
You start off controlling Optimus Prime, recently landed on the Decepticon ship Nemesis in the midst of a dark energon meteorite hijacking. In the main single player campaign, you take control of five Autobots, each level following their individual takes on the events taking place. My gripe with past games has always been more with the game play and mechanics, and in that regard, Transformers Prime has it’s ups and downs. Basically the plot hasn’t changed in years, and that’s just prime in my opinion. They get in the way and get captured a lot, which gives your soulless robotic life meaning…just don’t step on them by accident. It’s your job as self appointed Earth defenders to stop them…because Optimus Prime said so and he’s the boss. You play as the illustrious Autobots, who once again have to deal with those scheming Decepticons, who are up to their usual bad guy shenanigans. Based on cable network The Hub’s animated series of the same name, the game’s setting is the typical old formula. Transformers Prime: The Game for 3DS, this year’s annual submission to the collection of Nintendo exclusive Transformer games, is working to change all that, and I think it’s made some strides in the right direction. Transformers and handhelds are like the Autobots and Decepticons, they don’t play well together. The franchise has seen success in titles such as War for Cybertron and more recently with Fall of Cybertron, but it’s also seen past failures in games like Dark of the Moon and Revenge of the Fallen, especially the versions on the portable gaming side of things.

I find myself weary of new releases with the label “Transformers” on the box, not because I’m down on the franchise – on the contrary, I’m a big fan of those lovable bots in disguise – but because of the spotty track record attached to Transformers games in general.
