Botcon 2011 Day 3 Linkfest

Day 3 of Botcon 2011 has concluded in Pasadena, California and it seems to have been a good day with panels from Hasbro and Activision among others. The Hall of Fame ceremony was held with Beast War's Waspinator revealed to be the fan choice for inductee. Also lots more Transformers toy pictures from all eras and upcoming exclusives. As was with Day 1 & 2 post, if you see a link, probably worth clicking.

Hall of Fame Goodie Bag
A look at the freebies given to those that attended the Hall of Fame ceremony. Nothing major, just advertisements and the like but worth a moment to click through.

Hasbro Panel
Lots of info on the next six months or so of toy releases that Hasbro has in the pipeline. Hit the link for specifics but a few highlights include Ironhide getting a G1 inspired red repaint, a Cyberverse Battle Pack with Bumblebee and Barricade that was inspired by the D.C. police accident with Bumblebee, and Generations line will continue. As for as Kre-0, will be 28 "Kreons" at launch which is sometime this Summer. Transformers: Prime will be released on 12/1/11 with Deluxe Cliffjumper, Voyager Optimus Prime, Voyager Bulkhead, and others. Read More »

Botcon 2011 Day 1 & 2 Linkfest

The official Transformers Convention, called Botcon, is going on this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, California from June 2nd to June 5th. The convention is similar to a comic book one only it is about all things Transformers with dealer rooms, panels and more. Expected panels include most of the voice cast from Transformers: Prime, Hasbro introducing their TF: Prime toys and upcoming plans and Michael Bay accepting his entry into the Transformers Hall of Fame. I wouldn't even be surprised if he shows up with exclusive clips that sadly the rest of may not get to see.

Sadly I could not afford to go but luckily other Transformers sites could and they have posted lots of pictures and videos from the first two days. Below are those that grabbed my attention especially Kre-O which is bigger and better than expected. In addition get a first look at the Transformers: Prime toys, info on the upcoming TF MMORPG, lots of galleries, look at the Hall of Fame displays, and lot more. If you see a link, probably worth clicking it.

Kre-O Transformers Gallery
Hasbro's new answer to Lego. If the large gallery at the link is any indication, the result could be pretty awesome. My favorite aspect is the TF version of the Lego mini-figs, especially the Botcon exclusive Optimus Prime. Taking a page from Lego, human size creations have also been built for display purposes. Based on the images the release date for the line is July-August 2011 and will not just be based on DOTM but also Generation One.Read More »

Worldwide Transformers MMO Planned

A while back a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) based on Transformers was announced by China's NetDragon that was planned only for the Asian market (Japan, China, etc). According to Joystiq, the rest of the world will get a Transformers MMORPG to play thanks to the United Kingdom's Jagex. The only real bit of information is that Hasbro has signed an agreement to create the game for North America, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand for launch in 2012. According to Kotaku, they learned via Jagex's PR department that the game will be "partly on Transformers Prime ...though is said the feature characters from Generation One and other Transformers universes. Past that no information was provided so questions like how it will be implemented, story, and so forth will have to remain unanswered for now. I get a sneaking suspicion that the recent DC Universe Online game will help provide the template on how the game details will be worked out. (via TFW2005, thanks to Sahara for link)Read More »

Hasbro Details Video Game Plans

Hasbro held its "Investors Day" conference call that highlighted some of their upcoming Transformers related projects for the next year or so. TFormers provided the highlights of the call. Many of them we already could guess with a toy line for Dark of the Moon and the "Ultimate Transformers Experience" theme ride that is being built for Universal Parks with Singapore debut of 2011 and Hollywood in 2012. The conference call also verified that three video games are planned around Transformers.

One of them is Transformers Online, an MMORPG that is currently limited to China and other countries in that region for a 2011 release but may be ported for other countries (which ones not detailed). Activision is also working on Transformers: Dark of the Moon game for release around the time of the movie. For those that found the movie related games lacking will be pleased to know that War for Cybertron 2 is scheduled for 2012 release. Thanks to NHLfan for the link.

