Review: Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Cybertron is dying. The Autobots struggle to evacuate. The Decepticons want all the Energon. Sounds like a perfect time to TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT! 

Transformers: Fall of Cybertroncontinues the chronicle of the Autobot/Decepticon conflict that High Moon Studios and Activision began in 2010's Transformers: War for Cybertron. This series has triumphed where so many obligatory movie tie-ins have failed, harkening back to the G1 era in both Soundwave sound and style, pleasing your inner child of the 80s, and maintaining a scale truly deserving of a planet full of giant robots.

One Shall Stand...

For those who came in late, Fall picks up exactly where Warleft off, as the core of Cybertron is shutting down and the Autobots are prepping the Ark for planetary evacuation. But the Ark can't launch, much less carry an entire army to a new planet, without the Transformers' precious lifeblood, Energon. Enter Megatron and those pesky Decepticons. In a struggle as desperate as you might think, each robot faction sends their best soldiers, infiltrators, and powerhouses into the fray in order to come out on top. And you get to take control of the best of the best!

Hit the jump to read more about Fall of Cybertron!

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"Transformers: Fall of Cybertron" Official Trailer

The war rages on...

Activision and High Moon Studios have released the new, official trailer for Transfomers: Fall of Cybertron, the highly-anticipated sequel to 2010's Transfomers: War for Cybertron.   Set to debut on PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles this summer, the sequel chronicles the final days of Cyberton, leading up to the exile of both the Autobots and Decepticons.  Will they finally reach Earth in this one?  Perhaps.  Check out the new trailer, courtesy of Gamespot, below!

As we saw in the announcement trailer in December, the game will feature Combiners and Dinobots, favorites among Transformers fans.  While we don't get to see much else along the lines of new game features, we do see that gameplay looks to be just as visceral and chaotic as it was in T:WfC.

Cybertron falls on August 28th.

Action-Packed Screenshots from Transformers: Fall of Cybertron!

Activision and High Moon Studios have given Transformers fans a little bit more to salivate over.  New screenshots from Transformers: Fall of Cybertron have surfaced, showcasing the visually stunning chaos you can expect in the highly-anticipated sequel. Check them out below!

 

From the looks of things, we'll be seeing some fan-favorites, including Cliffjumper, Shockwave, Jazz (who was only seen in multiplayer DLC in War for Cybertron), and, of course, Grimlock and the Dinobots. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is due to hit Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles this Fall.

Check out the previously released trailer here! 

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron Trailer Debuts

During Saturday's broadcast of Spike TV's Video Game Awards, Activision and High Moon Studios premiered the trailer for the highly-anticipated Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, the sequel to 2010's Transformers: War for Cybertron.  Check out the emotional trailer below, courtesy of Game Trailers!

Taking a cue from the advertising campaign for Gears of War 3, it looks like the Autobots, like Delta Squad, wil be "brothers to the end." 

The trailer features fan-favorites such as Grimlock and the Dinobots, as well as the Decepticon combiners, the Combaticons, coming together to form Bruticus....and they better all be playable!

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is slated for a Fall 2012 release on Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles.

'Spider-Man: Edge of Time' Revealed

Following their well-received Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Activision-owned Beenox is once again putting you in the boots of the Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099 to prevent the untimely death of Peter Parker himself!

Spider-Man: Edge of Time, as can be inferred from the image above (click for full-size), will bounce you back and forth between present day Spider-Man and the futuristic world of Spider-Man 2099.  Marvel veteran and co-creator of Spider-Man 2099, Peter David, will craft the storyline, and the game will feature "cause-and-effect" consequences, where actions in the past timeline can directly and unexpectedly change the future.

“At Beenox, we are constantly listening to the fans and looking for new and creative ways to innovate the gameplay experience for them,” said Dee Brown, Studio Head, Beenox. “We want to create a totally distinct experience in Spider-Man: Edge of Time by working with Peter David on the story and creating this urgent, high-stakes experience where time is working against you and the fate of Spider-Man hangs in the balance.”

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions was truly a worthwhile game, despite the camera being the sole reason you died in most boss battles.  It was tightly-crafted and easy to jump into (and out of, which is important for a guy with a day job) at any time, but most importantly, it did the Web-Slinger fair justice as a character.

With the Spider-Man: Edge of Time's focus on present and future timelines of Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2099, I admit I'll miss the cool collectedness of the 1920s Spider-Man Noir.  Still, if it the game turns out anything like its predecessor, it'll be worth it in the end.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time is currently slated for release this fall, but no platforms have been announced.

