Software:Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)

From HandWiki
Beast Wars: Transformers
Developer(s)SCE Cambridge Studio
Publisher(s)Hasbro Interactive
SeriesTransformers
Platform(s)PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
ReleasePlayStation
  • NA: December 02, 1997
  • EU: March 01, 1998
  • JP: March 26, 1998[1]
  • JP: Script error: No such module "Date time". (The Best Takaramono)[2]
Microsoft Windows
  • NA: May 31, 1998
  • EU: 1998
Genre(s)Third-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Beast Wars: Transformers (トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズ) is a third-person shooter developed by SCE Cambridge Studio and published by Hasbro Interactive on December 5, 1997 for PlayStation and May 31, 1998 for Microsoft Windows. It is based on the Beast Wars: Transformers animated series,[3] specifically the first season, after the introduction of Airazor and Inferno.

Gameplay

The game allows the player to play as either the Maximals or the Predacons in a series of missions to sabotage the other side's attempts at gaining a tactical advantage in the Beast Wars.[4] There are six playable characters on each side, one unlockable by finding a stasis pod in a specific level and the other only accessible in Rescue missions, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. They all have both a health meter and an Energon tolerance meter that slowly goes down while in Robot mode (staying in Beast Mode slowly refills this meter); once this meter is empty, the player takes damage from the ambient Energon radiation in the air. If the player fails in a mission and gets the character killed, the character can be 'revived' by finding a mini game icon in that same level. The mini game allows the player to take control of Airazor or Terrorsaur to recover the fallen ally.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings38% (PS)[5]
Review scores
PublicationScore
EGM4.75/10 (PS)[6]
GameRevolutionC[7]
GameSpot5/10 (PS)[8]
4.7/10 (PC)[9]
IGN2.3/10 (PS)[10]
OPM (US)Star[11]
PC Gamer (US)28% (PC)[12]
PSMStar[13]

Beast Wars: Transformers received negative reviews. Critics were uniformly frustrated at the mechanic of transformers being unable to attack in beast mode, and being frequently forced to transform into beast mode in order to avoid dying from energon exposure.[6][7][8][10][12] GameSpot commented, "While this process does have a certain Power-of-Greyskull charm initially, taking damage every time you want to deal it out gets old fast."[8] IGN additionally said that the game looks like a first-generation PlayStation title, the mission briefings are excessively vague, and it is too easy to get lost.[10]

Crispin Boyer of Electronic Gaming Monthly agreed that the lack of variety in the terrain makes it easy to get lost, and criticized that the level designs and enemies are nearly identical whether playing as the Maximals or the Predacons. His co-reviewer Sushi-X felt the game was passable but was disappointed at the job it did adapting the cartoon, remarking that "It doesn't scream Transformers, it whimpers MechWarrior."[6] GameSpot found the targeting system difficult to the point of being crippling to the player, though they concluded the game to be "tolerable".[8] Game Revolution said that the terrain graphics are fairly impressive, but that the animations and the designs for the beast forms come across as a poor knock-off of the ones seen in the cartoon. He praised the use of sound to help the player locate enemies, especially those above eye-level, but found locking on to elevated enemies is cumbersome and leaves the player character vulnerable and opined that the game overall is "not worthy to bear the Transformers name."[7]

PC Gamer described the PC version as "just another sterile PlayStation port with a tacked-on license", deriding the targeting, the graphics, and the mechanic which forces the player to spend much of the time haplessly running from attacks in beast form.[12] GameSpot likewise commented that the PC version is just a straight port of the PlayStation version, with graphics that fail to hold up to contemporary PC releases even when 3D accelerators are used.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズ | ソフトウェアカタログ | プレイステーション オフィシャルサイト". Archived from the original on January 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180121101020if_/http://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/slps01076.html. Retrieved 2023-11-12. 
  2. ↑ "トランスフォーマー ビーストウォーズ（THE BEST タカラモノ）| ソフトウェアカタログ | プレイステーション オフィシャルサイト". http://www.jp.playstation.com/software/title/slps02208.html. [|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
  3. ↑ "Protos: Beast Wars". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (97): 46. August 1997. 
  4. ↑ "Beast Wars: Transform your PlayStation". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (101): 102. December 1997. 
  5. ↑ "Beast Wars: Transformers for PlayStation". Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191209014051/http://www.gamerankings.com/ps/196741-beast-wars-transformers/index.html. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Review Crew: Beast Wars". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Ziff Davis) (104): 121. March 1998. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Tony V (May 1998). "Transformers Minimize! Review". https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/33978-beast-wars-transformers-review. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Smith, Josh (February 24, 1998). "Beast Wars Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/beast-wars-review/1900-2546761/. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Smith, Josh (July 10, 1998). "Beast Wars: Transformers Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/beast-wars-transformers-review/1900-2538160/. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Douglas, Adam (January 16, 1998). "Beast Wars: Transformers". https://www.ign.com/articles/1998/01/17/beast-wars-transformers. 
  11. ↑ "Beast Wars: Transformers". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. 1998. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Williamson, Colin (September 1998). "Beast Wars: Transformers". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/98.html. Retrieved June 28, 2014. 
  13. ↑ "Review: Beast Wars: Transformers". PSM. 1998. 
  • Beast Wars: Transformers website at archive.org
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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