TF: G1 Awkening Review

Kotaku.com has posted a quick review of the iPhone game Transformers: G1 Awakening that was released a few weeks ago. Main reason for bringing this back up though is Glu has released a free demo version of the game to give you a chance to decide if its worth your $5. Click here to learn more about the free version.

Loved
Fan Service – Anyone who holds the original Transformers as the pinnacle of the franchise is in for a treat here. The game looks and sounds like it fell right out of 1985, with the transforming sound, original character designs, even the bios you used to find on the back of the toy boxes. Best of all? The battle animations, which render the opposing characters in full 3D, and for an iPhone game, look great.

Autobot Strategist – This insistence on being a true Transformers experience carries over into the game design, and actually works in the title's favour. You're only ever in control of a handful of units at any given time, and each unit is normally a specialist, so it really pushes your tactical thinking. Ratchet is the game's only medic, for example, so you need to think carefully where you're going to send him, as you can't just build another one to complement him. And if you do need to call in reinforcements to swell your ranks a little? Well, Autobot city Metroplex is always on-hand to serve as a mobile base, able to call in reinforcements like Ironhide, Sideswipe, Prowl and Grimlock.

Hated
It's A Mobile Game – Awakening is a port of a 2008 mobile phone game, and it shows. Glorious battle sequences aside, the game's presentation is poor, especially the animation of units on the main battle screen, where in robot mode the characters don't even move. They just shuffle around, legs immobile. For a license like this on a more powerful platform like the iPhone, it could have done with a little extra work.

Transformers G1 Awakening Released

Transformers G1 Awakening has officially been released for iPhone and iTouch as of February 25th. The game is $4.99 and seems to involve an Advance Wars style gameplay of using many G1 characters to try and conquer the enemy.

Here is a description of game play from Know Your Mobile:

Moving your units around the grid-based map is simple enough; you merely select a robot and you’re shown which tiles he is able to move to in that turn. Tapping one of these will cause him to slide gracefully into position (sadly there’s no walking animation to speak of). Some robots have alternative modes which allow faster movement – cars and planes, to name but two – but when transformed into these vehicles they are unable to defend themselves.

Combat is a matter of getting your robot alongside an opponent and tapping the attack option. The result of each encounter rests on a surprisingly wide range of factors, including terrain, proximity of allies and – of course – the strength of each unit.

Dominating the battlefield and taking down your rival is merely one facet of G1: Awakening’s game play; you’ll also need to acquire the power source Energon in order to perform other tasks. For example, some of your units are capable of calling in allies, but to do this you need a certain amount of Energon Cubes in reserve.

Click here for new screenshots that show off many of the characters in the game including Metroplex, Blaster, and Trypticon. If you’re not sure if worth the money, below are a few reviews.
Know Your Mobile (4/5 stars) | Touch Reviews (overall positive) | IGN (8.5/10)
Click here if interested in purchasing the game.

Unite for Universe, TF iPhone Trailer, and TF Hats

A little mini-link fest with new images of Unite for Cybertron images, trailer for Transformers G1 Awakening for iPhone and new TF hats.

Unite for Cybertron Gallery
Click the link for five images that show off the currently Japan exclusive toys based on Revenge of the Fallen. Optimus Prime is essentially the Voyager version with Jetfire accessories to form Power-Up Prime while Megatron is a repaint of Voyager Megatron in his G1 colors.

Transformers G1 Awakening Trailer
Below is the trailer for the game that Glu Mobile is releasing for the iPhone at the end of February. No indication of price. The game features class G1 characters in a playing scheme that reminds me of Advance Wars.

Transformer Hats
Below are two images of new hats for Transformers that were seen at the 2010 Toy Fair in New York that are rather unique in design. No idea when they will be available or through who but something to keep an eye out on later in the year.