Out this week: Transformers Devastation, Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Rock Band 4 and more

There’s more than meets the eye to Activision’s latest Transformers game. What could have easily been a quick and cheap cash-in has turned out to be a recommended purchase for fans of Transformers and Platinum Games’ previous efforts alike.

Transformers Devastation borrow a lot from Bayonetta and that’s not the only reason why it has ended up being better than expected – it appears that Platinum are closet G1 Transformers fans too, effortlessly retaining the look and feel of the notoriously cheesy ‘80s cartoon series.

Scores so far include 8/10s from both The Metro and GameInformer, 8.5 from God is a Geek and a 7/10 from VideoGamer, who warned of the fleeting 4 hour runtime.

VideoGamer handed Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection 7/10 as well, on the grounds that the original hasn’t aged too well and that the shooting mechanics are “annoying at best and terrible at worst”. The Metro echoed this, reporting that “Uncharted 1 is not a particularly good game and the combat in all three is a real weak point”. They did however give it a slightly higher score – 8/10, which is what majority of critics have settled on, including GameStop, The Jimquisition and ShackNews.

Rock Band 4 is another gaining positive reviews, arriving to a mixture of 7s, 8s and 9s. “Like many, I’ve been a fan of Rock Band for years, and Rock Band 4 fills all of those gaming inclinations. The several minuscule issues coupled with the primary, yet still small concern of ambiguous song difficulties mean it’s imperfect, but not by much” said The Escapist.

Just three other games are heading to store shelves this week – the current-gen only Dragon Age Inquisition: Game of the Year Edition, Farming Simulator 2016 on PS Vita and the allegedly mediocre Grand Ages: Medieval for PS4 and PC. Don’t be fooled into expecting something similar to Age of Empires, Anno or The Settlers – it’s focused on trading goods with other cities and, well, that’s about it.

It’s a shame that Elite Dangerous – out now on Xbox One – isn’t getting a physical release. At £29.99, we’re surprised that it isn’t. It’s well worth the asking price though, gaining 8/10s across the board. “It won’t appeal to everyone, but if you want an experience that feels unique, a rare degree of freedom, and the opportunity to fly really fast and blow up other ships should the mood take you, Elite: Dangerous comes highly recommended – just don’t go in expecting an arcadey blaster or a free ride. You’ll find neither here” said God is a Geek.

Retro shooter Telsapunk (£7.99 – trial available), multiplayer party game Monkey Pirates (£3.99 or £3.19 with Gold) and the top-down tower defence thing Kaiju Panic (£12.79) are also now available on Xbox One.

Then over on PSN there’s 1001 Spikes (£11.99 – PS4/PS Vita), Arcade Archives: Buta-San (£7.99 – PS4), Dengeki Bunko: Fighting Climax (£24.99 – PS3/PS Vita), Actual Sunlight (£4.49 – PS Vita) and The Quiet Collection (£4.49 – PS Vita). They’re being joined by Super Meat Boy, which is one of the current PS Plus freebies. If you haven’t grabbed them yet, Broken Age, Unmechanical Extended, Kick Beat, Chariot and Kung-Fu Rabbit are ready and waiting to occupy your hard drive too.

And if that little lot wasn’t enough to keep you busy this weekend, the Star Wars: Battlefront beta is currently underway as well. Yub nub!

Next week: Back to the Future: The Game – 30th Anniversary Edition (Multi), Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut (Multi), Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (PS4), Tales of Zestiria (PS4/PS3), Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and The Blight Below (PS4), WRC 5 (Multi), Goosebumps: The Game (Multi), Dungeon Travelers 2: The Royal Library and the Monster Seal (PS Vita), Baila Latino (Wii U), Luv Me Buddies Wonderland (Wii U/3DS), Fit Music (Wii U) and the new 3DS Selects range.