.
It is absolutely abominable in just about every imaginable way. Imagine walking through molasses while trying to shoot with a target lock-on which refuses to live up to its name and is attached to the most painfully unhelpful button in relation to the position of the analog stick, and you're halfway there. Jab yourself in the eye with a rusty fork to complete the journey.
Playable characters
Outside of its expanded story, the major distinguishing feature of the PSP game is its large roster of characters, including the entire movie cast, all the drones (save Scrapper) from the console version of the game, and several unique characters. These include:
- Shockwave – Ol' One-Eye appears in the console version of the game as a helicopter/artillery emplacement triple changer, but appears in this game as a tank.
- Thundercracker – Unusually, rather than sharing a mold with Starscream, Thundercracker is based on the Dreadwing drone, but with a real head.
- Hound – Autobot tech specialist who transforms into a green military vehicle.
- Trailbreaker – Autobot jokester, based on the Dropkick drone body.
- Sideswipe – a red sports car.
- Wheeljack – a G1-style sports car.
- Hoist – a G1-deco'd version of the Longarm drone body.
In the course of the single-player game, players will get to control Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Blackout, Shockwave, Ironhide, Hound, Starscream and Barricade, some more than once. As the game progresses, all the other characters are unlocked for use in the online multiplayer mode. This expanded multiplayer roster offers players the choice of the entire movie cast (sans Scorponok and Frenzy), all the drones from the PSP game, and the new characters listed above. Notably, the PSP version of the game is the only iteration to make Bonecrusher or any of the drones playable characters.
Synopsis
As the Autobots speed away from Hoover Dam with the All Spark in their hands, they are attacked by Decepticon drones. Optimus Prime defends Bumblebee, who escapes as Prime faces off against Bonecrusher. After besting his opponent, Prime looks at the destruction all around him and is given pause to recall how it all began...
Hunting for the All Spark, Bumblebee arrives on Earth and follows the trail to Sam Witwicky, whose grandfather discovered the lost Megatron frozen in the Arctic years beforehand, and had the location of the All Spark imprinted upon his spectacles by the Decepticon leader. Posing as the boy's car in order to stay close to him, Bumblebee sneaks away to beam a message on his progress to Optimus Prime, but is followed by Sam, who discovers the truth about his supposed car. Sam is in turn followed by the Decepticon Barricade and a platoon of drones, who have pursued Bumblebee to Earth, but Bumblebee is able to defeat the villains in a battle in a steel processing plant. Soon after, Optimus Prime arrives on Earth, accompanied by Ironhide, Jazz, Ratchet, Hound, and Trailbreaker. Prime dispatches Hound and Trailbreaker to the Arctic to investigate the site where Megatron was discovered, while he and the rest of the Autobots stick with Sam.
Unfortunately for the Autobots, Barricade is not the only Decepticon on Earth. At the same time, in Qatar, Blackout attacks an American military base in search of information on the whereabouts of Megatron. As he razes the base, Shockwave and Thundercracker arrive to tell him of Barricade's discoveries. Subsequently, Shockwave and Thundercracker head for the Arctic, where they discover that the secret government organization known as Sector Seven has moved Megatron's body from its cavern. The trip is not wasted, however: Shockwave scans an abandoned computer terminal and discovers that Megatron brought a veritable army of drones to Earth with him to aid in the search for the All Spark, drones which are currently lying dormant all over Earth. Hound and Trailbreaker's Autobot team get the drop on the Decepticons and plant charges in the cavern, but the two villains are narrowly able to escape the blast and quickly head for a rocket launch site. While Thundercracker creates a distraction, Shockwave programs the code that will awaken the drones into the rocket, and once the craft launches, the signal is subsequently beamed down over the world, bringing the drones back online to serve as his own personal army.
In the interim, Bumblebee has been captured by Sector Seven forces, and the rest of the Autobots are following his distress call to Hoover Dam when they are attacked by the Decepticon drones. Ironhide and Ratchet break off from the rest of the team to take the drones down, only to be attacked by Thundercracker. The two Autobots prevail, and they grill Thundercracker for information on the origins of the drones. With the information he provides, Autobot scientist Wheeljack (who has recently arrived to join the other Autobots on Earth along with Hoist and Sideswipe) is able to create a virus that will send the drones back into sleep mode. Trailbreaker and Hound break into a military facility to use their satellite dish to broadcast the virus, and Hound sacrifices himself to accomplish the task.
Just after Shockwave and Blackout discover that the drone army has been shut down, Shockwave receives a communiqué from Frenzy, who has stowed away with the Autobots heading for Hoover Dam (which they have since reached). Frenzy reports that the frozen body of Megatron is hidden within the dam, and Starscream and Barricade are already on their way there to liberate the Decepticon leader. Starscream forces open the blast doors to the dam complex, and Barricade speeds inside, quickly locating Megatron and bringing him back online. With Starscream watching his back, Megatron proceeds to re-energize himself by absorbing power from the base's generators, and the pair then set off after the fleeing Autobots, who are attempting to escape with the All Spark.
And that's where we came in...
Prime continues to safeguard Bumblebee against opposing drones as the two Autobots head for Center City, but once they arrive in the city streets, Megatron swoops down from the sky and tackles Bumblebee to the ground. Seizing the All Spark, Megatron channels its power and faces off against Optimus Prime in a protracted final battle, bringing numerous vehicles to life to make things even tougher for the Autobot leader. Eventually, Prime prevails and knocks the All Spark from Megatron's grasp, at which point Sam darts into action, scooping up the cube and plunging it into Megatron's chest. The Decepticon leader is consumed by the All Spark's power and perishes.
Some time later, Optimus Prime broadcasts a message into space, alerting any other Autobots that may be listening to the location of Earth. Meanwhile, Starscream and Shockwave have retreated back to Cybertron, where they engage in a duel for leadership of the Decepticons, with Starscream emerging victorious.
Differences between movie and game
In addition to the obvious point of numerous additional characters and drones that have their own roles in side-stories throughout the game, differences between the storyline of the game and the film include the following:
- Archibald Witwicky is identified as Sam's grandfather, not his great-great-grandfather, and Sam knew him, having been told stories of the ice-man in his youth. Considering that he died in 1938, Sam and his father are apparently much older than they look.
- The Autobots follow a distress call from Bumblebee to the Hoover Dam, rather than following the code on Archibald's glasses there (rendering the glasses pretty much entirely pointless to the plot of the game).
- Bumblebee transmitting his signal to the other Autobots and his clash with Barricade—two separate events in the film—are combined into one for the game.
- Blackout's attack in Qatar takes place at the same time Barricade and Bumblebee battle, as opposed to some time before.
- Barricade is responsible for reactivating Megatron, rather than Frenzy.
- The final battle with Megatron takes place in "Center City," rather than Mission City, as in the film.
- Megatron obtains the All Spark during the final battle and uses it to boost his power before Sam uses it to kill him. Why it would kill him when he was just fine using it mere moments before his death is best not thought about.
