I can see how you could, and would likely be expected to, form an opinion based on the demo. Like you said, that is pretty much what they are for. We could kind of make a different version of your apple analogy. What if the demo is like the outside part of a very tasty crème filled pastry? It’s part of the same pastry but doesn’t taste nearly as good as the middle. You may reject the pastry based on that initial taste and never get to the yummy goodness inside. I understand why game developers would want to save a lot of the good stuff for the full game, but if the demo doesn’t entice you to go further then it may have not served its purpose very well. And that would be the developer’s fault. Unfortunately the player would end up missing out. I hope FoC won't end up being a "pastry" for some people.

EDIT - I know that this analogy may not apply perfectly.....its just kind of my brain rambling. It's reasonable to assume that the rest of the game (in it's core mechanics, basic feel, etc) will not differ too drastically from what we've been given. It may have some very cool parts but one may not like the rest.

 

But the abilities are essential to the core gameplay, and your complaint about fighting enemies again brings up the problem of only having played the most basic levels with the most basic abilities. I'll break it down a bit for you.
Bumblebee; No ability, basic shooter.
Vortex; Shockwave can knock a few enemies back, but still a basic flying shooter
Jazz; Grappling hook allows you to zip to a new place if you take fire and snipe.
Grimlock; His sword and shield can smash enemies and block attacks, and then the flamethrower, etc.
Optimus; Airstrikes can take out huge squadrons of enemies.
Megatron; He has the hover slam so he can, primarily, jump up and crash down on enemies with a powered fist.
Swindle; Same as Jazz
Cliffjumper; His cloak allows you to sneak up close to enemies and pull his awesome melee decapitation.

Anyway, the point is, the levels we DON'T get offer unique ways to destroy enemies, and that's just solving one of your issues.
As for the dull-and-boring enemies, the levels we get do not introduce unique enemies. For example, Jazz has the wall-crawlers, Optimus has the giant four-legged tanks, Cliffjumper has the Guardians, etc. And the Preorder promo at the end of all the levels (Speaking of which, why can't you skip that?) shows a clip of Vortex shockwaving one of those gargantuan white Autobots, so that means we can fight those monstrosities.
And the reward for enemies is the shards, which is used as currency, which is used to buy upgrades, T.E.C.H., open containers, etc.
As for the AI, it's a MAJOR improvement over WFC. It's very obvious if you play WFC at all.

 

You know, FOC is everything I expected: just pure awesome. I only played for an hour, but the demo will get heavy use from me this weekend. I'm pretty horrible at the game (same with WFC) but it's still downright enjoyable.

ArizonaCon on xbox live if anyone wants to join me.

 

Ok, heres my impression from the demo:

First of all, im pretty much a PC only player, so playing the demo on PS3 showed me what alot of peoples complains were with WFC - that werent really that present in the PC version.

First of all, its aparent to me that everyone - expecially me, moves alot more clumsy on PS3, seeing how the controller lacks the accuracy that comes with mouse and keyboard. This probably also is a reason for a few balance issues, as weapons that require aim are harder to use and weapons that dont require aim are more effective like that. Also explains to me why people have had a problem with bunny hopper on consoles, a tactic that simply wouldnt work on the PC cause you can easily keep an aim on them.

Also, the graphics on PS3 FOC are horrible, I first wanted to check if its my graphic settings, but then I remembered that PS3 games do not have graphic settings. Anyways, WFC looked better on PC then FOC does on PS3 and im really glad the PC gets enhanced textures.

Overall, the loss of the double jump is not as devastating as I first thought, seeing how that one jump brings you higher into the air that it did in WFC. The dashing ability and the sprinting also adds alot of depth, expecially dashing - I cant wait to see what kind of an effect that ability will have on the gameplay on PC.

Im not gonna make a comment on balance or anything as of now, seeing how I suck too much on PS3 to propely judge that.

The character customization is pretty cool, however, I dont like how the color selection works....

 

so far, so good.

i know i complained earlier because how different it is and how the scientist turns have slowed down, but i guess i could tolerate that.

but i stand corrected. ignore what i mentioned before. the more i play it, the more i'm liking it. i'm finding that the sprint and dash and the tumbling are useful maneuvers as well as with the single jump. i'm enjoying the game more with the absence of the bunnies. although i'd gotten used to the double jump, the absence of it really discourages players jumping around too much in the battle field. if you're a scientist i supposed, you could transform to alt mode, then re-transform to robot mode. it still works out. but i'm starting to enjoy the sprint more. i could easily run to a spot when i'm needed or to take down an opponent.

i need to play the game more to see more of the melee mechanics. the weapons i've yet to see them more effective, but so far, i've already taken down scouts, leaders, and soldiers with the scientist weapons. further down the line, i'd like to see the gear shredder in action once i unlock it.

my real only wish now is if they can just bring back the barrell roll for the scientists. and also, i still would love a much wider options for the color. if i wanted to have my character jet black or white, i'd like to be able to do so.

i'm starting to score points with the scientist and the fact that i could use other chassis is a lot of fun lol. just a few minutes ago my kills with the scientist are starting to be more than my deaths. all in all, if they only bring back barrell roll for the scientists, it's shaping up to be a great game.

 

Wrong wrong wrong, I have a high end PC that I built myself, WFC looks exactly the same on the PC as it does on the xbox 360, so I already know you're lying right there. The demo is just under 2 GBs, that is the limit that microsoft allows, the full game will be more polished. I did not have any problems with textures loading, I played the demo on my 60 inch LCD and it looked amazing. the color selection will be upgraded in the full game.

i'm sick and tired of some people saying the demo is not good. How many demos out there offer single player missions and multiplayer? Mass effect was the last one to offer that. I love the demo so far, it's nice to play vortex's level and experiment with every gun in the game. The upgraded path blaster is amazing.

