Activision has inked a deal with Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox to lend their likenesses and voices to TRANSFORMERS: THE GAME. The title ships June 19, 2007, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS and PC.
"Having a sound-alike or generic look-alike for (LaBeouf's character) Sam would not have had the same impact or given the player the same level of impressiveness as getting the real thing. The same holds true for Megan Fox's character, Mikaela Baines," said Activision's Daniel Suarez, the game's exec producer. "All of these elements help weave the illusion that the game is really an extension of the film and intellectual property, and having them all synched to one another only benefits the end user."
Based on DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures live-action movie, which opens July 4, the game was oversaw by director Michael Bay and his creative team, including production designer Jeff Mann (MR. & MRS. SMITH). Activision was given free reign over the conceptual material as well as early CG animatics.
"Having this type of access was vital to be able to capture the transformations from robot to vehicle and ensure that it was in sync with the movie," Suarez said. "Additionally, with the help of Ian Bryce and Mark Vahradian, producers on the film, we were able to secure the actual ILM models."
"From the moment I first saw Activision was on set to create videogames based on the film, I wanted to be part of this project," said LaBeouf. "I've played the game, and it's awesome. Fans will be able to choose a side -- the Decepticons or the Autobots -- and explore, and destroy, the world from the movie."
In addition, Activision hired Peter Cullen and Frank Welker to perform Optimus Prime and Megatron, respectively, for the game. The game cast also include Keith David as Barricade and Mark Ryan as Iron Hide.
Original TRANSFORMERS TV writer Flint Dille wrote the game script. Traveler's Tales and Vicarious Visions produced the games for Activision.
"The film focuses on three separate human story lines that intersect one another, while the game focuses less on the human perspective and more on the story of the Transformers coming to Earth and their search for the All Spark," Suarez said. "Each faction (Autobots and Decepticons) has its own group of playable characters and gives the player the ability to play with over nine different TRANSFORMERS characters."
The game also includes 90 minutes of original music from the film's composer Steve Jablonsky.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
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