| The Transformers | |
|---|---|
 C64 Cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Denton Designs |
| Publisher(s) | Ocean Software |
| Platform(s) | Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore 64 |
| Release | 1986 |
| Genre(s) | Platform, shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
The Transformers is a platform shoot 'em up game based on the Transformers franchise. It was written by Denton Designs and released by Ocean Software for the Sinclair Spectrum and Commodore 64 home computers in 1986.
In the game, the Autobots are searching for four parts of an energon cube which have been scattered around a city, which consists of a number of platforms and ladders. The Decepticons are also seeking the energon cube, and will destroy the Autobots in order to retrieve it.
The player controls five Autobots: Optimus Prime, Hound, Jazz, Mirage and Bumblebee, one at a time. When not in use, the Autobots hide in Defensa-Pods; [1] while inside these pods they cannot be harmed, and slowly recharge their energy. The Decepticons are represented by Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream, Buzzsaw, Skywarp, Laserbeak, Ravage, Frenzy and Rumble. The Decepticons can regenerate and do not transform.
Each Autobot has three attributes (Shields, Power and Weapons) with each character having them in different distributions (Optimus Prime has a high Power rating, average Shields and low Weapons, while Mirage has a high Weapons rating but lower Power and Shields).
Each character can transform between their vehicle and robot forms by facing forward and pressing the fire button. Unlike the cartoon, all the Autobots can fly while in robot form, although they travel faster by using their vehicle modes. Driving off the end of platforms or into stationary objects will cause the character to die. [2]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Crash | 60% [3] |
| Computer and Video Games | 26/40 [4] |
| Sinclair User | 4/5 [2] |
| Your Sinclair | 6/10 [5] |
| Computer Gamer | 13/20 [6] |
The game's received mixed reviews - Sinclair User gave the game 4 stars out of five, [2] while Your Sinclair gave it 6/10 [5] and Crash gave it 60%. [3] Max Phillips from Your Sinclair said the game was "slick but nothing new, the keyboard controls are awful and the cassette inlay is diabolical" [5] while John Gilbert of Sinclair User said "Transformers is a game where a high score is all-important, and I am sure that once you have found the energy cube you will still enjoy a scrap with the Decepticons". [2]
When asked, in an interview with Julian Rignall of Crash, which of their games they were least pleased with, Ally Noble, one of the developers of The Transformers admitted that it was "definitely Transformers... it's really a personal thing, we all like different products, but I think Transformers was an embarrassment". [7]
Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. Megatron is the cruel and tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a faction of sentient, war-mongering robotic lifeforms that seeks to conquer their home planet of Cybertron and the rest of the known universe. He serves as the archenemy of Optimus Prime, the leader of the rival Autobot faction. As with all Cybertronians, Megatron has the ability to transform between his robot form and various vehicles or weapons. His alternate modes have ranged from a Walther P38 handgun, a particle-beam weapon, a telescopic laser cannon, and a Cybertronian jet, depending on which continuity he is depicted in.
Beast Wars: Transformers is a computer-animated television series that debuted in 1996 and ended on May 7, 1999, serving as the flagship of the Transformers: Beast Wars franchise. It was one of the earliest fully CGI television shows. The series is set in the future of the "original" Transformers franchise, 300 years after the events of The Transformers, and features the Maximals and Predacons, descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons respectively. While engaged in battle, small teams from each faction crash land on an unknown planet, and must find a way to return home while continuing their war.
The Autobots are usually featured as the main protagonists in the Transformers multimedia franchise, and are depicted in a collection of various toys, cartoons, films, graphic novels, and paperback books first introduced in 1984. The Autobots are living robots from the planet Cybertron who, like most Transformers, are each imbued with a unique "life force" known as a "spark." Led by Optimus Prime in most stories, the Autobots believe "freedom is the right of all sentient life" and are often engaged in a civil war with the Decepticons, a faction of transformers dedicated to military conquest and usually headed by Megatron. In a mirror universe portrayed in Transformers: Shattered Glass, the Autobots are villains opposed by the heroic Decepticons.
Jazz is a fictional robot character from the Transformers franchise. He is usually portrayed as a music-loving robot who speaks using Black Vernacular English. In certain continuities he is shown as being Optimus Prime's good friend and right-hand man.
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. He is almost always depicted as an Autobot with flight capabilities and a jet or space shuttle as an alternate mode. In some continuities he is a former Decepticon.
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as Super Robot Life-Form Transformers: Legends of the Microns, is a Japanese anime series which debuted on August 23, 2002. As the first series co-produced between the American toy company Hasbro and their Japanese counterpart Takara, Armada begins a new continuity/universe for Transformers, with no ties to any of the previous series, including its direct predecessor Transformers: Robots in Disguise in 2001. It inspired two sequels, Transformers: Energon and Transformers: Cybertron.
