The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth | |
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Developer(s) | Activision |
Publisher(s) | Activision |
Designer(s) | David Crane |
Platform(s) | Commodore 64 |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
The Transformers The Computer Game Vol. 1: Battle to Save the Earth is an action role-playing game released by Activision in 1986, [1] based on the popular Transformers animated series. The game was released for the Commodore 64 in Datasette and floppy disk formats. It was the first Transformers game by Activision, which subsequently published more games for the franchise over two decades later.
Players are shown a map with nine key sites that the Decepticons plan to attack. The objective is to move an Autobot to a location to do battle with invading Decepticon forces.
Once the Autobot reaches the location, the player switches to first-person view to shoot down the Decepticons and prevent them from stealing valuable resources and building their ultimate weapon. In the middle of the game, the Decepticons steal a mechanical Tyrannosaurus from Dinosaur Park, using a nuclear rod they stole from the nuclear power plant cooling tower, and send it towards the shuttle base. The player must attempt to prevent the dinosaur robot from destroying the Space Shuttle in the complex. After destroying the Space Shuttle, the Decepticons attempt to steal the cosmic dust that is left behind, as well as a laser from a research facility. The Decepticons then move onto the zoo to use the enhanced laser on the hippo exhibit to make it into a giant hippo, and it is sent to the pipe junction. Once the hippo arrives at the pipe junction it destroys it, and the game ends.
Points are accumulated by the Autobots by destroying the Decepticons as they attempt to steal resources, while Decepticons gain points for successfully stealing resources. Whichever side, Autobots or Decepticons, have the highest resource points at the end of the game, wins. A medal is awarded to the player depending on their performance.
There are a total of eight Autobot characters to control; each with a designated number as shown on the game's map screen, including Bumblebee, Cliffjumper and Blurr. For reasons unknown, Rodimus and Hot Rod appear in the game as separate characters, despite the fact that they are the same character [2] This was also one of the few Transformers games to not include Optimus Prime (because of the events of the animated movie).[ citation needed ]
The game was released in two versions; floppy disk and cassette.
The floppy disk version features an introductory sequence describing the back story of the Transformers with sampled speech narration and loads the "transformation" animations from disk in game.
The cassette version however omits the introductory sequence and gives the player the option to choose which of the Transformer characters' animations should be shown during gameplay - the transformation sequence for this character alone will be shown and all other characters' map screen icons merely change colour to indicate robot or vehicle mode. The cassette version also crashes when the player reaches a certain point in the game (the "Pipeline Junction") meaning that the game is not completable on this format.
Megatron is a fictional character who serves as the main antagonist of the Transformers media franchise produced by toy companies Hasbro and Takara Tomy. He 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.
Grimlock is the name of several fictional robot characters in the Transformers robot franchise. He is usually portrayed as the leader of the Dinobots, which are a subfaction of Autobots who can transform into metal dinosaurs. Grimlock is known for his dialogues being spoken in third person. He appeared on screen along with other Dinobots in the fourth installment of the Transformers film series.
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.
Soundwave is a fictional robot character appearing in various Transformers continuity lines within the Transformers franchises. His most well-known disguise is that of a micro cassette recorder. Throughout most of his incarnations, he is an underlying loyal lieutenant of the Decepticon leader Megatron. He is commonly depicted as Megatron's communications officer and in some interpretations, only speaks when mocking the Autobots.
Jazz is a fictional robot character from the Transformers franchise. He is usually portrayed as a music-loving robot who speaks Black Vernacular English. In certain continuities he is shown as Optimus Prime's good friend and right-hand man.
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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.
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, chrome, and dark blue. The popularity of the Transformers toys resulted in comics, movies, and even a TV series.
Transformers: The Headmasters is a Japanese anime television series that is a part of the Transformers robot superhero franchise. It aired from July 3, 1987 to March 25, 1988, and its 17:00–17:30 timeslot was used to broadcast Mashin Hero Wataru at the end of its broadcast. It serves as the first sequel series to the Japanese dub of the original 1985 The Transformers cartoon series in the Generation 1 franchise, followed by Transformers: Super-God Masterforce.
Transformers: The Game is an action-adventure video game based on the 2007 film Transformers, developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Activision. The game closely follows the story of the film, depicting the Autobots and Decepticons' arrival on Earth following a war between them that has ravaged their home planet of Cybertron. While trying to conceal their existence from humanity, both factions search for a powerful artifact called the AllSpark, which could be used to restore Cybertron to its former glory, or to enslave Earth's population. The game features a split-campaign format, with players choosing to join either the Autobots or the Decepticons, and completing various missions for whichever faction they chose. A sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, was released in June 2009, based on the film of the same name.
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 Revenge of the Fallen: Decepticons is an action-adventure game based on the 2009 live action film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is the Nintendo DS port of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but follows a different storyline and focuses exclusively on the Decepticons. It was developed by Vicarious Visions alongside Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots, which follows the Autobots; the two games share some basic similarities, but overall feature different characters, missions and locations. Both games were published by Activision in June 2009, and received mixed reviews.
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.
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is a video game based on the Transformers franchise, developed by Edge of Reality and WayForward, and published by Activision. It is the third and final entry in the Cybertron series, following War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, and acts as a spin-off and crossover with the live-action Transformers films. One portion of the game takes place in the timeline divergent from the one where the films take place, serving as an alternative to the events of Age of Extinction, and follows the Autobots as they try to retrieve a Cybertronian artifact called the Dark Spark from the mercenary Lockdown. The other portion, set between the first two Cybertron games, depicts the Decepticons' attempts to use the Dark Spark to win the war against the Autobots, and the latter's efforts to stop them.