First off, it's probably best to answer some basic questions about this game that many people are likely to have before I get into the specifics of gameplay. Yes, this is one of those black-and-white pixel-y things that has about as much computing power as a game system from the mid-'70s-- and I may be a bit too generous with that comparison. It has some rudimentary game beeps and boops, but nothing more complicated than a couple muffled "Transform and Roll Out!" sayings from Optimus Prime. The game system has your basic Start/A/B/X/Y control buttons, a control pad, and you basically just hold down Start for a few seconds to turn the thing on and off. There's a very small button that you can insert the tip of a pencil or something into and push if you want to completely reset the game and change what you've saved (only one "profile" per game system). Still, it's $15-25 bucks for a video game, so you can't expect TOO much. What's unique about the handheld game-- and what earns it the "Shift Tech" name-- is that in some of the minigames, you actually pull apart and push in the edges to "transform" the handheld system, which in turn transforms your character in-game.
    A second thing that you must understand if you're leaning towards purchasing this-- DO NOT THROW THE INSTRUCTION BOOKLET AWAY. I cannot emphasize this enough. This game isn't so much one solid game as it is a collection of mini-games with a city map that allows Prime to drive around to various locations, unlocking more mini-games as he completes more and more and the story-- which follows a stripped-down version of the Season 1 storyline-- continues to unfold. However, no instructions are given for the minigames on-screen, and given that most of them are very different from each other, you'll be lost pretty quickly without your instruction booklet handy. Each mini-game is preceded and followed by a short cut scheme, which you unfortunately can't skip. (And no, except for the aforementioned "Transform and Roll Out!", none of the dialogue is spoken.)
    Following is a description of each mini-game, and a "Frustration Factor" rating of 1-5, with 5 being "crack the game in half" frustrating and 1 being quite enjoyable.

Teletraan-1 Database Game-- A simple, easy-going matching game where you match a picture of the character with either their alternate mode or one of their weapons. A piece of cake if you follow the series-- not so much if you don't. Frustration Factor: 1

Capture Angry Archer-- Drive forward from a side-on-view through the city, dodging obstacles and transforming now and then when you catch up to the Angry Archer to give him a few hits. It's sometimes hard to tell if you're going to hit an object or the Angry Archer, though, due to the game's pitiful 2 fps frame rate. Frustration Factor: 3

Rogue Robot Showdown-- Transform between your normal robot mode and a "robot on wheels" mode and punch and kick your way through a malfunctioning Sumdac factory. Frame rate problems crop up again, though the game gets pretty predictable after a try or two and after that I nailed this one easily. Frustration Factor: 2

Boss Battle vs. Meltdown-- Knowing when to block and when to attack is really all there is to it. If only all boss battles were this easy to figure out in this game... Frustration Factor: 1

Bumblebee Space Blast-- In this game, you're playing as Prime who's... playing against Bumblebee in a video game. 'Kay. Anyways, it's basically a stripped-down version of Asteroids. Destroy the asteroids and eventually the mothership, put up shields when you're being fired upon. Almost the easiest mini-game in the game. Frustration Factor: 1

Five Alarm Emergency-- This game is so easy, in concept, it really shouldn't have been a game. You go up to various floors in a building and douse the windows and door with flames before moving on. You have to smash the door down, and either a survivor will come or they won't. Either way, then you're up to the next floor. Besides being incredibly boring, the problem with this is that after a certain amount of time, if you haven't saved enough people you fail. And it's completely random if a survivor comes out or not, so in fact your success on this depends pretty much entirely on luck. Incredibly poor concept and execution. Frustration Factor: 3

Boss Battle vs. Lockdown-- This isn't so much a boss BATTLE as it is a boss RACE. Lockdown has stolen your axe and you have to chase him down and get it back. The problem is, due to the extremely low resolution and frame rate, it's hard to tell when a turn in the road is coming up, and when it does it's VERY hard to keep up after Lockdown-- and if he gets away from you, you lose and have to start over. It takes a lot of tries to get the hang of this one. Frustration Factor: 4

