There hasn't been much said about Transformers: Reactivate in a while. Which makes sense -- people don't tend to talk about cancelled video games as much as those which have actually come out, or are still in development.
Still, people are talking about it, especially when new pieces of would-be lost media tend to emerge, such as an early build of the game from RoboGamer1HD a few months ago.
But RoboGamer1HD isn't the only one who's been peeling back layers of mystique like an onion, as the YouTube channel TFR Archive has also been doing some digging. And the latest fruits of their efforts? What would have been the E3 2020 trailer for the game back when it was called "Transformers: Rise":
From the description on YouTube:
For those of you too young to remember, shame on you for making me feel old. But also, E3 -- more formally known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo -- was a trade show formed by the giants of the video game industry of the '90s after they basically got tired of the shoddy treatment they received at the hands of the folks running Consumer Electronics Show.
Yep, that's right. They decided to make their own trade show, with blackjack and booth babes. Lots of other spectacle, too.
Anyway, thanks to the rise of the internet and instantaneous information, questions of E3's relevance began to creep into the minds of all who partook, and in 2020... well, let's just say lockdowns and social distancing were not very conducive to shaking hands and having hundreds of people laying their sweaty mitts on the same controllers throughout several hot summer Los Angeles days in a row. (Trust me, I know. I've been there.)
Incidentally, the Consumer Electronics Show still continues to this day, while I'm having to explain to you here today what E3 was. Funny how life works out, though I don't think you need to feel too sorry for the folks in the gaming biz -- the very thing that helped kill it is allowing them to continue to thrive without shelling out thousands for floor space, so I guess it kinda worked out.
Anyway, yeah. If there wasn't a pandemic in 2020, the above is what you would have seen that year. Pretty cool, huh?
If you're interested in a more detailed look at the troubled history of the game itself, TFWiki has a nice entry. And if you're interested in more of the game itself, or what it was shaping up to be, those TFR Archive guys I told you about earlier? Yeah, they have more where this came from: A story intro and tutorial video, and three cutscenes featuring Starscream, Ratchet, and Bumblebee, so go give those a gander if your interest is piqued.
So, what do you think? Is it better than how it debuted to the world at The Game Awards? Or do you think the "Oh, wait, this is actually a Transformers game? Huh, neat" approach was the right way to go? Well, you can share your thoughts in the comments below, or you can hitch a ride through this link on over to the "Transformers: Reactivate (console MMO)" thread to "rise" up and "reactivate" the conversation there!
Thanks to Aerialbot Simp over on the Allspark Discord for bringing this to our attention!