The Countdown is Over: 'Find Makarov' Fan-Made Film Trailer

The countdown on findmakarov.com hit zero this morning at 10AM, and it's not a new Modern Warfare title, ARG, or outright hoax -- it's a fan-made, live-action, short film.

Few details are known about Find Makarov (trailer below), and creators We Can Pretend are being tightlipped as of right now.  Describing the film as "a live-action adaptation of the Modern Warfare narrative," We Can Pretend only revealed that they have been in contact with Activision about the project.

As you can see, the trailer follows a first-person perspective, faithfully - very faithfully - recreating some of the scenes from Infinity Ward's 2007 and 2009 blockbusters, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

We'll keep you informed when more details surface, although we're not expecting anything to appear too soon.

Another Mapathy Cure: "Resurgence" Arises

Activision ain't gonna let their legal problems stop them from making money on Modern Warfare 2.  The company has announced that the second map pack, "Resurgence," will be released on June 3rd.

Containing five playable maps, "Resurgence," like the first map pack, "Stimulus Package," will have a limited period of exclusivity on Xbox Live before finding its was onto the PlayStation Network.

Also similar to "Stimulus Package," two maps are being rehashed from Call of Duty 4: Vacant and Strike.  The three new maps -- Carnival (pictured), Trailer Park, and Fuel -- round out what may very well be Infinity Ward's last contribution to the billion-dollar franchise.

To celebrate the new release, Infinity Ward will host two Double XP weekends. The first Double XP will take place beginning Friday, May 28, and the second will follow on Friday, June 4.

Koreans Rejoice! 'Starcraft II' Dated

It's been over 12 years since the original Zerg-rushin' StarCraft was unleashed unto the world, defining the  real-time strategy genre since its release in 1998.

Since it was originally announced in 2007, the game's hotly-anticipated sequel, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, has been on the radars of gamers everywhere, particular in South Korea, where StarCraft gaming is practically a sport.  While there are ratings issues in the country that Activision Blizzard is attempting to appeal, I'm certain that many games are happy to finally be graced with a release date:  July 27, 2010.

"We've been looking forward to revisiting the StarCraft universe for many years, and we're excited that the time for that is almost here," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "Thanks to our beta testers, we're making great progress on the final stages of development, and we'll be ready to welcome players all over the world to StarCraft II and the new Battle.net^® in just a few months."

The game will include both a solo campaign (continuing where StarCraft: Brood War left off) and the legendary multiplayer via a completely revamped Battle.net.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty will be available on PC in multiple flavors: a $59.99 standard edition and a $99.99 collector's edition.  Prepare your vacation days accordingly.

Activision and Bungie, Out of Left Field...

 

 Picture via Gamepro

Bungie has announced a partnership with probably the biggest name in gaming, Activision. From the press release:

Bungie, the developer of blockbuster game franchises including Halo, Myth and Marathon, and Activision, a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the #1 online games publisher (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that they have entered into an exclusive 10-year partnership to bring Bungie’s next big action game universe to market. Under the terms of the agreement, Activision will have exclusive, worldwide rights to publish and distribute all future Bungie games based on the new intellectual property on multiple platforms and devices. Bungie remains an independent company and will continue to own their intellectual property. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

I highly doubt this means we will be seeing Master Chief on the Wii any time soon, but I would bet on their next property appearing on multiple platforms. According to Harold Ryan, Bungie's president:

“We chose to partner with Activision on our next IP because of their global reach, multi-platform experience and marketing expertise,” said Harold Ryan, President of Bungie. “From working together over the past nine months on this agreement, it is clear that Activision supports our commitment to giving our fans the best possible gaming experiences.”

I know there are probably a lot of people out there who are less than pleased about this. With everything that just went down with Infinity Ward, I'm sure many Halo fans are just waiting for the other shoe to drop on them at some point. But, the folks at Bungie have reassures us that they are still independent and still Bungie.

Activision Sinks to New Low

After the sacking of the two heads of Infinity Ward, one would figure the rest of the team would bail out and follow their fearless leaders. Well, that doesn't seem to be the case.

According to Kotaku, Activision is withholding royalty payments from the IW team in order to keep them at the company. Apparently, the folks over at Infinity Ward are paid much less than one might think. The trade off for the lower pay is the promise of substantial royalty payments. Normally, this would be a great gig, except now Lord Activision has all of Infinity Ward by their, ahem, wallets. Morale at IW is, understandably, pretty low.

I know none of California's labor laws, but something tells me this must be covered in there somewhere. This whole situation just keeps getting uglier and uglier. If anything good is to come out of this mess, it will hopefully be that smaller developers will think twice before signing on with a company like Activision.

We will keep you updated as new info arises.