• Completed
& Reviewed by Neil Collins
Here's game that seems to have had the entire C64
gaming world baffled. The Activision release of
'Transformers: The Battle to Save the Earth' has been a
game I've tried to crack for months, but with no manual
or help online it's been a difficult challenge.
The
game has a great intro sequence which makes you think
that the game is going to be amazing, but unfortunately
it is very weak despite the large colourful graphics and
animated sequences. It's simply just a boring shoot-em-up
where you position a crosshair on the screen and fire at
the waves of Decepticon enemies. Each location has a
different backdrop where you can deploy your Autobots
ready for action. The locations sometimes have animated
creatures to watch, depending on the success of the
enemy against your defences. After hours of boring
blasting and repairing your Autobots, the battle ends
and your success is judged by how high your score is
compared to the enemy. If the difference is negative
then you lose. If it's positive then you win the game.
It's a truly terrible game to play and it's virtually
impossible to beat without cheating. The large graphics
desperately try to cover up the shocking game that lies
beneath them.

The End.
HOW WAS IT COMPLETED?:
After months of tinkering, I found out how to poke the
enemy score. I set it to zero every time it rose too
high.
SO WHAT HAPPENS?:
There are four variations on the ending. The differences
being the final ranking which depends on how many more
points you scored than the enemy. The highest ranking is
first class (followed by second, third and fourth). The
ending is simply the single screen that you see when you
fail to beat the Decepticons, but this time you get a
medal displayed at the side of the picture of the
Autobot. The text below the final scores reads 'ENERGY
SURPLUS XXXXX (the difference between scores), POWER
PROTECTORATE AWARD, FIRST CLASS. F1: PLAY AGAIN'.
The game ends and you can restart by pressing F1. I
reached straight for the reset button!