Transformers: Human Alliance

Transformers: Human Alliance is an arcade rail shooter developed by Sega and released in 2013, based on the live action films. The game can be played with one or two players, and was available in a standard cabinet with a 42" screen, or a "Theater" version with a 55" screen. A sequel Transformers: Shadows Rising was released in 2018

Gameplay[]

The sole controls used in the game are the mounted gun turrets, which allow for continuous fire when the trigger is pulled. The screen display shows the player’s health bar in both bottom corners, and the colored targeting cursor that moves with the turret to show where you are aiming. Hitting targets continuously will increase the player’s combo ranking (You can chain higher combos by also hitting destructible items, such as barrels and crates.) In a 2-Player game, you can also trigger “Alliance Fire!” mode by crossing the targeting cursors, causing the accompanying Autobot to add their firepower to yours.

Certain opponents will appear with a green/red outline around them, which indicates an incoming, unavoidable attack. The enemy must be defeated before a certain amount of time passes, or else the player suffers damage. This is made harder when there are groups of enemies on the screen, as you have to judge which enemies to take out first. Players will also come across a blue-tinted opponent, indicating they are carrying an Energon cube. Killing this enemy will add the energon to your Autobot, also triggering “Alliance Fire!” mode, even if it is only a 1-Player game.

Co-op Battles will occur between you and one or more opponents. You assist your Autobot companion by shooting out targeted weak points on their opponent. If you succeed, the Autobot will be victorious, but if you fail they will be beaten back and player(s) will take damage. At the end of this event (which normally lasts at least three rounds) you will be graded on how fast you took out the targets, as well as increasing the “Friendship” between you and the Autobot. There are also Action Sequence events that have you avoiding oncoming obstacles or attacks, either by precise timing with the Start button, or moving the gun turret in the correct direction when prompted.

Boss battles also occur at the end of the stage. In these scenarios, certain weak points are highlighted on the enemy, indicating where to shoot to cause them damage and reduce their health bar at the top of the screen – If all the points aren’t hit within the given time, the player takes damage instead. These circled points also appear to indicate incoming attacks, which the player needs to destroy or else take damage. Your Autobot companion will also get into trouble during the battle, and if you successfully assist them it will increase your “Friendship” score. Once the boss’s health bar has been depleted, the battle ends, normally concluding the stage.

At the end of each stage, each player is given a grade on their performance – The lowest being E, the highest being “S” – and the "Friendship" meter is displayed showing how well the player(s) worked together with the Autobots in the form of a percentage. The higher the percentage, the more the player’s life gauge refills.

Synopsis[]

Stage 1: East America[]

Outside of the city, Bumblebee and NEST agent Vanessa escort the civilian Jake, who is carrying the Device with him. Jake’s call to Sam Witwicky is suddenly cut off, and numerous Decepticons begin to pursue them along the highway. Bumblebee arms the humans with guns to help them fight back, but even with the assistance of NEST and Optimus Prime, the three are cornered by drones under the command of Starscream.

The team attempts to flee, but Starscream forces them off the road by throwing a tanker truck at them. Outside of a nearby factory, Starscream once again corners them and attacks, the humans joining Bumblebee in fighting back. Saving their Autobot friend from Starscream’s grasp, the Decepticon grabs them briefly before they blast their way free, but in doing so Jake drops the Device which is promptly stolen by Laserbeak. They continue to fight off Starscream’s attacks until Optimus Prime shows up, plowing into the scheming Decepticon and ending the fight. Though Optimus threatens him, Starscream has already won; retrieving the Device from Laserbeak, they both depart.

Stage 2: England Central City[]

Investigating the epicenter of an earthquake, NEST is ambushed by drones under the Command of Soundwave. Vanessa and Jake, now accompanied by Sideswipe, respond to the team’s request for back up, taking on the numerous drones. However the enemy’s numbers soon prove too much to handle and Sideswipe is forced into a tunnel, with Soundwave himself giving chase. Despite some impressive (And in Jake’s case, stomach churning) acrobatics, Soundwave catches up to them as they reach a bridge, forcing the Autobot to take on both him and Laserbeak. With some human assistance, Sideswipe is victorious and the group finish crossing the bridge.