 

Wow it really seems like everyone is enjoying the demo to certain extents so far.................

 

Read again before saying that im lying. I said the FOC demo looks worse than WFC did on PC. Im well aware that WFC looked the same on all platforms.

 

another thing that i really really liked... they're not bouncing anymore like balloons when hitting others.

 

Well first people are entitled to say they don't like something. Second I think most people that don't like the demo are mostly coming from their dislike of how MP has changed. Here's the thing if you loved WFC mp and thought, outside obvious balance issues, that damn near perfect, you'll very much hate the new mp.

 

  I agree entirely, and I also suck in WFC, but I'm not that bad in FOC. For some reason, I ROCK (usually), even as a Destroyer!
All you need to do is just take advantage of the dash. One time today I was surrounded by about 6 enemies in MP, and I escaped with my life because of Dash.

 

Downloading this now.

 

It's cool that they periodically tweak gameplay, to have a better balanced release game, but it's frustrating when shit that worked earlier isn't doing thee trick no mo.
But really, I'm enjoying the demo very much, and am that much more happy that I pre-ordered this game.

 

I'm saying this a lot today, but I agree.
I love the demo and look forward to the game. Not much I dislike, unlike some people here.

 

man I am really disappointed with the console graphics for this. I don't remember wfc being so grainy, but I only played it for a little on xbox after I stopped playing on pc when the multiplayer died there.

oh well, just secures that I'm buying the PC version again. hopefully this time they keep the hacks and glitches out of multiplayer for a more enjoyable experience.

 

I honestly am enjoying it for what it is and i dont understand why people say that the graphics are worse than wfc i think it is way better (not that wfc was horrible). Sure the gameplay has changed a bit but I honestly think it was for the best. And sure there isnt much color available currently but thats because its a demo

 

I take back a lot of what I said about the Destroyer class. I just unlocked some of his weapon upgrades (the ones available in the demo) and installed them. Increased rate of fire for the Riot Cannon and decreased reload time for the Thermo Rocket Launcher; those were some of my primary complaints about those weapons, and after installing the upgrades my performance immediately and noticeably improved.

 

I'm on Split Lip's side, not for his opinion of the game since I haven't played it yet, but he's the ONLY ONE in this thread actually trying to critique the game in an unbiased, and fair manner. It just shows how dense most fans are, in that they just cannot seem to critique a game due to their bias, whether they consciously realize it or not. If any of that sounds, harsh, it's unfortunately true...not just for transformers fans, but ANY fans of ANY fandom. I've learned years ago that it's a good thing to be able to step out of a fandom and REALLY critque something for what it is, and not being afraid to tell it how it is.

The fact that he says he does not like it, and the fact that he actually makes good, informed points about it is enough for people like me, who are looking for well informed, "educated" reviews to determine what is worth spending money on or not. I for one would HATE to read a review that said a game is awesome, then put 60 dollars on it, and only to realize the game is a POS because that reviewer couldn't review a game worth a damn.

As for what's a 3PS game that is REALLY good that changes up the shooter formula? Try the amazing Vanquish, or any of the Ghost Recon games on the console, like Advanced Warfighter, Advanced Warfighter 2, and Future Soldier. Hell, even the original Gears of War was great when it came out with it's cover system.

What those games do is that they are MORE than just "running around and shooting guys." The core gameplay throws in a ton of tools that allow you to do work in it. Vanquish has the boost and bullet time system, and it also has a traditional cover system. It's just an amazing game that NEEDS to be played if you're interested in 3PS games. The Ghost Recon games has squad and squad orders mechanics, as well as tactical functionality with the futuristic Future Force Warrior system being a core functionality in the gameplay.

In comparison, based on what Split Lip is saying, FoC is just that...running around and shooting people. Jazz hook and Metroplex are NOT core gameplay mechanics...they're gimmicks. I cannot stress enough that Core gameplay mechanics are things that are in EVERY part of the game, not only in specific parts and nothing else. Pare that down, and all you really have is just shooting people with guns. No cover system, no advanced tactical features, no crouch, no prone, just running and gunning.

Now then, that's not a bad thing. I for one don't mind. I'm the kind of gamer that appreciates having simple games, and having complex games. But I just wanted to express how much I understand Split Lip's stance here, as someone who also appreciates critical evaluation of stuff.

 

Well I played on PC the majority of the time for WFC. Everything was fairly crisp and textures were nice and smooth. Now I try the PS3 demo and it looks literally like a grainy ps2 game to me. That's pretty disappointing for a next gen system, and why I'm just going to go PC again and hope they include higher resolution settings to eliminate the problem.

Dude, it's not worth it. The fandom was raging already when people were discussing early issues with what HMS was stating would/wouldn't be included in FOC back in early february or whatever. This community is so protective of their franchise they get butthurt when someone looks the wrong way at their optimus prime. You know what you do? Just ignore it and speak your opinion anyways, regardless of where you stand. I figure if people are gonna shit on what I type anyways, it might as well be for my honest opinion and not just trying to agree with people to make forum buddies.

That being said, whether I'll end up agreeing with split lip or not in the end, I'll reserve til I'm done playing through campaign and a couple hundred hours logged in multiplayer. If I still come to the same decision as him, great. If not, oh well. But I too gotta give the guy props for stating his honest opinions in a angry swarm of transfans.