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The first episode of the new Transformers animated series is available now

Optimus Prime awaits you on YouTube in a four-part preview to the upcoming series "Combiner Wars," which is aimed at grown-ups.

Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
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Scott Stein
2 min read

Transformers is getting a new animated series, in case you haven't heard. "Transformers: Combiner Wars" (the first installment of the "Generations Prime Wars Trilogy") is a collaboration between Hasbro and Machinima. It's meant for grown-ups. It has anime-style art. And it arrives August 2.

But, you can start watching Transformers action now, thanks to a four-part lead-up to "Combiner Wars," called "Prelude to Transformers: Combiner Wars." The series will launch on YouTube, Facebook and on the go90 video-streaming service. Episode One is below. It involves Optimus Prime.

The preview series focuses on different characters for a multi-perspective look at where the Transformers are now, including the futuristic state of Cybertron.

Episode One: Optimus Prime. "The former leader of the Autobots reflects on the great war and how it finally ended with a duel between him and the mighty Megatron."

Episode Two: Victorion. "A Combiner born from the magic of the 'Enigma of Combination' describes her anger with this new state of affairs and proclaims her intention to save the Transformers galaxy from the chaos created in the aftermath of disbanding the Autobots and Deceptions."

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Hasbro

Episode Three: Starscream. "No longer the villain we once knew him as, is now a member of a great 'Council' along with The Mistress of Flame from the planet Caminus and Rodimus Prime. The burden of responsibility is heavy on the three due to the destruction and loss of life from the ongoing Combiner Wars."

Episode Four: Windblade. "Once an official 'City Speaker' to the gigantic 'Titans' is tired of the bureaucratic non-action of the Council, who seem to sit idly while her people and her cities on Caminus perish. She decides that the only way to end the Combiner Wars is to take matters into her own vengeful hands."

FYI: I stopped watching the Transformers movies sometime before dinosaurs and Matthew McConaughey, and never watched the original animated show. But I have many old Transformers in my family's basement, including the space shuttle one and the one that looked like a weird alien frog.