Transformers are going mobile with the new game from Glu Mobile. Come movie time on July 4th, cell phone owners everywhere will be able to click, download and play the next generation in Transformers games. For about the cost of a basic Transformers action figure, players can take on the Decepticons as Optimus Prime. TFormers recently met with Glu Mobile at their offices in San Mateo for a full working demo of their new game.

Like many of you we too were wondering what could a device like a cell phone really offer? The answer is A LOT. The people at Glu are on the cutting edge of mobile game development. It is easy to see why they were the ones Hasbro gave the license to. Drawing from a plethora of titles, game styles and new innovations in the use of the hand held as a controller. Glu has put together what they are calling one of the most innovative mobile games released yet.

Glu met with Hasbro about 10 months back. Hasbro recognized a game based exactly on the movie would not translate well to a game. So they allowed Glu to create a parallel universe to the movie' story. The story is still a race for the Allspark and the game uses certain locations that are present in the movie. However, the game follows Glu's updated version that lets the player race to the Allspark. Hasbro gave Glu that freedom along with continuous feedback on what they could do within this universe and not. This allowed Glu to create a more compelling story for the game. Because it is the player that is racing for the Allspark. The game actually takes them in and out of three different movie environments like the Hoover dam underground, and two other different scenes.

This is a "Typical Action Platformer" game. Our very first reaction is this is as good as a Game Boy Advanced title. Imagine 30 foot tall Mario Brothers taking on Decepticons with hand-to-hand combat, laser blasters, and transforming bots mixed in for a rough idea of what the game plays like. This is two dimensions of anti-Decepticon mayhem that totally surpasses anything we have seen on a mobile phone before. This is no maze pattern hack either. Glu has worked in a wide array of game levels, tricks, hidden assets, traps and two different possible outcomes to keep the player engaged in what is a true adventure of discovery that the player is in total control of.

This is rich stuff. Full color. Full screen. Full audio. With a very keen design and a brilliantly thought out set of controls utilizing the fewest keys taps possible. Glu presents the player with a miniaturized version of a game one would expect to see on their PSP, GBA, or other handheld console. Beautifully designed intro screens welcome the player. The game intro we saw opened with an animated display of Movie Bumblebee's fully 3-D rendered face. His robot mug looking back and forth fills the screen as animated text accompanied by synchronized sounds communicates your mission. The Transformers theme music, bleeps and thunks from the device speaker are clear and effective without sounding cheap. Even on the tiny 3-inch phone screen the sexy looking graphics load quick and are easy to see.

After the initial briefing on your mission, the player sees a matrix of 16 levels connected by lines that looks like something off of Star Trek. The player moves the colored dot along the grid to a level to play. The player is free to openly explore each level, as they are not required to complete one to play the next one. Once on a node, pressing the [OK] key opens a new screen with Optimus Prime positioned at the beginning of the selected level. In this demo level we are inside the Hoover Dam. It is a giant complex of sub-levels broken into a maze of walls, I-beams, pipes and obstacles that you and Prime will have to find your way through.

Moving around in the game is really great. Optimus Prime is not only easy to maneuver right off the bat it is also incredibly responsive. Using just a few keys. The player does not need to move their finger very much at all. Giving the game a more fluid and interactive experience. Using the [OK] and four direction keys, the game relies on this combination of button and visual queues to do just about everything. By reversing the job of the player from shooting to moving Prime around. Glu was able to manage a lot of what the robot does through automated set of actions and responses. One way was to give Prime an auto-fire mechanism that initiates when he's in proximity of an opponent. This allows the player to focus on maneuvering Optimus best for shooting and fighting it. Sounds simple? There's more than meets eye here. Here's a detailed description of how it works:

At a long range from a Decepticon, pressing the [OK] key starts attack mode where Optimus auto fires at the bot. Without the player aiming, the shots emit in a stream of auto-traced rounds at the Deception grunt robot. Meanwhile, the player uses the direction keys (up, down, left and right) to guide Prime closer and farther away from the opponent. When Prime moves in close enough, he automatically switches to a melee mode and starts punching. To even further enhance the hand-to-hand battle mode. An alternating glowing blue indicator shows up when the other bot is open. The player can tap the [OK] to throw an uppercut punch instead of the melee.

