Video Game Review (DLC): Transformers: War for Cybertron: Map and Character Pack 1
Posted by nathanpbutler in Downloadable Content, Non-SW Video Games, TransformersOver the last few weeks, I’ve presented a series of four reviews focusing on the new Transformers games that have finally done the franchise some justice. Those were:
- War for Cybertron (next gen)
- Cybertron Adventures (Nintendo Wii)
- War for Cybertron: Autobots (Nintendo DS)
- War for Cybertron: Decepticons (Nintendo DS)
Hot on the heels of those games comes the first downloadable add-on material for the next gen game on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
Game Title: Transformers: War for Cybertron
DLC: Map and Character Pack 1
I find myself a bit frustrated most times when we have a piece of DLC labeled “#1,” as that tends to mean we are in for an avalanche of them. Take, for example, the twelve different costume packs for Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV. Together, these packs, which each cost $3.99, have caused diehard SF4 fans, including myself, to spend approximately $60 on the original game, $40 on the replacement “super” game, and then another $48 on costume packs . . . and they just keep on coming, as more were announced at San Diego ComicCon 2010.
On the other hand, sometimes a piece of DLC comes around that is so solid that you think, “Hey, more in this series of DLC might not be so bad. Where’s number two?”
Another issue with DLC that often arises is the issue of “exclusive” content. By now, you all know of my anger and distrust with LucasArts after their claims that the Hoth level in The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition would always be exclusive to that version of the game (prompting many of us to go out and buy the same game and and most of the same DLC all over again), only for them to turn a “bait and switch” on us later by making the Hoth level available as DLC anyway. Some argued that I should have known it was coming, but I took LucasArts representatives at their word.
In a similar vein, we often see a frustrating amount of “exclusive preorder bonus material” for video games these days. For example, Kmart, Best Buy, GameStop, and Amazon will all have different “preorder exclusive’ costumes for Spider-Man in his new game, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, which is, frankly, a bit ridiculous. Obviously, people are not going to buy multiple copies of the game to get all of the preorder items, just as no one was going to buy multiple copies of The Force Unleashed: Ultimate Sith Edition to get all of the (rather lame) card inserts.
Fortunately, though, preorder bonus game content is not quite like physical bonus material that one may find with, say, a DVD release (like the special metal case for the original Star Wars Trilogy at Best Buy that I own and am quite fond of). If something is a preorder bonus for a next gen game, that tends to mean that you are getting a voucher to download something free, which is almost guaranteed to be released later for others to download for a price.
This, thankfully, eliminates some of the preorder bonus frustration for gamers, while allowing them to still focus on the preorder item they want most when doing their ordering. (In my case, for example, I like the idea of two challenge levels for The Force Unleashed II, instead of the “Maulkiller” character skin, so I’m preordering through Amazon, not GameStop.)
What has happened with Transformers: War for Cybertron’s first piece of paid DLC, Map and Character Pack 1, is a mixture of releasing new downloadable content and repackaging “preorder exclusive bonus material” into paid DLC.
The contents of this DLC are all geared toward multiplayer modes. As you may recall, this is a game with a great single player campaign, then a ton of multiplayer modes that, frankly, people just aren’t playing enough in my opinion. One mode, given its own menu choice, is “Escalation.” In that mode, you fight against wave after wave of enemies, trying to survive to the end with friends at your side. The other modes are labled “multiplayer” and consist of team deathmatch, deathmatch, Conquest (king of the hill with three hills, so to speak), Code of Power (capture the flag), Countdown to Extinction (capture the exploding flag, heh), and Power Struggle (king of the kill with one hill).
In the single player campaign or in cooperative play, players simply chose one of the three Transformers available for each mission, which is a predetermined trio. In Escalation, you can choose any available Transformers character from the single player campaign or (if you have beat the campaigns) a female character (Slipstream the Decepticon jet or Arcee the Autobot car).
In the other multiplayer modes, you actually create a character that can “level up” for bonuses and such. You choose between four different classes (scout, scientist, leader, or soldier), then pick attributes from those available such as weapons, abilities, and the like. You also pick the character’s appearance, based on recolored character models from the single player campaign (and unlockable female) characters.
This is all important to know in order to put this DLC into perspective. It consists of two new multiplayer maps (Havoc and Fortress), which can be used in any of the multiplayer modes. It also contains two new Escalation maps (Forsaken and District), just for that mode. This is nice as you slowly get to know each map and its nooks and crannies, so you can change thing sup with these if playing against others with this DLC.
Most importantly to most fans, this pack contains five “new” Transformers for multiplayer and Escalation: Scattershot; Onslaught; Demolishor; Shockwave; and Jazz. The latter three Transformers were the former preorder exclusives for Amazon, Gamestop, and Best Buy, respectively. The former two are new to this DLC.
Now, you might be thinking, “Wait, didn’t he just say you create a character in multiplayer, and you only get to use existing characters in Escalation?” Yes, that’s true, and I thought that was pretty asinine at first, but when you go into the “create a character” area of multiplayer, you will find that the character models for each of these new characters are added to your choices within the multiplayer options.
Thus, your multiplayer character model choices expand to:
- Autobot Scout: Runner (Bumblebee); Speedster (Sideswipe); Sprinter (Arcee, if you have beaten the Autobot campaign); and Dragster (Jazz from the DLC)
- Decepticon Scout: Enforcer (Barricade) and Racer (Breakdown)
- Autobot Scientist: Air Defender (Jetfire); Interceptor (Silverbolt); and Skyraider (Air Raid)
- Decepticon Scientist: Stalker (Slipstream, if you have beaten the Decepticon campaign); Energon Seeker (Starscream, Thundercracker, or Skywarp, since the character model is basically the same); and Retaliator (Shockwave from this DLC)
- Autobot Leader: Armored Rig (Ironhide); Heavy Rig (Optimus Prime); and Medic Rig (Ratchet)
- Decepticon Leader: Spy Rig (Soundwave) and Tactical Rig (Onslaught from this DLC)
- Autobot Soldier: Defender (Warpath) and Protector (Scattershot from this SDLC)
- Decepticon Soldier: Destroyer (just a Destroyer Decepticon from the game, the only one not based on a specific Transformer); Crusher (Brawl); and Eradicator (Demolisher from this DLC)
Generally speaking, this enhances the experience beyond Escalation, though many multiplayer gamers who have already created characters may forget that they can go in and tweak their character into one of these rather cool new character models.
So, after all of that explaining about what you get for your price tag of $9.99, the question becomes whether this is worth your money.
If you are a single player campaign gamer who usually does not bother with multiplayer at all, then this is not worth your money. It adds nothing to the single player experience (and, by the way, neither does unlocking Slipstream and Arcee by finishing the full single player campaign for both factions).
If you are into War for Cybertron’s multiplayer component or Escalation, then this is definitely worth your money. Sure, $9.99 is a bit steep for some DLC for some folks, but you are getting five different characters for both Escalation and multiplayer (including two new ones and the three you could only have gotten through preorders before now), and you are getting four new multiplayer maps (two each for regular multiplayer and Escalation). Even if these were each only. That’s only $1.11 for each of these nine items in this DLC, and, frankly, when was the last time you saw a DLC pack with this much multiplayer content in one package?
So, buy it if you are into multiplayer (which I almost never am but have found myself loving for this particular game), and skip it if you are only a single player campaign gamer. For its value to multiplayer gamers who will find it well worth the cash, this earns . . .
Grade: A+
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