It’s not amazing looking, but Transformers Prime: The Game is another one of those games where you’ve got 3 versions on 3 systems, and the Wii ends up looking, well, a little drab. Textures are pretty flat, the animation seems limited, and the whole thing just ends up feeling a little underwhelming. But it’s decent, and it works well enough. It’s not like you can’t tell what is supposed to be a building and what’s supposed to be a robot, at least. It’s just not a rich, detailed world and the levels feel pretty small and closed-in for the most part.

The music isn’t outstanding either, but it’s good enough that it doesn’t get in the way. Like a lot of other Wii action games of this type, it’s got your standard movie type score. It’s not too exciting, it’s pretty generic, but at least not annoying.

Cinematic scenes are decent, but since they use the in-game graphics, they about the same experience as the rest of the game. The voice acting is pretty standard cartoon-level acting throughout the game and the cinematics, but pretty decent. It’s not like you’ll laugh, cry, and want to replay it over and over. It is at least a notch above "meh."

Transformers Prime: The Game has a Story Mode that puts you in control of the whole team of Autobot Transformers from the animated series of the same name. Jack, Miko, and Rafael are three human kids who’ve teamed up with the Transformers in this particular Transformers universe. The Transformers you’ll control include Bulkhead, Optimus Prime, and Arcee, but there are several more you'll unlock as you play through the story. The story for this game basically involves a sinister plot by Megatron to use a giant meteor as a weapon. The Autobots mobilize to stop the Decepticons before things have a chance to go bad, but it ends up backfiring, and the kids have to step in to help them get back together and fight.

You’ll get different abilities with each Transformer. Arcee is a super quick motorcycle, while Optimus Prime is that classic big rig truck with a little less speed and more bulk. Bumblebee is more of a fast fighter, while Bulkhead is a big brawler with splash attacks that take out multiple enemies.

The game has some pretty standard features. You can collect special items that will unlock gallery portraits. You can play for "achievements" if you like, though the Wii doesn’t have a system for sharing this kind of thing, so you’ll have to be content to just know that you earned it.

The multiplayer doesn’t bother with online play. Instead, you can play against an A.I. opponent or you can play split screen with a second player. You can mix things up by playing against another human and 2 other A.I. opponents, or against up to 3 A.I. opponents. The modes of play are pretty varied. You can Brawl, which is a simple beat-em-up until you’re the last robot standing. You can also do an Energon Match, which is a competition for points (defeat more enemies than your opponent to win). The last mode is an Emblem Battle, which is a basic capture the flag and hold it match up.

Transformers Prime: The Game doesn’t have adjustable difficulty. The game’s default difficulty is not very high. It’s quite forgiving, and you can take a lot of hits, and it will let you kind of feel your way around while you figure out how things work.

If anything is particularly difficult about this game, it’s the feel of the battle system. Button-mashing is not rewarded, and the later battles require patience and attention much more than the early game. It’s nothing for a seasoned gamer, but it might be frustrating for more inexperienced ones.

Although the control diagram looks intimidating at first, Transformers Prime: The Game's controls are surprisingly intuitive after a little practice. If you need help, the control help will pop up and tell you exactly what move you need to use for each situation you encounter. If you should be using a shield to block attacks or if you should be using a vehicle-powered jump, it will let you know with a handy help notification on the left. The only waggle controls are reserved for the up close brawling moves, which makes perfect sense.

The combat does feel a little sluggish, and you’ll have to get used to waiting your turn to return fire or to unleash a special move. It’s not terrible, it just doesn’t feel very satisfying as far as a solid combat system goes.

Basically, the game walks you through how to play it, and there’s not much to learn unless you’re very new to gaming. It would be a pretty good game for the younger crowd. Unfortunately, it lacks the depth and sophistication to keep a seasoned gamer interested for long. If you’re just suffering without a fresh Transformers gaming experience, this game might be good for an afternoon. Other than that, it suffers from the standard bland Wii game treatment when the game is published across several platforms. It’s just not the best version of all the ones released. If you’re ok with that, then you’re ok with that.