The
robots in disguise will be hitting the PlayStation 2 this May with the release
of the game Transformers. We got our hands on a preview demo of the game
and were actually able to go screaming through a jungle as Hot Shot, the spunky
robot cum sports car.
But first ... before you can land in the Amazon or other locations around the
world you'll need to select your Transformer. There are three playable
Transformers, the aforementioned
Hot Shot,
Red Alert, and the Transformers'
leader himself,
Optimus Prime. Next you'll need to customize your weapons
load by selecting from the available Minicons in your base. Minicons are
weapons, sensors, or other upgrades that plug into one of four slots on your
Transformer. These slots are conveniently mapped to the shoulder triggers,
so pulling R1 will activate whichever Minicon you've decided to stick in that
slot. At the start of the first mission your hangar will be conspicuously
absent of Minicons. This is because you'll have to go out and find and
earn your Minicons when out on missions. Some will be out in the open,
others guarded by
Megatron's Decepticons, and still others will be hidden in
secret places in the game's huge levels.
 |
| Welcome to the jungle... |
Huge levels? That's right, the first thing you'll find when you touch
ground in the Amazon is that the levels are huge and give you a lot of room to
maneuver, make your assault, or just roam and explore. For those of you
who prefer to get right down to business, blue beacons send beams high into the
air to guide you to the next key location for your current mission. These
beacons can be pretty spread out, but you're a Transformer, remember? A
quick press of the Triangle button and you are instantly transformed into a
fast-moving vehicle to cover the distance in no time.
While life as a car may sound inviting, you won't be able to do any fighting
while transformed and sooner or later you'll run into Megatron's forces.
Megatron has legions of Decepticlones to throw at you, as well as some heavy
weapons in the form of airships. A quick push of Triangle again and you
are a robot again, ready to meet the challenge and fight back. In robot
form you can run, jump, and shoot as well as any action game hero. Hot
Shot came equipped with a blaster, so I was able to do some damage to the
Decepticlones despite the fact that I was naked of Minicons.
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