It's fair to say that video games have let down fans of Hasbro's most toyetic franchises of the 1980s, G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout that's best left forgotten. The company behind both iconic universes should take charge and fix this issue by looking to the example of Marvel, Godzilla, and more. It's time for a Hasbroverse crossover where players can see Duke and Optimus Prime fighting side by side.
This wouldn't even be the first time that these two worlds have collided. Outside of numerous comic crossovers, the two armies have fought side by side in Transformers: Earth War, a mobile strategy game that suffers from the same microtransaction issues that many games do on the platform. There was even a time where a movie universe was in the works that would bring together Joes, Autobots, and several other Hasbro properties like M.A.S.K. If that plan is even anywhere close to the table, the time is now for the two Hasbro juggernauts to crossover on consoles.
At first glance, a crossover game between G.I. Joe and Transformers might seem unwieldy. After all, the Autobots and Decepticons are giant robots that would overwhelm any threat Cobra could muster. However, the last generation of games provided the perfect blueprint for the team-up.
A Next-Gen G.I. Joe/Transformers Gaming Crossover Is Needed
Respawn Entertainment's Titanfall and Titanfall 2 features a battlefield where pilots go up against each other with the option to call in giant mech suits. There's no reason why the Real American Heroes can't go to battle in an FPS arena on foot and then call in Autobot assistance when needed. The Joes would feature hero abilities similar to Overwatch's roster, some of which would help in a matchup between a tiny soldier and a robotic goliath. Meanwhile, the Transformers could serve as an ultimate move or become pilotable like Titanfall's titans, with the Joes serving the same role as the Mini-Cons from Transformers: Armada.
It's an ambitious scenario that would need a big team behind it, but it's the same kind of genre ingenuity that made games like Batman: Arkham Asylum defy the expectations of licensed fare. Plus, if done properly, it could be the first G.I. Joe game to really show what the franchise has to offer in gaming. Transformers has had several large scale games since the days of Xbox 360 and High Moon's War for Cybertron games. G.I. Joe's biggest claim to fame is a DLC guest spot in Ubisoft's Toy Soldiers: War Chest, a game that has since been delisted on digital storefronts. Both franchises have years of deep lore to draw from, but the Michael Bay films ensured that only one of them would get the love the last few decades.
In this era where seemingly every new project draws from what's come before, one of the few bright spots is how many franchises shine brighter when they're rebooted. DuckTales managed to tie together an era of Disney animation and give character traits to three previously identical triplets. Marvel continues to translate the stories they've been telling for decades into a modern silver-screen mythos. Even in games, legends like Doom and Cloud Strife are becoming reborn as modern masterpieces. It's time for Transformers to bring G.I. Joe along for the ride, and gaming is the perfect avenue to make that happen.
