There are very few times I have gotten emotional when playing a video game.

Beating Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time or Aeris dying unexpectedly in Final Fantasy VII.

It’s mostly those moments and all the others are being pissed off at some respawning enemies and unfair difficulty spikes that turn a game from enjoyable and challenging to pure frustration (aka Gamer Rage).

No, I’m talking about more positive emotional experiences. The ones you get from being engrossed in a good book or watching a film… or even real life interactions, remember those?

“Metroplex heeds the call of the last Prime” is one of my personal top EPIC moments in Transformers History.

It is a moment when I knew the creators of the Fall of Cybertron and War for Cybertron video games had gotten things just right. The people at High Moon Studios were so immersed in Transformers lore.

High Moon Studios went beyond just creating an enjoyable game, to making something truly special that transcends its medium. Leaving you with fond memories of two epic action adventure games that show us something we had never seen before at the time – something new and exciting over two long games that take you through the trenches and the towers of Cybertron.

High Moon Studios took the Tranformers back to their homeworld of Cybertron and put us smack in the middle of their civil war. Every explosion, every command, every desperate scramble for territory and push for cover – you are there – living it all first hand. War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron put you through grueling campaigns where you play as both the Autobots and the Decepticons.

The level preceding Metroplex’s appearance sees Optimus Prime leave the immediate battlefield to activate a big mounted cannon to shoot tanks and other fun stuff. The vertical climb is somewhat suspicious after the more even terrain that preceded it. When the walls start moving and transforming by themselves, making paths for Optimus where previously there was a gaping chasm or solid wall, or a doorway where there was no doorway – then you know something is up.

The anticipation and surprise on playing this level of Fall of Cybertron for the first time was indescribably delicious. Small hints about what MIGHT be around the corner do not prepare you for the EPIC moment of when Prime first hears Metroplex’s voice talking to him inside a dark chamber as a disembodied voice.

I have to say that I’ve always loved Metroplex as a character and as a toy. So my experience was deeply emotional in a way that might not have happened for people without that deep love of Tranformers lore, and connection to this particular character.

Following the confusing twisting labyrinthine corridors Optimus Prime emerges into the daylight of the battlefield once again – in the palm of Metroplex’s hand – who lowers him safely to the ground in a moment that is epic, grandiose and spectacular in every sense of the word – it’s the kind of scale of amazement we first saw in games like the original God of War where they routinely did impossible things with the in game camera – that really made you sit back and realize you were experiencing something special.

On the following level of the game you get to command (but not directly control) Metroplex on the battlefield. Aiming the reticule on the battlefield results in a bombardment of missiles launched at long range targets. A tactical air strike from a slow walking Titan is something to behold. One epic exciting moment follows another for one of the best levels in any Transformers video game ever made.

Low on energy after an eternity of deactivation, Metroplex sacrifices himself to ensure the safe passage of the Last Prime. It makes a triumphant experience bitter sweet, to see this unbeatable Titan humbled by a lack of energy, and drives home how selfless a character Metroplex is.

It’s an amazing level in a thoroughly enjoyable game. Fall of Cybertron may just ape other successful action game formulas like Gears of War, but it’s the immersion in the world, the wonderful voice acting, the script and writing that really elevate both War for Cybertron and Fall of Cyberton, and the connection to the characters that make these games more than the sum of any of its parts, making the games More Than Meets The Eye.