Just in time for the summer blockbuster, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Activision has released their newest Transformers installment, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark. Although the game is a followup to the previous “Cyberton” titled games, it is in fact a crossover between the Cybertron games’ universe and the Transformers movie universe. Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark serves as a prequel to Transofmers: Fall of Cybertron game and a sequel to to the Transformers: Age of Extinction movie. This ties both the games’ universe and the movie universe together, somehow.

For the purpose of this review, I just want to say that I have had no real experience with prior Transformers games. That means that this review is solely based on the merits of this game on its own and not in comparison to the previous games.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark mainly deals with an ancient artifact known as the Dark Spark, which is the Yang to the Matrix’s Yin. The Dark Spark has the ability to grant its user the power to bend the universe and its inhabitants to their own will. It was deemed too powerful in the past and locked away forever, lost in history as a myth. This game deals with the discovery of the Dark Spark with both the Autobots and the Decepticons vying for control over it, Megatron wanting to use it to rule while Optimus Prime wants it so that its power can not be misused.

The game starts off on Earth with the movie universe but quickly moves to the game universe on Cybertron which are the more interesting portions of the game. You’ll be playing as both the Autobots and the Decepticons so you’ll get to see both sides of the conflict, which is pretty interesting. That means you’ll be able to play as many of your favorite Autobots like Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe as well as popular Decepticons like Soundwave, Bruticus, and some Insecticons.

The game plays like your typical third person shooter with an over-the-shoulder view of the action. You’re able to move the camera between the left and right shoulders to adjust your view. There is no cover system employed in the game so the only way to avoid contact from enemy fire is to make use of the environment, constant movement, and the ability to transform into vehicle mode to get out of sticky situations. Transforming is vital to the gameplay and really adds a unique gameplay element not found in many other games.

As you progress through the game, you’ll be able to gain Gear Boxes that you can open up and unlock new items such as weapons, weapons upgrades, new characters for use in multiplayer, new hacks, and tech augmentations. In the single player mode, these items can be upgraded and equipped at various loadout terminals throughout the game. I suggest customizing your loadout any chance you get based on the situation you’re in. Not only that, accessing one of these points will allow you to resupply your ammo. In Robot mode, you’ll be able to carry one main weapon, one heavy weapon, three tech items, and one hack. In vehicle mode, you’ll mostly have access to one main weapon and one heavy weapon.

A good strategy here is to remember which weapons you have in vehicle mode because those never change and to pick your weapons in robot mode based on that. This way, you’re really carrying around four weapons, not two. Always remember about your vehicle mode weapons as they will save you quite a bit and help you conserve ammo in robot mode.

Combat in the game is actually pretty decent. You have for the most part, complete freedom of where you want to go in a level that is only limited by which Transformer you are playing as. Some Transformers, mainly those who can fly, offer much more freedom when it comes to enemy engagements as you also get a chance to attack from above. Ground based combat however is still really good even though there isn’t a cover system in place. The Transformers still move relatively quickly and there is a dash and roll maneuver you can pull off in order to avoid being hit.

Does it make use of the power of the PlayStation 4? No. Graphically, this game is just okay looking. Nothing about the game screams “next gen” and for the most part, I don’t think it looks any better than a game I would be playing on the PS3. There are even instances when it will pop a load screen up in the weirdest of spots for a couple seconds. With that said, the game doesn’t look  terrible though. There are some levels that look average while there are others that actually look pretty good. I will say though that the character designs and animations were actually pretty good. I like how many of the Transformers were modeled and even their transformations were pretty smooth and fluid.

There are a few little bugs however that do pop up from time to time while playing. For instance, I had times where NPC’s would just freeze in place and not progress onwards in the story in which case I would have to reload the last checkpoint to fix the problem. There were also a few mission objectives that weren’t quite clear that left you guessing exactly what you were supposed to do or where to go. None of this was really game breaking though and usually a quick reload or a little exploration alleviated the problem.

For those who have completed the single player story and want more to do in the game, there is also a multiplayer element included called Escalation mode. It’s a co-op mode in which you and up to 3 other buddies battle wave upon wave of invading enemies. This is like horde mode in other games where each wave gets progressively harder and harder. You and your team need to work with each other to defeat all the enemies, replenish ammo, and even support each other when a member of your team goes down. There is even this neat thing where you gain “money” that you can use to set up things like turrets in order to help you fend of enemies. Escalation is actually a pretty cool multiplayer mode, though I do wish there was more to MP such as deathmatches against friends and other modes. Aside from this, Escalation is still pretty fun.

Final Thoughts

Though I’ve heard that Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark isn’t nearly as good as the previous games, it can still be fun if you push aside certain aspects of the game. The story isn’t very good and can get quite confusing switching back and forth between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The graphics are just so-so where it’s good in some areas but not so great in others. However, there is still some fun to be had if you kind of ignore those two negatives and just concentrate on the action. There’s plenty of robot smashing, vehicle combat, and in game challenges to keep you busy.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark does have its memorable moments. My favorite part of the game has to be the section where you playing as the combined form of the Combaticons, Bruticus. There is just something satisfying about smashing tiny Autobots with a giant hulking beast of a robot like ants. Of course there’s the other side of the coin where you play as Grimlock and literally trample over any Decepticon in your path. Those are some of the more fun sections in the game but those aren’t the only.

Which brings me to this. Hard core gamers might have a difficult time liking this game, but I did enjoy playing Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark mainly because of the fact that I was playing this along with my son as we would take turns switching between our profiles and helping each other out. He’s only 8 years old, but he was having a great time playing as all his favorite Transformers which is more than enough enjoyment for me. Despite this game probably not being as good as some people might have expected, I mainly just went with the flow and took the game for what it was. It’s a game that isn’t very deep story wise, but provides more than enough action and fun for young fans of the Transfomers. That’s right, kids will still have a blast playing this game and with a franchise like Transformers, maybe that’s just enough this time around.

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Disclaimer: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark was provided to us by the PR company representing the game for purposes of reviewing it. This does not affect the outcome of the review.

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