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as Transformer: Superlink, is a Japanese anime series which debuted on January 9, 2004. It is a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada. It is also the first Japanese Transformers show where the Transformers are computer-generated (CG), in a cel-shaded technique similar to the Zoids anime, which was a trend that would continue into the next series, Transformers: Cybertron. In the United States, KidsClick started airing reruns of the show from August 27, 2018 until November 3, 2018. Along with Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Cybertron, Transformers: Energon is a part of a saga in the Transformers series known as the "Unicron Trilogy". In this series, the Transformers' primary gimmicks are the Autobots' ability to combine with partners of the same size, the Decepticons' ability to use powered up forms, and the addition of Energon weapons and stars that can be placed on any Transformer. Mini-Cons, from the previous line, are still present, but all Mini-Con pegs are "dummy" pegs as they do not activate a function on the toy.
Bumblebee is a fictional robot character appearing in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. The character is a member of the Autobots, a group of sentient, self-configuring, modular extraterrestrial robotic lifeforms.
Sideswipe is a fictional robot character in the Transformers series. Because of trademark restrictions, the character's toys are sometimes marketed as Side Swipe.
Transformers is a video game based on the Transformers: Armada animated series. It was developed by Atari Melbourne House, published by Atari and released exclusively for the PlayStation 2 in 2004. Although non-canon to the series, the game follows a similar premise, depicting the Autobots and the Decepticons' search for Mini-Cons on Earth, whose combined powers will grant either faction victory in the war for their home planet, Cybertron. The game received generally positive reviews.
Cliffjumper is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers franchise. His name is usually associated with an Autobot whose toys are often red repaints or remold of Bumblebee toys.
Optimus Prime, also known in Japan as Convoy,, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Transformers franchise. The Transformers characters were developed for an American market after Hasbro representatives visited the 1983 Tokyo Toy Show. The characters were modified and the coloring was changed; notably, Optimus Prime was colored red, white, and blue. The popularity of the Transformers toys resulted in comics, movies, and a TV series.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a third-person shooter video game based on the 2009 live action film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers: The Game, and the second video game adaptation of the live-action Transformers film series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game were developed by Luxoflux, and ported to Microsoft Windows by Beenox. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions were developed by Krome Studios, and the PlayStation Portable version was developed by Savage Entertainment. All versions of the game were published by Activision, and released on June 23, 2009 in the United States. Australia received the games one day later, and Europe on June 26. A sequel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was released in June 2011, based on the film on the same name.
Transformers: War for Cybertron is a third-person shooter video game based on the Transformers franchise, developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. It was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS and Microsoft Windows in June 2010. Two portable versions were released for the Nintendo DS, one featuring an Autobot campaign, the other a Decepticon campaign. A game for the Wii, Transformers: Cybertron Adventures, was developed by Next Level Games and utilizes the same characters and setting as War for Cybertron.
Transformers: Cybertron Adventures is an action-adventure video game based on the Transformers franchise, developed by Next Level Games and published by Activision. It is a companion game to High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron, released exclusively for the Wii in June 2010. Like War for Cybertron, it features separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons, with the player being able to choose either faction to play as. The game received mixed to negative reviews from critics.
Transformers: War for Cybertron - Autobots and Transformers: War for Cybertron - Decepticons are two action-adventure video games based on the Transformers franchise, published by Activision in June 2010. A port of High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron for the Nintendo DS, they were developed by Vicarious Visions, who also worked on Transformers Autobots and Transformers Decepticons in 2007, and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Decepticons in 2009. Although they share some basic similarities, the two games follow different storylines, and feature different characters, missions, and locations.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is an action-adventure video game based on the 2011 film of the same name. It is the sequel to 2009's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and the third video game adaptation of the live-action Transformers film series. Unlike the first two games, Dark of the Moon follows an original story, set before the events of the film it is based on, and features only one campaign, which alternates between the Autobots and the Decepticons. A spin-off, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, was released in June 2014.
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a third-person shooter video game based on the Transformers franchise, developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. It is the sequel to the 2010 video game Transformers: War for Cybertron, and directly follows the events of that game, as the Autobots struggle to defeat their Decepticon foes in a civil war for their home planet of Cybertron. The game was released on August 21, 2012, in North America and on August 24, 2012, in Europe for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. In 2016, it was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 8, in Australia and on August 9, in North America. Mercenary Technology developed the game's Windows version, while Fun Labs developed the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.
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