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In the console Transformer games you could choose your side at the beginning and play as a character that the story saw fit. The story was also different depending if you played as the Autobots or the Decepticons. For the DS version they split it into two separate game editions all together, one game for each faction. In those two games you played as a generic Transformer that could change shape into almost any vehicle you scanned and the stories were slightly different for each edition. For the PSP game it also contains both sides to play as but you aren't given a choice. During the game you start as the Autobots then it switches to the Decepticons later on and continues switching back of forth as you progress along through the one continuous story. So in effect you are experiencing one story to one ending. The downside is that the bad guys won't have a chance to win in the end but the upside is that you get to play as over 20 different Transformers some from the film and some from the TV show/comics.

 

One cool thing about the story is that it is completely different from both the DS and the console versions. Except for the initial CGI introduction, that's also seen in the console games, the story sequences are exclusive to PSP. The CGI and in-game cut scenes are all fully voiced, with all new dialog. The story is also longer taking the player to more locals then the other game versions. The plot is very loosely based on the film. Sometimes the story doesn't make much sense if you've seen the films but if you've read the comics it might be more familiar to you.

 

If you've played the console games then you would remember sometime duringthe beginning levels Shockwave makes an appearance but he was unplayable. He was simply just a stationary gun platform you had to destroy. In the PSP game Shockwave is the 4th character you control and he transforms into a tank. Now this is the point where I really started to like the game. In the beginning you play as Optimus Prime on a very boring stretch of highway which is really just a tutorial. The next level you play as Bumble-Bee chasing down Barricade in the city which was very short I might add. Next up was Blackout, the helicopter. This level was pretty decent except for the odd controls that are hard to get used to. But it was still fun flying around blowing up bridges and gun towers. When I started playing as Shockwave I was in a totally new location, the North Pole. It was here that the game took on a different feel. It kind of felt like a MechWarrior game, well at least in the sense that I felt like I was piloting a giant machine stomping through a snow storm blasting enemies with my shoulder mounted missile launcher.

 

It also seemed like the graphics were improving as I went a long. In the beginning the graphics were pretty blocky and bland. They still aren't over all the best but either my eyes are adjusting or they are approaching Metal Gear AC!D levels. While the characters look pretty blocky, the backgrounds and especially the industrial interiors look a lot like the interiors from AC!D. However there is a lot of clipping and glitching but no game stoppers so far. The graphics are more akin to the console versions compared the DS versions with more detail and better transformation animation and sounds. Still nowhere as detailed as the console games but they get the job done and are pleasant.

 

One thing I loved about the console games was the ability to climb, destroy and pick up objects to throw. Sadly you can't climb anything in the PSP version, but you can pick things up and destroy a fair amount of smaller buildings. The absolute worst aspect of the console games was that you could not damage all the main enemies with just your guns. The main guys always had energy shields which blocked gunfire. This stupid flaw seems to be fixed in the PSP game. Here you can do damage to any enemy with any weapon load out you carry, which can be altered somewhat at the beginning of each stage.

 

The game has a lot of problems like the jerky character animations and the poor melee fighting but if you can look past that there is a playable game underneath that is actually pretty fun and extremely varied. The game has about 19 levels with stuff to unlock like concept art and music tracks and the game is pretty easy and never frustrating. They story is also pretty long and interesting with plenty of save points along the way.

 

Seriously, it's worth playing if you got an open-mind. Sadly most people judge things they haven't tried only because it "looks" bad. This one looks bad at first but gets better as you go along. Oh well, I'm happy with my purchase and was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out.