Transformers is one of the more graphically impressive games on the PS2. Levels, called drop zones, are giant and feature an amazing draw distance. This is readily apparent during the Amazon drop zone when you can scale the side of a mountain and survey the entire drop zone. You can see Decepticon drop ships zooming around the area, the giant light columns indicating where Space Bridge portals are and even the glowing areas that show were Minicons rest. What makes this even better is that you can leave the mountain and reach anything you can see. The only drawback is that the detail comes at a price of frame rate. Though it is not a persistent, game-breaking problem there is some blur and slowdown that pops up when the action really picks up.
Character models are just as slick as the environments they play in. Animation if fluid, especially when transforming between vehicle and robot modes (a change that is accompanied by the satisfying 'transform' noise we all remember). There is also an amazing amount of detail on characters that are not centerpieces in the series or central to the game's story.
Sound is a coin flip. While the game features Gary Chalk and David Kaye, the actors who portray Optimus Prime and Megatron in the show, stand-ins supply all of the other voices. Not to knock the developers or the voice actors, both of which did a great job, but hearing the 'real' Optimus next to a 'fake' Red Alert just makes the stand-ins stick out like sore thumbs. Some of the stand-ins, like Red Alert, sound like they are trying a little too hard to sound like their cartoon counterpart.
Sound effects and music are great -- especially the music which features more than a few nods to the original Generation One theme song. Most of the time the game is eerily silent, but once the action starts so does the music. Music is accented by laser blasts, missiles firing and explosions of every type.
