Transformers done right. Finally.
War for Cybertron stands head and shoulders above any Transformers game to date. The single player campaign is filled with references to established transformer lore that is sure to please most hardcore fans and the gameplay and story itself is compelling enough that even casual fans will enjoy it. Most people are aware of the setting and the game's place in the Canon timeline so I wont waste anytime explaining the plot.
TF:WFC is a 3rd person shooter and most of the comparisons you will hear relate it to Gears of War. The camera angles are similar and both are powered by the Unreal engine however there is no cover mechanic of any shape or form in WFC. Transforming is seamless and the ability to do it at any time introduces a strategic element to gameplay based on the various abilities your character has in vehicle form as opposed to robot form.
The weapons are well balanced with limited ammo, forcing you at times to juggle between weapons and your vehicle form to get past particularly dry parts of levels. Gunplay itself is fairly well executed, aiming is tight and you do get the sense that you're inflicting major damage on your target. There are zero puzzles and no platforming to speak of. As most of your objectives are very well defined and marked on your HUD, any acrobatic jumping or flying is something you might do to gain a strategic position during a fight, but in no way necessary to complete the game.
The game is completely linear, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but there is no open world element to speak of other than your decision as to which campaign to complete first. Both campaigns are fun and of comparable length, but I seemed to enjoy the Autobot campaign a bit more, probably just because of Peter Cullen's ever present Optimus voice.
On the whole the two single player campaigns are solid 8/10.
Aside from the transforming there's nothing new or earthshattering, but it executes everything well. The few annoying bits like repetitive enemies, (meaning not enough variety), Lack of real options in character choice (scout, soldier, leader play more or less the same way, just different special abilities and starting weapons) are all overshadowed by the things done well, IE, Story, Voice Acting, Gameplay, Appearance.
Multiplayer is where most people will spend the bulk of their time playing WFC. Escalation mode is similar to Horde mode and is a ton of fun, especially playing with friends rather than random folks. Only problem with escalation is that there is no upgrading and your xp doesnt transition to any other multiplayer game modes. It uses an unlockable door/weapon/health system that is similar to Nazi Zombies.
Team deathmatch is the real gem of multiplayer. Different classes and powerups and customization gained over time offer real strategic choices and variable gameplay. You never know what someone has equipped until they start smashing you with it. A slight tendency for occasional D/C's is irksome, but will probably sort itself out over time. Level design is balanced and in some cases clever, though you don't get much sense of difference between them in most cases. Action is very fast paced and frenetic, with generally a 2 second respawn timer you're constantly racing through the level to get into the fight which seems to be a constantly moving furball as opposed to camping and attacking.
Multiplayer is where the rubber meets the road and WFC stands up well against any other online shooter on the market, again its nothing new and groundbreaking but does everything solidly and most importantly its FUN. The only downside is the lack of appearance customization for Multiplayer, you're locked in to a set number of chassis appearances and cant mix and match elements, you simply pick one and apply a paint job from a very limited palette of colors.
Multiplayer 9/10
Recap:
Single Player 8/10
Multi-player 9/10
Good: Its Transformers. Smooth transforming mechanic, solid weapons, level design, story, voice work and soundtrack
Bad: Limited types of enemies get repetitive, single player classes play too similarly to make multiple playthroughs as rewarding as they could be, little appearance customization in multiplayer.