GENRE
	Action
	DEVELOPER
	Vicarious Visions
	PUBLISHER
	Activision
	LOCAL WIRELESS MULTI-PLAY
	Yes
	Wi-Fi/GLOBAL ONLINE MULTI-PLAY
	Yes
	MICROPHONE
	No
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Autobots, transform! My colleague Mr. Walters may have reviewed the other version of this game, but if you want to really experience the feel of the summer blockbuster, you've got to get Transformers: Autobots for DS. After all, how often does Megatron win in real life? For players wanting to explore the human world with Jazz, Ironside and Optimus Prime, this is the only way to go. Do your part to win the AllSpark war!

visuals

What's most impressive about the levels are that they tend to make sense. The street layouts and building architecture seem like they could be parts of a real city, while the Arctic military base has winding, short roads that haphazardly twist through icy crevasses. You can tell the individual Transformers apart from one another, and robots both friend and foe alike seem to have a distinct look (although friend and foe are reversed, if you happen to buy the wrong version of the game). The larger levels of GTA: San Andreas are preferable to the small multiple levels found here, but that gigantic sandbox just wouldn't fit easily into a DS game card.

audio

All that really needs to be said about the game's sound is this: Optimus Prime is Optimus Prime !!! In case you need some perspective, Optimus Prime is so cool that one guy legally changed his name to honor the world's most famous Transformer. With standout performances by Peter Cullen as Optimus, Frank Welker as Megatron and Keith David as Barricade (even though the last two are Decepticons), it may feature the best DS voice cast ever. The sound effects could have used more variety, as most attacks sound the same no matter which Transformer is delivering the pain.

gameplay

The game assigns you to a new Autobot recruit from the start, and you can develop your character from scratch, learning new moves and leveling up as you earn experience. While starting out as a nameless Autobot recruit is kind of appealing, but whenever an important mission comes around, you're suddenly playing as Prime, Bumblebee or one of the other major characters. This would be cool under normal circumstances, until you realize that you just spent the last three hours flying through markers in order to increase the skills of your nameless Autobot and not Bumblebee.

Fighting with the camera is one of the more annoying parts of the game. DS has a perfect solution to camera control, which was introduced to us by the good people at Nintendo Software Technology in Metroid Prime Hunters. Now, it's clear that Transformers: Autobots wasn't designed to play as a third-person shooter, and that's fine; but it might have been better to stick with traditional adventure game controls, or have a lock-on button that switches between targets.

While causing random destructions seems to be more of the Decepticons bag, it was surprising to learn that Autobots can be bad, too. Several of the mini-games in Transformers: Autobots involve random destruction of property or human police or military vehicles. This seemed really out of character for the good guys, and Vicarious Visions probably should have figured out something else to include instead. In fact, a couple more minigames might have benefited the game overall, not just to differentiate the Autobots from the other, lesser Transformers.

multiplayer

You can use Wi-Fi to win the AllSpark War. After connecting with the Transformers War Center and downloading the daily AllSpark challenge to your DS, you can try for as high a score as possible. When you're satisfied with your efforts, hook back up to the Wi-Fi Connection and upload your results to the server. Whether you're Autobots or (cough) Decepticons, your score will go towards the war effort of your respective side. BAM! Don't let the bad guys win! Unless you're playing as them, of course.

overall

More dedication to the sandbox theme could have improved the overall game. In the end, loyalty to the movie plot is what weighs Transformers: Autobots down. Take out or de-emphasize the story missions, and the game becomes a random Autobot exploring the human world, doing what he can to help the war effort (exemplified by the AllSpark War mode). Instead, the game can't quite decide which way it wants to go, and ends up trying to do both things at once, not quite succeeding at either. In addition, it seems rather out of place to have a Decepticons version with Megatron winning. Still, Autobots is the version to buy for REAL Transformers fans. Unless you're evil, of course.

7.6/10