I feel the same way as most of the people reading this. You’re here because you’re a late 20s to early 40s male who is scared that Michael Bay is going to ruin something else from your childhood. After the last two Transformers films, I can understand it. But think back to the first Transformers movie. While there were certainly some decisions I’d disagree with, like Optimus Prime having a mouth, for the most part Bay did a good job with it.

Looking at the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles teaser released yesterday (and seen below), the internet have fallen into one of three camps. The minority seems to be wholly optimistic of the project.

For now, we’ll call these the blissfully ignorant be it that they have absolutely no taste at all or they have never seen what Michael Bay can do to a franchise when left unchecked or had to watch Megan Fox attempt to act. Then there is the grouping I am currently in which is okay with the current trailer, excited about the positive possibilities but is still have trepidations about getting our hopes up too high because we know that never ends well when it comes to Michael Bay.

Part of what we loved most about the High Moon Studios entry into the Transformers world is that it was the original G1 canon most of us had fallen in love with during our childhood. Wanted to know what happened before Optimus and the crew made it to earth, you got the story finally from Transformers: War for Cybertron and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. But Activision has gone and done something that is not only unexpected but for some of the most hardcore of Transformers G1 fans… unwelcomed.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark will be a part of the G1 Universe but it will also be a part of the Michael Bay movieverse as well, with events taking place before Transformers Age of Extinction. That means that they are doing what could be the absolute worst offense when it comes to G1 territory by combining it with whatever Michael Bay is throwing at the wall this time.

A lot of people say I am too harsh when it comes to the Michael Bay films but after the first one, it just kept getting farther and farther away from the franchise I grew up on into a poorly put together film with sophomoric level comedy forced into it. In Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, we got Grimlock and the rest of his dinobot compatriots but now that could all be washed away because of the new Michael Bayified Grimlock that we were introduced to during the Super Bowl trailer.

There is no shortage of MMO options for the nerds of the world out there. There is fantasy RPG, Star Wars, futuristic shooters and everything else you can imagine. But what might be lacking is robotic car combat. Enter Transformers Universe.

We caught a glimpse for Transformers Universe last year at New York Comic Con but it was only character models. Though originally slated for 2012, we are just getting a first glimpse of gameplay in the new trailer and screens below. From what the trailer shows, Transformers Universe will be getting pushed back until 2013. As with any game delay though, we’d always rather see a game get the polish it deserves rather than be rushed out the door to meet a deadline and end up feeling unfinished or broken.

In the trailer and screens below, we get a first glimpse of the game in action. Character models are a happy medium between the hyper detail “futuristic” look of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron and the cartoonish nature of Transformers Prime. Bot on bot combat is shown, both in melee and firefights and there are some great shots of the vehicles going too.

Now it’s no secret that the Flickcast team are fans of the original G1 Transformers as well as Highmoon Studios’ work on the franchise with Transformers: War for Cybertron and Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. And when we have all seen the blockbuster abomination from Michael Bay, that doesn’t mean we are closed off to a reimagining of the robots in disguise. Most recently, this has come from Transformers Prime on the Hub network. And with all toy franchises, it was only a matter of time before a new game would be launched for it coming from NowPro.

The Flickcast has shown both the reveal of the game as well as the first gameplay foodtage for Transformers Prime: The Game. Now following the announcement that Transformers Prime: The Game will be a launch window title for the Wii U, we get to take a peek at some of the story for what Optimus and the rest of Team Prime are going to encounter. In the trailer after the jump, a new weapon is revealed that Megatron is intent on powering up to unleash devastation upon the Autobots and the rest of the world.

At the Nintendo press conference two weeks ago, tons of new details were given about the Wii U including the bundles the system would be packaged in and the games being put into the launch window. Yesterday, even more details were given to the launch lineup with 23 titles being confirmed for day one. This looks to be one of the largest launch lineups of any system in recent memory with lots of big name games in it.

Aside from bundling the Deluxe system with Nintendo Land to show off the Wii U’s unique capabilities, Nintendo made sure to back the system with the support of major well known franchises for both the casual and hardcore gamer.

For the Nintendo gamer, the system will launch with New Super Mario Bros. U which is the first time since the Nintendo 64 where a Mario game was made available day one for a home console.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron has been one of those games that true fans of the franchise can’t get away from. Between its great story and improved gameplay, it has a tight knit grasp on their attention until the big holiday releases start pouring out. And one of the reasons for that is the Dinobots.

