Transformers Devastation Is New Action Game By Bayonetta Creators

Platinum Games, the developers of Bayonetta, and Activison have teamed up once again to provide gamers with an action-packed, melee-focused title centered around G1 of Hasbro's popular Transformers called Transformers: Devastation.

The game was recently confirmed to be in development after it leaked courtesy of Best Buy, as noted over on NeoGaf. The game will see players take control of five of the Autobots as they battle against the Decepticons. Optimus Prime, Bubblebee, Sideswipe, Wheeljack and Grimlock are all playable.

The objective will be to stop Megatron from harnessing the power of Earth's energy as he attempts to cyberform it using plasma energy.

Some screenshots were let loose courtesy of Pure Xbox, showcasing the Destructicons in action and Optimus Prime wielding an axe and his sword, blasting through Decepticons like it was nobody's business. The core of the game looks like it focuses heavily on melee attacks, but some of the screenshots show Megatron and Bumblebee shooting their iconic blaster rifles. This gives the impression that maybe players will be able to utilize projectile-based weaponry to lay the smack down on Decepticons during battle. Many of the series' voice cast will also return, with Peter Cullen voicing Optimus Prime and Frank Welker voicing Megatron and Soundwave.

Part of the appeal of this newest game is that it goes back to Gen 1 or G1 of the Transformers multi-verse. Previously, High Moon Studios worked on the Transformers games set within the Cybertron universe that were based on the comics, and one of the DLC's for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was a G1 Optimus Prime that had fans going crazy for more. This was heightened by a scene recreation from the animated movie featuring Stan Bush's “You've Got The Touch”, as featured in the trailer below.

That trailer still gives me goosebumps.

Later on Activision published the cross-over game Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, which featured Michael Bay's movies and High Moon Studios' Cybertron property interacting with each other. It didn't go over too well, even though once again it featured brief appearances from the G1 Transformers.

Well, now that Transformers: Devastation has been confirmed to take place on Earth and feature the G1 Transformers from the popular cartoon back in the 1980s – particularly the art-style from Nelson Shin's 1986 movie – gamers are once again excited about the potential of the title.

Given that Platinum Games is at the helm, it's possible that the game might turn out better than previous licensed-based property that Activision has put out recently. Platinum did work on the Avatar: Legend of Korra game but it was received with middling fare.

Based on the screenshots it's impossible to tell exactly how big this game will be or if it's going to live up to the standards set by High Moon Studios with Transformers: War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, but it's definitely safe to say that there's a lot of excitement circulating this new game.

While Activision won't be hosting their own E3 press conference this year, they will be in attendance, so don't be surprised if this game shows up in some additional capacity at this year's big event. Transformers: Devastation will feature various levels of customization, melee moves, counter-attacks and special abilities and is expected to arrive for the Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and PC.