Moving at high speed through the city, they take on more pursuing drones from both the land and the sky. NEST headquarters radios in to confirm the presence of another Decepticon, at which point a tank rolls into view and fires a barrage of missiles. Sideswipe manages to survive the assault, the tank transforming into Brawler who promptly releases another volley of missiles. The team take out the missile turrets one at a time, but Brawler simply tosses Sideswipe aside, now focusing his fury on Vanessa and Jake. Eventually the hefty Decepticon is brought down by the human’s attack. Optimus Prime appears, demanding to know if the Decepticons are behind the earthquake, but Brawler succumbs to his injuries before Optimus can get any information out of him.

Stage 3: North Africa Desert[]

Vanessa and Jake accompany Optimus Prime to Africa, following the source of the earthquakes. When they arrive the town appears to be deserted, until they realize they have walked directly into an ambush. Despite the Autobot’s best efforts, the humans have to fend off everything from mechanical buzzards to hordes of creepy insects before Optimus helps them make their getaway over the city’s rooftops. But no sooner that they reach the outskirts of the city the ground rips up before them, and they are confronted by Shockwave.

Optimus transforms and flees, taking the humans into the desert while pursued by Shockwave and an army of drones. Before they can be overwhelmed, Sideswipe appears to add his support, but Shockwave eventually gets ahead of Prime, forcing him into a one-on-one conflict. With the humans help Optimus prevails, but Shockwave escapes before he can be finished off and they are once again forced to flee from the drones and the colossal and heavily armed Scorponok King. A hectic chase results in the beastly Decepticon being (literally) disarmed and brought down, Optimus impaling it with its own tail to finish it off. Sideswipe catches up to the group just as they recover the Device, which is revealed to be the cause of the global quakes, and Optimus realizes that Megatron has led them on a wild goose chase.

Stage 4: USA West Coast[]

The Decepticons have launched a massive assault on a West Coast city. As a squadron of NEST fighter jets accompany Optimus, Bumblebee and their human companions, Vanessa seems shocked at the carnage, but Jay seems unusually confident… Right up until parts start falling off their stolen Decepticon fighter. Optimus splits from the group as Bumblebee flies the humans through the city, taking out several other fighters sent to intercept them. Their good fortune doesn’t last however, when their squadron is attacked by Skywarp, forcing them deeper into the city. Optimus eventually rejoins them and, despite Skywarp’s impressive skills in teleportation, he is no match for the Prime and the human’s coordinated attacks and is easily killed. Or they fail and Skywarp escapes.

Optimus covers the rear as Bumblebee takes point into the depths of the city. They soon catch up with the Decepticon ship and are confronted by a goading Megatron. Prime demands answers for all that has gone on, but Megatron seems more interested in the humans and attacks Bumblebee’s ship. Optimus and Megatron start to duke it out as the warship launches missile after missile at Bumblebee’s fighter, causing Jake more distress with his weak stomach. Jay spots and entrance into the warship and the team blast their way inside for cover. After clearing out a wave of drones, Vanessa takes note of the energon nodes and they promptly go to work destroying them to cripple the ship. Before they can take out the last one, Starscream makes his reappearance, almost taking the heads off the humans before being blasted back into the node. The ship explodes, but Jay’s celebration is cut short by an abrupt transmission from Optimus, asking them to converge on his and Megatron’s position.

Stage 5: Canadian Frontier[]

Bumblebee and his human companions crash land somewhere in Canada, having followed Optimus’ signal. Instead of their leader, they find Megatron who gloats that Optimus is already dead. He then directs their attention to the nearby energon tower, and boasts that its power will win him not only Earth, but Cybertron as well… But not before he finally finishes off Jake and Vanessa.

Megatron gives chase both in the air and on the ground, and with the Energon tower interfering with Bumblebee’s capabilities, it is up to the humans to fend off the Decepticon leader as best they can. Things are made even more complicated when Megatron summons the other drones to attack, eventually corralling them. Brought to a halt, Megatron simply tosses Bumblebee aside and is all set to terminate the humans. Suddenly he is blasted away, and Megatron is shocked to see it is a very much alive Optimus, who vows to end Megatron’s plan. The two clash once again, Jake and Vanessa now able to add their firepower to the mix and together, the three of them bring Megatron to his knees and defeat him.

