Transformers: The Game is actually two games, or playable twice from each side, as an Autobot and again as a Decepticon, which gives modest depth to it all but only thinly disguises the facts that Transformers doesn't particularly excel as an action game nor as a driving game -- for those dwelling beneath a slab of granite, these "robots in disguise" can "transform" from a vaguely conventional vehicle to a three-story, heavily-armed, walking automaton. In neither form, however, do these Transformers convey and sense of weight; as cars (and a couple of flying craft), they ping and pong around like matchbox toys, and as robots, their wonky, seemingly arbitrary auto-target lock makes them about as threatening and sure-sighted as an A.D.D. waif burdened with a laser cannon meant to be bolted to something sturdy, like a giant robot.

Beside which, anything of consequence worth shooting at invariably has a shield, so it's best played as a two-button game of fisticuffs, er, fistiU-joints, robo a robo, where you just walk (stomp) up to guy and throw down a mechanized beatdown. On the upside, all those other things, the things of little consequence, aka "everything else," blow up spectacularly, which feels good (but does little) or even great, as when playing as a Decepticon, because that's, like, your job.

And it should be noted that the Wii version of Transformers does afford a much better auto-lock-on-target than that found on the PS3 and 360 versions as its targeting is guided manually (as opposed to push a button and hope) using the Wii-mote, so "semi auto-lock," but still with a sense of randomness as it picks the innocent taxi cab near the kneecap of the intended target rather than the intended target. Besides which, the Wii-mote, along with some "Wii-wag" fight and swipe gestures, is also used to manually adjust the game-camera view with edge-of-screen finessing, which is totally unwieldy on its own an near useless when trying to both aim and manipulate your view of the action simultaneously, so that's a wash. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation3 versions at least have the decently to allow for independent camera-view control with the right thumbstick. Too bad the game doesn't have the decency to provide one single usable camera angle to begin with.

Regardless, you'll soon realize that is just a cookie cutter game with great looking robotic goliaths that basically drive (or fly) around, stand up, beat up, (lather, rinse) repeat. It's the same old, maddening movie-based same-old; another action hero game of wander and bash and "didn't we just leave this party?"

Invariably, hardcore Transformers fans are going to forgive The Game its flaws, because there is huge wealth of Transformers kitsch in it too -- "more than meets the eye," as it were. Unfortunately, what does meet the eye is pretty bad. Oh, and word to said fanboys: Optimus Prime is a wimp.

TIP: Enter Down, Up, Left, Right, Right, Right, Up, Down, as a code in the Campagin/Bonus Features/Credits menu to unlock all mission in the Wii and Xbox 360 versions Transformers The Game. Enter Down, Down, Up, Up, Right, Right, Right at the main menu of the PS3 version to unlock the Generation 1 skin on Optimus Prime.