Transformers: BattleGrounds: Wasted Potential

Developed by Coatsink and published by Outright Games Ltd., Transformers: Battlegrounds was either going to be a success or an absolute waste of time. If you’re not familiar with Outright Games, they are a family-friendly gaming company. Not all of their games feel like a complete waste of time, so I was hopefully optimistic about Transformers: Battlegrounds. Sadly, this game fails on every major front for me. The combat is underdeveloped, the voice lines are cringy, and I could feel the lack of effort put into most of the game I had played. 

Turn explanation

Low Effort

Everything about Transformers: BattleGrounds, aside from the art style, screams low effort and underdeveloped. 

The production value appears to be extremely low, and although I recognize the games’ target audience is children, come on. 

The combat system is inspired by XCOM but has none of the polish: The system is boring to play and provides little to no gameplay value. Instead of this combat system, Battlegrounds could have benefited from being a hack and slash game. 

The art style is fine.

Microtransactions 

The first thing to turn me off about this game was the number of microtransactions I could see from the moment I started the game. Most of them are skins, but it is never a good sign to me when the first thing I see for a new game is a ton of additions that frankly don’t make sense.

Eh

I find this game to be a massive disappointment in every way. The combat is stale, and all of the best parts of XCOM combat have been removed. Although the art style is fine, a lot of the game is static, and the environments are bland. 

The setup for a human having to direct the transformers was weird and frankly lazy. However, I understand the target audience for the game is children. More effort could have been put in all around. 

Super Mega Baseball 3: Mini Review

When you start Super Mega Baseball 3 you are not in for much of a treat. The menu is bland and the music is overbearing, do not let this turn you off. Super Mega Baseball 3 is one of the best sports games I have ever played, but not for the reasons you might think. Currently, Super Mega Baseball 3 is on gamepass and if you’re a fan of sports I highly suggest giving it a try.

Game Modes for Days! 

You truly have your choice in Super Mega Baseball 3. 

  • Quick Play
    • You will be able to play an exhibition or practice match in a local or online party. 
  • Pennant Race
    • In Pennant Race, you are competing for the best record in a division over a timed period. In this game mode, you can rise through the global rankings. 
  • The new online leagues 
    • Here you can play multiple seasons against friends in a cross-platform online competition: This has standard and custom teams available. 
  • Franchise 
    • You can play through a standard or custom franchise. 
    • This is one of my favorite franchise modes in any sports game to date. 
  • Season 
    • You can play a full season in standard or custom mode. 
  • Elimination 
    • In elimination, you are working to knock out opponents and come out on top! This mode is a lot of fun as well. 
This image was taken on the Xbox Series S.

Customization 

You will be able to customize your teams and leagues to fit your play style. Custom teams can be used across a variety of different game modes: The customization options are fine and surpassed my expectations.

Gameplay 

The gameplay of Super Mega Baseball 3 is straightforward and only has a couple of changes built-in. Some characters have a unique attribute that changes how they function or gives them a special bonus: Most of the time I ignored this feature because it did not seem to make a difference either way. 

Super Mega Baseball 3 is a smooth experience and runs perfectly fine on the Xbox Series S. I did not notice any framerate drops and my experiences have been completely pleasant. Although the gameplay loop follows a typical baseball game the bonus game modes give this game a leg up. 

Conclusion

Super Mega Baseball 3 is a fine baseball game that offers hours of entertainment for local and online play. The art style might not appeal to everyone, this is not a baseball simulator. If you’re looking for a fun sports game to kill time with, I highly recommend this one. Super Mega Baseball scores a 7/10, as of the time of writing this article you can try it if you have Gamepass!

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Rating: 2 out of 5.