Before they can finish off Megatron, another earthquake shakes the whole area. Vanessa notes that the Energon tower has gone out of control, with Bumblebee adding that its power will destroy the entire Earth. NEST back up arrives in the form of Sideswipe and a squadron of troopers, and Optimus orders everyone to destroy the tower before it is too late. The threat is finally over, but Jay quickly notices that Megatron has made his escape. Optimus notes in a message that the battle with the Decepticons will continue, and that as long as they are on Earth, no harm will come to the human race.

Characters[]

Autobots[]

Decepticons[]

Humans[]

Vanessa
Jake (Jay for short)
NEST soldiers
Sam Witwicky (name was only said a few times by Jake)

Pets[]

Sam's Chihuahua (Mentioned)

Notes[]

Continuity notes[]

The game takes place between the events of Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon.
Though he makes no appearance throughout the game, Sam Witwicky is referenced twice in the game.
Vanessa works for NEST, and other soldiers from the group often assist you in-game.
Jake mentions Sam’s pet Chihuahua Mojo when confronted with the Ravage drones.
Megatron sports the head wound given to him by Optimus during the final battle in Revenge of the Fallen. He notes during the West Coast City stage that he wants to pay Optimus back for this wound.

Transformers references[]

The drones are all based off of existing Decepticons from the movie series. The only odd one out is the Motorcycle Drone, which shares some design cues from Revenge of the Fallen Arcee.
Brawler and Scorponok King’s appearancesare based off of their dead predecessors Brawl and Scorponok, respectively.
Soundwave attacks with tentacles like in Dark of the Moon, though his vehicle mode is not a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, but a generic design with the logo on the front.
Though this is not Skywarp’s first appearance in movie related media, it is the first time he has displayed the teleportation powers of his Generation One counterpart.
Optimus’ flight pack is based off of the design featured in Dark of the Moon, making this its first in-continuity appearance.
Throughout the game, various action scenes emulate those in the first three movies:
- During the highway chase, Bumblebee transforms and catches the players to avoid the tanker, similar to the highway chase in Dark of the Moon.
- Sideswipe taking out Brawler’s missile pods is similar to how Jazz takes out Brawl’s in the first movie.
- The chase through the desert with the Scorponok drones is similar to the desert chase in the first movie, albeit with far, far more Scorponok this time.
- Skywarp’s attack on the NEST fighter planes is similar to how Starscream took out the F-22’s in the first movie.
The Decepticon warship and fighters are all exactly the same as the ones in Dark of the Moon.
The energon tower bares a passing resemblance to the Sun Harvester from Revenge of The Fallen.

Real-life references[]

The game’s stages remain very generic throughout the game, only naming which country they reside in, but some of the cities are based off of real world locations:
- England Central City is clearly based off of London, and even features Big Ben and Tower Bridge.
- North Africa Desert features a village similar to the one in Egypt featured in Revenge of the Fallen. An unnamed pyramid also features in the background.
- USA West Coast is based off of Chicago, particularly with the Decepticon invasion, though Chicago is nowhere near the country’s West Coast.

Errors[]

Bumblebee talks! Though obviously added for the purposes of in-game dialogue (And possible rights issues), Bumblebee hasn’t spoken since the end of the first movie, and it is established he is still having issues with his vocal processor.
When Bumblebee swung off of Starscream's arm to get his gating gun, Bumblebee's arms went through Starscream's arm.
Though not necessarily an error, the presence of the warship and the fighters is very out of place in the continuity, as these particular designs match the ones hidden on the dark side of the moon during the third movie. Then again, there’s nothing to say that the Decepticons didn’t already have a ship lying around.

Trivia[]

It is never established exactly what the mysterious Device is that Jake is carrying, or where it comes from, or even how the Decepticons use it to cause global earthquakes.
The game’s official information sheet has conflicting information to what is in the final game; it states the objective of the game is to stop the Decepticons finding the AllSpark, which has already been destroyed, and it seems to mix up where in America the first and fourth stages are based.
The dialogue is incredibly cheesy, apparently a trait with many Sega made shooters.