Activision has been on a bit of a roll with licensed video games as of late. Both High Moon’s War for Cybertron and Beenox’s Amazing Spider-Man felt like important steps in the right direction for the much-maligned video game adaptation ghetto. In fact, I explicitly compared the latter to Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, implying that the inevitable next step for these licensed products is a full metamorphosis into outstanding stand-alone products like Arkham City. Does Fall of Cybertron take that giant leap? Let’s roll out!

As the name would suggest, Fall of Cybertron is a sequel to War for Cybertron in the truest sense. The game begins right where the last one ended, and nothing is done to ease newcomers in. Autobots and Decepticons are in a pitched battle for what little remains of their homeworld, while Optimus Prime begins putting all of his resources towards “The Ark,” a spaceship intended to take him and his allies far away from their dying planet. On one hand, the cold in media res open is an effective dramatic tool–this is the Saving Private Ryan of robot wars–but it is clear that this is a Transformers game by fans, for fans.

The basic storytelling tact in FoC is one that assumes you are either a fan of the franchise or have played the preceding game. Newcomers or players who are only familiar with the Michael Bay movies will quickly be lost, as there is little to no time spent on introducing characters or plot elements. Do you know what Energon is? Do you know the difference between Soundwave and Shockwave? Do you remember Trypticon? If not, then the game will probably seem like an incoherent string of random, loud events. If so, this game is awesome.

Although the basic progression of the campaign is a pretty standard 8-10 hour, linear third-person shooter, FoC retains the variety and twitch action that made WfC such a welcome product. The plot has you control over half a dozen different mechs, each controlling differently in at least one significant aspect. Cliffjumper is small and sneaky, using his invisibility cloak to basically reenact the first Metal Gear Solid. Optimus Prime, appropriately enough, hits like a Mack truck and is easily able to take on waves of enemies. Then there is Vortex, who has perhaps the best sequence in the game, involving both aerial combat and close-quarters fighting with a much larger opponent.

This means that there is never a dull moment in Fall of Cybertron. Combine that with the decidedly old-school approach to firefights–Cover? What cover?–and you may have the most exhilarating shooter of the year so far. My only other real complaints have to do with some restrictive design decisions. There’s nothing wrong with linearity per se, but the game is at its most fun when it opens up the battlefield and really immerses you in the steel carnage. There are things to find off the beaten path, but some more lateral freedom would have really helped sell the scale of the conflict in a couple key battles. Also, the stealth sequence was one or two increasingly-complex rooms of patrols away from being the standout part of the experience.

Other than that, Fall of Cybertron feels like an incremental improvement to an already great game. However, it should be noted that High Moon seems to be wary of taking too many risks with its formula and characters. Everything from the upgrade system to the weapons are pretty stock and standard, while few high profile characters evolve in unexpected ways. Most of the meat of the narrative will be purely fan-service to those familiar with the source material, which really sets this outing apart from the sheer audacity of the current king of licensed games: Arkham City.