Robot Assembly Line-- A fairly simple matching game in which you have to match the heads to the proper bodies. (The shape of the connecting pieces are what gives it away.) Match so many heads to so many robots in a set amount of time and you're the winner. You may mess up a bit at first because it's a bit hard a few connector types apart, but it's figured out easily enough. Frustration Factor: 1

Target Practice with Prowl-- This is a really weird target practice game. Instead of aiming your axe with the directional stick at the targets set up for you, the targeting reticle bounces around the screen at an increasingly faster rate. And you have to hit ALL of the targets spot on with a very limited number of axes-- even one pixel off and you miss. Pretty frustrating. Frustration Factor: 4

Boss Battle vs. Blackarachnia-- Make your way up the side of a building, using closed windows as foot holds while you avoid robots and, eventually, Blackarachnia's web blasts. You never actually face Blackarachnia, though-- once you reach the top, you win. However, for a mini-game this is fairly long, and if you mess up just once, you have to start all over again. Frustration Factor: 3

Grimlock Grapple-- This is sort of like playing tug-of-war with Grimlock, though your grapple line that takes its role as the rope is very fragile-- pull just a bit too much or too little, and it'll snap right off. And you have to pull Grimlock quite a ways to beat this mini-game. Also, because the frame rate is so low, you have to react more in response to Grimlock's sounds than what he's actually doing on-screen if you want to get him to follow you. Frustration Factor: 5

Cave Breakout-- Finally, a nice break after that last hellish mini-game. Prowl, Sari, and Bumblebee have been trapped in a cave-in, and you have to use your axe to break the rocks and get them out. It's essentially Transformers Break-Out, where you have to bounce the axe off of Prime and into the rocks, back and forth, until all the rocks are gone, without letting the axe fall off the bottom of the screen more than a few times. Basic, but one of my favorite mini-games. Frustration Factor: 1

Boss Battle vs. Starscream-- This is where the low frame rate really, REALLY starts getting aggravating. Starscream swoops at you in several different manners, and if you don't time your attacks and blocks JUST RIGHT (usually by actually attacking BEFORE HE EVEN SHOWS UP ON SCREEN, the delay is that great), he takes away an obscene amount of health. Oh, and did I mention the fight is timed, as well? Brilliant. Frustration Factor: 5

Final Boss Battle vs. Megatron Part 1-- You hitch a ride on Megatron in helicopter mode and follow him through the city, dodging incomign traffic lights and signs so you don't get hit. It's rather long, however, and again the low frame rate and low resolution really hurts the otherwise basic gameplay here. You really have to be on your toes to avoid an obstacle before it hits you. Frustration Factor: 3

Final Boss Battle vs. Megatron Part 2-- Megatron takes control of the Sumdac factory and sends robots after you. The exact same as "Rogue Robot Showdown", just a bit harder. Frustration Factor: 2

Final Boss Battle vs. Megatron Part 3-- RAAAARGH. Take everything I said about the Boss Battle vs. Starscream and make it even more head-bangingly difficult. After 30 tries I still couldn't figure out how the heck to get Megatron down to even half health before the time ran out or he killed me. Good thing this is the last minigame in the game, because this is where I had it and gave up trying to play the game. Frustration Factor: 6 (Yes, 6. I violated my own rules for this one.)

    As can be seen from the above mini-game descriptions, this game's ridiculously low frame rate, combined with some ridiculously exact timing on some mini-games, low resolution, and just some poorly-done mini-games in general make this a hard recommendation for even the most dedicated Animated fan. With a few exceptions, it's just so much more an exercise in frustration than it is in fun. Spend your hard-earned money on something else.

Graphics: 1/10
Music: 2/10
Gameplay: 6/20
Storyline: 7/10
Level Design: 2/10
Cutscenes: 4/10
Controls: 6/20
Replayability: 3/10

Overall Rating:31/100 BAD

(Images taken from Hasbro.com.)

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