Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

One of the most well-known things about the Transformers franchise is that it centers around robots that can take on the form of everyday objects. They are “robots in disguise” after all. The big brother version of Transformers: Dark of the Moon seemed to remember this, but for some reason the Nintendo 3DS version has forgotten the robot part of the Transformers. Instead of transforming from robots into vehicles, we have vehicles that transform into heavily armed vehicles. If you’re confused by the description, you can imagine what playing this game feels like.

Unless you’ve been given some advance warning, which I hadn’t, you’d have no idea that Stealth Force Edition translated loosely, means vehicle combat spin-off. Transformers Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition differs so much from any of the other Transformer titles released in recent years that if the game didn’t keep reminding you that the vehicles were Autobots and Decepticons, you would think this were a watered down Twisted Metal or Vigilante 8 game with power-ups on the 3DS.

You play (or drive rather) as one of several robots from either side of the Autobot and Decepticon camps at a time. The storyline is intended to act as a precursor to the recently released movie, although calling it a storyline implies there’s some form of depth that isn’t actually present in the game. It’s not as if consumers are being misled about what’s inside the box. The cover clearly states that it’s a vehicle combat game, but honestly – who anticipates a Transformer’s game without the ability to transform into a robot?

You take your assigned vehicle into each level with the goal of accomplish various missions and objectives. The problem with each level is that you’re playing in a single confined arena that is constantly being filled with an unlimited supply of spawning enemies. On top of the non-stop waves of enemies is the aggravating fact that if you die at any point in the mission, including near the end, you’ll have to start over. I’d like to say there’s more to the gameplay than that, but really Stealth Force Edition boils down to repetition.

The repetitive gameplay combined with a complete lack of multiplayer makes for very little replay value. Honestly, who ever heard of a vehicle combat game with no multiplayer? How much fun would Twisted Metal be if it were always solo? The price tag doesn’t help matters when you’re looking at about five total hours of play before you’ve beaten ever mission. It’s all about managing which mode will suit the situation best. You can travel fastest in regular mode, but when things get hot and you need more fire power you can use Stealth Mode. Now I’m not a military genius, but I’ve faked interest in enough military movies with guys to know that seems a little backwards. Stealth is supposed to be for speed and avoiding detection, right? Still, I wish the biggest the problem with this game was the mix up in calling the heavy battle ready vehicles stealth because it isn’t.

The controls are so simple that pretty much anyone who picks up the game will have no problem managing their vehicle’s transformations and maneuvering. All the robots respond differently and each have their own attributes that make them unique like weapons, speed and handling. No two robots are so dissimilar that you’ll feel confused when moving on though. As you can imagine, the bigger Transformers pack the heavy artillery and possess better defenses, but move slower. On the other hand, the smaller and sportier vehicles move faster, but are slightly more vulnerable attacks. Levels offer different power ups that change things up a bit, but not enough to really keep you coming back.

The graphics aren’t bad, but not what many were expecting after seeing what the 3DS was capable of. Environments, aka arenas, are well done until you realize that you keep playing them repeatedly throughout the eighteen missions. The reuse of arenas reminds me of the old 16-bit games that would use the same enemies with a different color palette. There’s no map to speak of for each area, but rather a constantly beeping radar that leads to your objective. Everything from the menus to the actual gameplay just feels kind of empty. The graphics appear to look more like a mid-generation Nintendo DS game than a new 3DS title.

When you compare Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition on the 3DS to its bigger and better counterparts on the Xbox 360 and PS3, the 3DS version comes up short while seemingly shoving the Stealth Force aspect down your throat far more than it should. This game has turned out to be Transformers: Twisted Metal, which might have sounded good on paper, but fails in reality. Playing in vehicle mode the entire game and armed only with the ability to switch from a regular to weaponized mode, there’s not a lot of fun to be had. If you find Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Stealth Force Edition for the 3DS on sale and really want a portable vehicle combat game, then you might enjoy this. At full price however, you might want to pass on this game.