Bevendre

A straight man who typically acts like a stereotypical homosexual man is often called metrosexual.

A straight robot who typically acts like a stereotypical city is often called Metroplex(ual)

Michael Bay is back to destroy a childhood franchise.  Except he’s not.  Kind of.  It depends.  The film definitely bears a strong resemblance to its predecessors, but at the same time feels fairly new due in large part to a changed human cast, a reworked Autobot cast, and a general shift in tone.

Spoilers.

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Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is the newest Transformers action game, this time for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox One and Xbox 360.  Despite being made by Edge of Reality (Loadout) the game acts as a continuation of High Moon Studios’ Cybertron series and bridges the gap between Fall of Cybertron, and the launching of the Ark.  However, it also acts as a pseudo-tie-in with the newest Bayformer flick, Age of Extinction.

Gameplay

First and foremost, there is good news: The game feels like a good Transformers game.  It plays almost identically to War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, both of which are fantastic games and must sees for anyone who considers themselves a fan of Transformers (If you disliked the High Moon Cybertron series, feel free to tell me why so we can try and diagnose you.)  The game is primarily a third person shooter that allows for easy transition between the Transformer’s vehicle and robot modes.  This allows for some quick combat and fairly easy mobility which is a must on higher difficulties as there is no cover system.  Instead, you must use your environment to your advantage, as while you can’t duck or hide behind cover, you can freely switch your firing hand to work around what cover you can find.  

The weapons of Fall of Cybertron are back, both standard and heavy, and with them come the upgrade system introduced in the previous game, albeit slightly tweaked.  Whereas in Fall one would upgrade their arsenal through collecting currency and purchasing the upgrades, in RotDS upgrades are acquired through receiving copies of the weapon’s card in a Gear Box, an unlockable achieved through completing events, leveling up, finishing challenges etc.  Every weapon has a unique look and feel, in both the Cybertron, and the Earth sections of the 14 chapter (6-8 hour) campaign, and each one comes with its advantages and drawbacks.  Luckily, as soon as you unlock an item it can be equipped at a weapons cache, which are scattered throughout every map.  

The game does present some deal of challenge, where on the easiest difficulty you die soon after your shields are depleted, and on the hardest you die as soon as an enemy gets an extra shot off.  Unfortunately, challenge is about all that the campaign may offer as its story has a fair few issues.  Because the game is split between the Cybertron set by High Moon, and the Earth set by Michael Bay it can be somewhat odd trying to keep things straight and together, especially as the Earth sections are supposed to take place after Age of Extinction which has not yet come out as of this review.  At times it seems as though there are scenes missing, with the narrative jumping between Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron with less fluidity than in previous games, and shoehorning in the events of the Bayformer characters on either end of the story.  Also, the events of RotDS are not as grand, memorable, or cinematic (ironically) as were those of its predecessors.

Presentation

The presentation is admirable, but not ideal.  Having played it on PS4, the game looked on par, and at times worse, than its predecessors on the previous generation of consoles.  While I shouldn’t be surprised at this by a movie tie in, it still hurts.  The presentation issues are especially present during the Earth segments, and in the Earth model Transformers.  While the Cybertron models and locals maintain the slick, shiny, and generally awesome feel that was set up in both War for Cybertron, and Fall of Cybertron, the Bayformers segments are relatively stiff and rough.  Locations don’t look horrible, but they are a far cry from their Cybertronian counterparts, and even similar titles on the previous generation.  Likewise, the Bayformer character models, that rely so much upon moving parts and a feeling of mobility and motion in the movies appear solid and stiff in game, though this is not nearly as apparent during gameplay as it is during cutscenes which are thankfully very short and sparse. 

Music was about the same as it was in the predecessors, so good but not particularly memorable.  Luckily, however, the same cannot be said about the voicework.  The favorites of the Transformers’ history are back to voice their characters, especially Peter Cullen again reprising his role as the last Prime of Cybertron.  There is a surprising amount of dialogue in the game, and it is largely presented very well.

Sound design, much like the music, is solid being both fitting and palpable. That there is a gun available that looks, fires, and sounds almost exactly like Optimus Prime’s blaster from the original series helps too.

Replayability

While there are multiple difficulties, and a spattering of collectibles throughout the campaign, there is frankly no need to replay the story.  For completionists, every chapter is replayable and fairly short meaning if you want to collect everything you can do so at your own pace without having to slog through a few hours to get to the point you need.  Like I said, the story isn’t bad by any means, but it isn’t quite worth replaying overall.

The real source of replay in the game is the Escalation game mode, which acts as a Horde mode that is surprisingly addictive.  Unfortunately, the competitive multiplayer that was supported in War of Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron has been removed, but the Escalation mode seems much more refined than previous titles.  Leveling takes place across the campaign and Escalation, and every unlock received in one is available in both.

Verdict

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is not a bad game.  For a game overall it plays very well, and has plenty in it including a story mode that runs about average for its genre, and a Horde mode that is pretty awesome, as well as character models that are awesome (Cybertron), passable (Bayformers) or nostalgic bliss (Optimus Prime Classic can be acquired and played in Escalation) and presentation that, despite some hiccups, is pretty good for what is there.  For a movie tie in, it’s rather impressive.  

Alone it stands up rather well, but in comparison to its predecessors it kind of falters.  While the presentation is good, it doesn’t quite hold up to what its predecessors have done, despite having more time to improve.  While the story is good, it does not hold up to its predecessors, even though it beats the vast majority of Michael Bay fluff.  Most of the major issues in the game come from it being a pseudo-tie-in game and having to fit in the Bayformer bits, despite Bayformers not being technically compatible with the Cybertron series which is more or less a direct tie in to the original series.

Is it worth your time? For the most part.  It’s worth a playthrough, or at least a let’s play viewing.  Escalation is a lot of fun, especially with friends, and alone can be enough to warrant the price tag, but that depends on your preferences in gameplay.  Is it worth your money?  On the PC and previous generation of consoles it is marked down to $49.99, and I’d say that it’s worth that much.  The extra $10 doesn’t seem like a great loss for the PS4 and Xbone, so while I would recommend getting it on an older console I’d also say it is worth looking into if you have one of the newer consoles and want something to play.

There’s a fair bit here.  Not as much as in past games, but a lot more than can generally be expected from tie-in games.  All in all, it is a good game and worth some attention, despite its flaws.

7.8/10