The designers at Glu didn't stop there. Optimus Prime is capable of a surprising number of moves and functions. He can run, walk, jump up to platforms and over other robots. He can fight too. He has the ability to punch, uppercut, dodge punches, block punches, and even juggle bots. Don't worry, Glu didn't forget about the Transforming. It is heavily incorporated into the game. In any mode Prime transforms to his alternate long nose truck mode by pressing the down key - up key returns to robot mode. He has some advantages and disadvantages in this mode. He can drive forwards and backwards. He can ram other bots to kill them. He can get into places that a 30-foot tall robot cannot. He can also go faster and jump as a truck. However he cannot defend himself. Glu designed the game so these added abilities would be needed at different times in the game.

That is not all. We saw just 2 levels in the demo. However, the "Transformers" game has the 16 levels, 5 boss fights - 2 of bosses are fought many times with gained abilities each round, a variety of Decepticon opponents and different night and day environments. In addition to the Hoover dam, the demo we saw showed another very rich rooftop level that is very impressive. Optimus can move down, up, over, around, under and between buildings with some very slick tricks that we don't want to spoil for you.

The game is not just Optimus Prime battling the evil Decepticons. Along with a unique story that makes this a true adventure. Optimus gets by with a little help from his friends. When Prime is in a fix, he can rely on his Autobot teammates to do special things. With the tap of a button he can summon assistance in different things. For example, in the demo we viewed. Prime is stuck at dead end. With nowhere to go but through the wall, he calls in Ironhide. Pressing a key summons Ironhide who drops down from above and busts down the wall for him. What a great guy that Ironhide is!

The other movie Transformers are in the game too. Each offering support in their area of expertise. Glu wanted to add the characters to the game in manner that would highlight the complimentary personalities that everyone loves about Transformers. They wanted some teamwork in the game to show the Autobots really do help each other. Ironhide helps with breaking down walls, other characters like Bumblebee act as navigator. He's the one that helps by showing you and Prime where to go.

You do not die in the "Transformers" game. Nor do you start over from the beginning every time. With a theme like "race for the Allspark," this is an adventure that rates your performance as you go. Each level is a maze of twists and turns that players are not penalized for taking time on. The game incorporates a performance meter to display your battle health throughout. The meter shows an Autobot symbol on the left, Decepticon on the right, with a color fade from red to purple in-between. A small arrow shows your status as you play. The more battles you win the closer the arrow moves to the Autobots and vice versa. Glu tells us they have enough levels and content that people have plenty of time to play and learn as they go.

How do you get the "Transformers" onto your phone? Glu wants to make it easy to get mobile games. They've assured us when the game comes out. People can email, text message, visit their site or your carrier' site and or download it online. Your phone bill will show a one time charge of $5-$7 (pricing TBD) for the game. You only need to download it once. The game is on your phone forever as long as you have it or remove the file. You can play "Transformers" as long as you keep your phone. No service is needed. No per minute charge. The game uses very little battery power so you can play without taking away from your talk time. Since the game is continuous, you can play it. Exit the game. Then come back and continue exactly where you left off. How cool is that?

No doubt we are blown away by Glu's Mobile "Transformers" game. Knowing a little about mobile games, this is definitely an impressive offering. It looks great. It plays great. It's cheap at roughly the price of a basic action figure. Most of all, its got real depth. We were hoping too see something flashy and that we have, but the people at Glu went well beyond that with a stellar combination of shoot-em-up gaming fun and a real adventure that keeps the player engaged with not one, but two missions. Honestly, we have to go along with Glu when they say this is a cutting edge mobile game. It doesn't get any better than this.

Many thanks again to Daren, David and Kathy for taking to time to demo the game for TFormers. If you are still wondering what your phone can do, take a look at the the intro on Glu Mobile's web site at http://glu.com/about/who.php to learn more.

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