Back since the franchise was first created, Transformers and video games never meshed as well as it should have. Despite a few great games here and there, such as the two Cybertron games by High Moon Studios(War/Fall of Cybertron, both of which are fantastic) and even the PS2 game(which I've never played, but has been recommended to me several times), Transformers games are usually expected to be pretty bad. However, last year just before E3, it was revealed that Platinum Studios, the masterminds behind accritically accalaimed games like the Bayonetta series, Vanquish, Metal Gear Rising, Wonderful 101, and the upcoming Starfox Zero, Nier 2, TMNT, and Scalebound to much skepticism that was quickly put to rest when screenshots and trailers were officially revealed. Skepticism quickly reared it's ugly head again however when people remembered that Activision was publishing the game, and last time Platinum and Activision worked on a game together was The Legend of Korra, which was released to mixed reception. Thankfully, this time around Transformers Devastation was able to avoid problems Korra had, deliver everything a Platinum game should be, and can sit up there with the best of the best Transformers games.

Transformers Devastation
For PS3/PS4/Xbox 360/One/PC
Developed by Platinum
Published by Activision

Story/Presentation
Right off the bat the game starts in mayhem as Decepticons ravage city of New York and attempt to "Cyberform" Earth and the Autobots do everything they can to put a stop to their plans. While the story and writing isn't all that, the characters more than make up for it, with the game featuring a cast of fan favorites, like the obvious Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumble Bee, Starscream, Soundwave, Grimlock, and several others, most voiced by their original G1 voice actors. The story also does a good job of injecting all of that G1 flair and 80's cheese we've come to love from 80's cartoons, by sporting a visual looks of that of the original G1 cartoon and the story playing like one of the old episodes.

Gameplay

Obviously the selling point of any Platinum game and the highlight of this one. It plays like any game would, and melee combat is absolutely fantastic. You can choose between 5 Autobots, Optimus, Bumble Bee, Sideswipe, and eventually Wheeljack and Grimlock, and just fight your way through Decepticons to complete your objective. Each autobot has their own specialty weapons(i.e. Optimus specializes in Axes/Swords, Bumble Bee's a brawler, Sideswipe dual wields swords, etc.,) but they can each weapon type has it's own unique style that each player can use to see which they prefer. Each Autobot also has their own two unique abilities, with one that's used to defeat sleuths of enemies in one go and one that helps you dodge enemy attacks with ease. Combat also takes some cues from Bayonetta with Focus(ala Witch Time for giant robots), which slows time and lets you go at it at enemies for a short time. Transforming can also be a lot of fun though you run into barriers(pun intended) that do get annoying to get through at times. Gunplay is probably the weaker part of the gameplay, though not bad. Like melee weapons, you can also choose between an assortment of guns that can be very useful in various situations, though not very effective against certain enemies and especially bosses. There's also plenty of enemy variety from several types of ground soldiers, seekers, and insecticons waiting to ruin your day. The game also lets you explore the city, but there's really not much of interest and feels very small. With how fun combat is, it makes you want to run into enemies every chance you get but otherwise the city itself feels rather uninteresting, but it does allow you to find goodies such as concept art, hidden side missions, and challenges to unlock in challenge mode, and believe me, there are tons of fun challenges to play when your done.Unfortunately the game is really short, just clocking in at about 4-6 hours, but thankfully the game also has some good replay value, as well as tons of challenges, especially since the game gets more fun the higher your difficulty. The game can be really hard but it never feels cheap, and can be very rewarding when you accomplish a mission, challenge or beat a boss.

Also the game starts of with freaking Devastator as your first boss in the game, ala Metal Gear Ray in Metal Gear Rising

Visuals/Audio

As said earlier, the visual style is very reminiscent of the G1 cartoons and seeing it in Cel-Shaded 3D looks absolutely gorgeous, even on the weaker last gen consoles the games a beauty. The characters and effects look amazing and does the style of the old cartoons justice.

The sound department is just as good, with most of the characters being voiced by their original actors such as Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Michael Bell, Dan Gilvezan, and Gregg Berger, and the guys they got for the other characters do a great job of sounding like their original counterparts. Sound design is very metallic and very appropriate for the characters, and the soundtrack, oh lawdy the soundtrack is awesome, the mix of metal with giant robots beating the tar out of each other is one of the most satisfying things ever. The OST is composed by several composers including Vince DiCola(who composed the original soundtrack for the old Transformers movie) as well as Kenny Meriedeth, and Satoshi Igarashi. I've been listening to this nonstop for a while now, and even among Platinum's other stellar soundtracks this one ranks among them as one of the best, and quite possibly one of my all-time favorites. Here's a small taste of some of the songs in the game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M2cxtC9nSo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blG5kFTw-1A

Recap:
+ Beautiful Visuals
+ Excellent gameplay
+ Great music
+ Plenty of replay value
- Too short
- No Co-Op
- Decepticons not Playable
- Uninteresting world map
- Gunplay is "eh"

Overall
It's a fantastic game that does the license justice, highly recommended if you're a Transformers fan. Hell even if you aren't one, or if your just a fan of Platinum or action games/brawlers, this game deserves your attention.

There's plenty of good things about this game, if they could give the next game a better world map and more longevity, it'd be a huge improvement of an awesome game