In the game, the players take on the role of Grimlock as he makes his way to save Slag, Swoop and Snarl, though sadly Sludge doesn’t get the full attention the others do. Unfortunately, the Dinobots didn’t make their way into the game’s multiplayer at launch. The problem was trying to figure out how the characters would play considering how differently Grimlock controlled than other characters. But when the development team said they figured it out, the Dinobots DLC was created.

There are three total DLC packs shown in the trailer below. The first focuses on some of the game’s classic characters who make appearances. The second, most likely to be the most popular, shows the Dinobots in action. Finally, the third pack crams in G1 skins as well as the Insecticons. Each pack sells for $8.00 for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Check out the full trailer and more detailed list of the included Transformers after the jump.

Two years ago, gamers were greeted with the first true Transformers game. It wasn’t tied into a movie or one of the relaunched tv series. Transformers: War for Cybertron brought players into a third person shooter that is treated as actual G1 Transformers cartoon continuity. Transformers: War for Cybertron captured what nostalgic fans of the series loved about the original 1980’s toy line and show by giving a backstory to the tale that people had already become familiar with. Now, after being interrupted by a Michael Bay movie tie-in, the team over at High Moon Studios is able to continue their piece of the Transformers saga with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

Gameplay

As mentioned, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a third person shooter. Maybe it is the Activision pedigree or the experience that High Moon Studios has had with the franchise but the shooting is much tighter than it felt in the previous Transformers: War for Cybertron, which was already fairly good. There are subtle assists when taking aim but the control scheme, damage system and hit boxes around enemies all feel reasonable.

At Comic Con, The Flickcast got to get hands-on with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron’s multiplayer. Sadly we didn’t have the opportunity to bring you video from the event and show you what the latest version of Transformers multiplayer was bringing to the table. Someone at High Moon Studios must have seen our enthusiasm for the game because the new multiplayer trailer has been made available to the public for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

In the last Transformers: War for Cybertron, players were able to customize their character for multiplayer. Now, they are given tons more options to help give their own personality to one of four player classes including the Medic or the Titan. Everything from weapon choices to color schemes to tons of different armor pieces or heads to give a wider variety of bots on screen at once.

At launch, there will be 10 multiplayer maps (including one seen in the trailer after the jump which features a destroyed Metroplex-sized bot).

Players will also be able to receive a G1 Retro pack with a preorder from Gamestop.

Take a look below at a plethora of screen shots of the multiplayer as well as the full trailer. Stick to the Flickcast for more news and an upcoming review on Transformers: Fall of Cybertron due out for XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 on August 21st.

At Comic-Con in San Diego we got hands on with Transformers: Fall of Cybertron’s multiplayer modes and, thankfully, it was what to be expected. After a stellar single player campaign with Transformers: War for Cybertron and a solid multiplayer suite, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron brought back the thrills of the previous title with the added features players would expect.

The new multiplayer boasts hordes of customizable features to Transformers: Fall of Cybertron in both the physical appearance of the player’s character as well as their gameplay specifics. Players are given the option to customize three payloads of each of the four specific types of Transformers. This enables players to set themselves up for literally almost any combination of what might be in store for them.

We were able to get hands on with both the game’s team deathmatch and conquest modes. Deathmatch paired up with the traditional style of team versus team gameplay where the group that got to the most kills in the shortest amount of time was the winner. Unlike traditional third person shooters, the gameplay was much more chaotic because of the combination of the robotic combatants and their tank, car, chopper or jet forms. In conquest, players were pushed to capture specific points on the map similar to a domination mode from CoD.

For more on Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and all your SDCC12 news, check back right here early and often!

Clamoring for August 28th for Transformers: Fall of Cybertron to be released? High Moon Studios and Activision have heard the call, and probably saw the draught of games in August, and have pushed forward the release date of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron to August 21st. This will likely help the game as it pushes it earlier into a month that is traditionally lacking in new releases and further separates it from the deluge of games set to release in September until November.

To celebrate the new release date, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is also releasing a new trailer which can be seen after the jump. In it, Metroplex is prominently featured in stages of his transformation from a part of the city to the largest Autobot around that will hopefully give his compatriots time to escape the planet.

Check out the full trailer after the jump and stick to the Flickcast next week where we will be getting exclusive hands-on multiplayer access to Transformers: Fall of Cybertron at San Diego Comic-Con.