Transformers

Transformers is a mobile action game released for the premiere of the film of the same name, in which the player takes on one of the Autobots and switches between robot and vehicle form depending on the situation on screen — fast travel as a car or aircraft, close combat in robot form with full fire from built-in weapons. This transformation mechanic was the game's main selling point and set it apart from typical mobile action titles of the time, which were usually limited to one fixed character form for the whole mission, whereas here switching forms was necessary both for progress and for survival.

Missions pitted the player against the Decepticons in urban environments as well as more open areas, with combat combining ranged shooting with close-range strikes after transforming into robot form and quickly closing in on the target, giving the player the feeling of truly controlling two distinct but connected forms of one character. The graphics tried to mimic the metallic look of the robots from the film and their characteristic details, while music and transformation sound effects gave the game a fitting sci-fi atmosphere, albeit within the limits of period phones with limited memory and performance.

The game came out in a year when the popularity of the Transformers film brand surged sharply after a long pause thanks to its return to cinema screens, and the mobile version benefited from this wave of interest just like a number of other licensed products released in the same period. The form-switching mechanic later appeared in other games derived from the same brand on other platforms. Today the title is interesting mainly as one of the first attempts to bring the robot-vehicle transformation to the limited controls of a keypad phone with no touch element whatsoever, which turned out to be a surprisingly functional and playful idea, albeit on a much more modest scale than later games on touchscreen phones offered.

Why play: For curious players interested in how the robot-vehicle transformation fit into the limited controls of a keypad phone with no touch element, albeit on a more modest scale.