United Gamer Online (UGO)

by Mike Smith
Ah, the licensed video game, home to many of the worst assaults the games industry has perpetrated on its consumers. Typically, licensed games are terrible, and Transformers-licensed games have historically been doubly so. But this game, unlike other recent robots-in-disguise releases, War for Cybertron isn't tied to a specific movie or other product. Instead, its well-regarded developer, High Moon, was given free rein to recreate the authentic Transformers experience.

And they succeeded, according to Joystiq's Justin McElroy. War for Cybertron is "a crystal clear, easy-to-follow example of how to do a licensed game," he said, heaping praise on the powerful feel of its iconic robot stars and calling it the best use of the Transformers license "since Beast Wars went off the air more than a decade ago.

As Transformers fans will know, that's no small accolade. But there's more. IGN awarded it a whopping 9/10, saying it "impresses with an excellent single-player campaign with full co-op support, the included Horde-alike Escalation mode, and surprisingly deep and inventive online multiplayer component...a dark horse contender for best way to spend your time online this summer."

Destructoid's Jim Sterling also liked it, describing the game as "the most robust, lovingly developed and authentic Transformers experience you could hope to get on a home console." If you've played the competition, you'll know that isn't exactly a high bar to clear, but worry not -- Sterling dishes out a healthy 8/10. It's pretty clear: Transformers fans are going to be delighted with War for Cybertron.