Transformers
Risk Review
MSRP: $30 U.S.
Released: June 2007
Risk is another of Hasbro's
classic games to get a revamp for the Transformers movie, and this time
you're duking it out against opposing armies on Cybertron instead of Earth.
Problem is, there's very few well-known landmarks on Cybertron, so how
do you divide up the board into enough territories required for Risk?
And therein lies my
main problem with Transformers Risk-- many of the territory boundaries
are arbitrary, and there are no underlying landmarks to distinguish one
territory from another. What's the difference visually between Perihex,
Vos, and Hexima State? The colors their territories are grouped in, and
that's it. I would REALLY have liked some sort of underlying landmarks,
like special-looking towers and buildings or other details that would have
distinguished the territories more. The designers did a very good job looking
up very obscure names for places on Cybertron though, they deserve a lot
of credit for that-- honestly, how many people are familiar with the Tri-Lorus
Loop or The Rad Zone? Primus and Unicron are two territories on Cybertron
in this game, though, which absolutely baffles me-- considering the depth
of Transformers lore knowledge required to know about some of these territories,
you'd think Primus and Unicron wouldn't be made just two more territories
on Cybertron, when one of them IS Cybertron and the other is a completely
different planet. In addition, the Cybertron pictured on the game board
is the "classic" Cybertron, now the "movie" Cybertron, which is a little
disconcerting considering we're playing with movie-style figures and heroes.
However, that aside,
this is a well-put together game. It does definitely play like normal Risk
for the most part-- with most of the main rules being present like gaining
troops at the beginning of your turn depending on how many territories
you occupy, and certain troop bonuses being granted if you control a color-coded
section of the planet-- but there are some pretty cool differences in Transformers
Risk. For one, each side has a "hero"-- either Barricade, Megatron, Bumblebee,
or Optimus Prime-- which rolls an eight-sided die instead of a six-sided
die for battles, inherently making them more powerful than average troops.
(If any of the heroes die, you can bring them back by sacrificing a few
normal troops). Each hero has a different special ability in vehicle mode
and in robot mode, making them even more advantageous in battles (though
some special powers seem to be more useful than others). The "normal" troops
themselves are pretty basic, with a normal Cybertronian robot standing
for 1 troop and a Cybertronian tank-vehicle standing for 3 troops (this
game is played with fewer troops than traditional Risk). All of the pieces
are sculpted excellently-- I just wish they had made different troop molds
for the Autobots and Decepticons-- the only difference between the sides
when it comes to how the troops look is just the color.
Another important difference
is that the complaints about incredibly long games of Risk have been addressed
in this version-- whoever controls the most territories at the end of 6
rounds wins the game, UNLESS there is a tie. In the case of a tie, whoever
controls the all-important Launch Pad territory in the middle of the board
wins, regardless of whether he or she has the most territories overall.
It definitely throws a wrench into the mix, as now only do you have to
compete for the most territories, you also have to put extra effort into
keeping the Launch Pad under your control, as well.
In Transformers Risk,
a few of the territories are also rather different-- two can rotate to
give the occupant access to different territories at different times, and
two other territories can slide open to reveal "Secret Factories", which
mass-produce a certain number of free units each turn, with the number
varying depending on how many units are already on the Secret Factory.
But if the enemy slides the territory back over the Secret Factory, than
all the units occupying the factory are crushed! You have to play one of
your must-coveted cards to rotate or slide a territory-- you don't have
to control that territory specifically, just one in that color-coded sector
to be able to do it. The cards are more coveted in this game because you
only get one a turn if you conquer a territory, regardless of how many
you've conquered. And they all have a special effect that you can use,
such as adding 1 to each die used when you are defending on a certain turn,
but you can only use that OR rotate/slide a territory, so you have to choose
carefully how to play your cards, much moreso than in traditional Risk.
Overall, Transformers
Risk is a great update to the game, and not just "Risk with Transformers."
The gameplay differences really do add to the game and make it a bit more
fun to play than traditional risk, though it still retains the essence
of the game. The simplistic board design is the only major thing I'm unhappy
about in regards to this game. If you at all like board games, buy it!
Fun: 18/20
Creativity: 10/10
Board/Game Pieces Design: 12/20
Extra/Modified Rules: 20/20
Game Balancing: 14/15
Depth: 14/15
Overall Rating:
88/100
Excellent
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