Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark Review - An Optimus Crime

[Jimothy Sterling]

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark Review - An Optimus Crime

An awkward Frankenstein's Monster of canon welding and recycling that spits on High Moon Studios' Cybertron games.

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[chozo_hybrid]

This should come as no surprise to anyone. It's what happens when a studio that you could tell was passionate about the franchise is dumped and another one picks it up to make what I consider to be a movie tie in. Which is a damn shame, I was hoping to see what the Fall of Cybertron bots were going to encounter after the end of the last title.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I could tell how you felt though when watching your gameplay footage the other day Jim, I'm deeply saddened by High Moon studios being pretty much dead by this point, their website has been static since Deadpool was released and there's been no information from them since then.

Edit: nevermind, I seemed to have found on their wiki page that they will be working on COD's upcoming game for just PS3 and 360, not letting them work on the new gens as well as this TF game reeks that they don't really hold HM in any regard, not with what's been done here, Deadpool got pulled off the market so count that as another wasted work of theirs, I don't think the future is looking any bit great for High Moon studios =/.

I can say though that from the looks of your footage and others gameplay along with your review that the game is basically Activision and Edge just taking a massive shit over Transformers fans, there's nothing for them to gain from this, it's a piss poor attempt at merging two universes into one and expecting us to all be satisfied more than the previous two games in the series, those two were great (Though FOC multiplayer fell prey to hackers) but this one just looks and feels like there's no love at all put into this let alone effort since a good chunk of High Moons hard worked assets are just being copy pasted, there has to be some comeuppance for such poor effort.

I know you like the insecticons and Starscream a lot Jim (even the small part you voiced in that death battle =P), I can't get enough of Scream and Soundwave along with Steve Blum playing Shockwave as usual.

Would be cool though one day if you managed to take the Starscream VA mantle and bring back the 80's style Starscream.

I don't think I'll ever be getting this game though, I don't mind the bayformers movies as much but I know I dislike the bayformer tie in games a hell of a lot more to avoid them at all costs and I can see myself avoiding this like the plague.


In the end though I think Transformers as a video game franchise will go back to being dead for the time being, until Activision no longer has the license to keep churning out COD style TF games with Edge of Reality.

 

[youji itami]

Not surprising since Fall of Cybertron did not sell even though it was fun and liked by gen 1 transformers so the concept of Activision spending any money on future contractually obligated movie tie in games was non existent.

I honestly expect Activision to allow the Transformers and Spiderman licences to lapse just as they did with James Bond.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

You disappoint me, Activision.

 

[Elfgore]

Pity, I enjoyed the other two games quite a bit. War had Metroplex and Fall had the Dinobots. All mixed in with a good story, awesome battles, and fun gameplay. It really bums me out to hear how little of it is in this game. I should've of been more worried when I hear they were tying the movies into the story. I'll probably pick it up once it drops to like twenty dollars or so.

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

Pity, I enjoyed the other two games quite a bit. War had Metroplex and Fall had the Dinobots. All mixed in with a good story, awesome battles, and fun gameplay. It really bums me out to hear how little of it is in this game. I should've of been more worried when I hear they were tying the movies into the story. I'll probably pick it up once it drops to like twenty dollars or so.

Wait Fall had Metroplex and Dinobots O-o, War had Trypticon and Omega Supreme, though I still love Grimlock's levels quite a bit since smashing and ripping apart cons was pretty satisfying, Trypticon 's battle felt quite tedious at times since I was playing alone when the AI didn't really do much to help me but it was still a great game none the less and now I recently bought it on PC since the last time I played it was 2010 on the 360.

Well hopefully in a few more years we might get another great studio like High Moon or hell even High moon again to make another great Transformers game, I know they are still alive because they're working on the latest COD games port to last gen which seems like a shitty job to give them when they could have given us an excellent third title to complete the trilogy of Cybertron games.

 

[CarlsonAndPeeters]

You might want to double check some research; as far as I can tell, Beenox has never made a Transformers tie-in (other than a PC port once), and High Moon Studios did make one of the movie tie in games. Not to defend the game or any of these other companies, but just a thing I noticed.

 

[Jimothy Sterling]

You might want to double check some research; as far as I can tell, Beenox has never made a Transformers tie-in (other than a PC port once), and High Moon Studios did make one of the movie tie in games. Not to defend the game or any of these other companies, but just a thing I noticed.

I swear they did the first Bayformers game. I cannot actually find any damn info on it anymore. These games are just getting swallowed by their own saturation.

 

[sXeth]

Oh good, I thought maybe my unfamiliarity with the franchise was impairing me when I played through it to do my own review (having heard raves about the Cybertron games from others). Good to know it wasn't just me.

This game is best summed up on the first level you play Sharpshot. When despite him having a flying insect form with limbs to pick things up, you have to do an irritating 3rd person platforming section in bipedal mode because otherwise he just drops the key. Because platforming puzzles are the clear first thought for a Transformers game.

Transforming in general just felt like a chore they threw at you periodically to make a section seem bigger. Ground vehicle modes were nigh useless. On PS4 its also annoying bound to the LS-click, resulting in a decent amount of accidental transformations (deadly annoying in firefights or jumping). You could tell it to need you to hold the stick in, but that setting applies to both left and right (Melee attacks), cutting off your ability to react to closing enemies.

 

[Tanis]

I LOVED this review.
The game IS shit, got to play it at a friend's house, and make me pine for the days of yore.

It's a damn shame that, outside of War/Fall, there's only one really great TF game.
That TF would be the Atari one for the PS2.

I mean, how HARD is it to make a good game based on robots blowing shit up?

 

[Elfgore]

Pity, I enjoyed the other two games quite a bit. War had Metroplex and Fall had the Dinobots. All mixed in with a good story, awesome battles, and fun gameplay. It really bums me out to hear how little of it is in this game. I should've of been more worried when I hear they were tying the movies into the story. I'll probably pick it up once it drops to like twenty dollars or so.

Wait Fall had Metroplex and Dinobots O-o, War had Trypticon and Omega Supreme, though I still love Grimlock's levels quite a bit since smashing and ripping apart cons was pretty satisfying, Trypticon 's battle felt quite tedious at times since I was playing alone when the AI didn't really do much to help me but it was still a great game none the less and now I recently bought it on PC since the last time I played it was 2010 on the 360.

Shit, you're right. Got the two mixed up. I'm not a big original Transformers fan, I use to watch Armada and other than that all I've seen is the movies (which piss on the lore) and Cypertron games (which stay true). So I just through out the name of the one I thought of first.

I also agree the Grimlock's levels were fucking awesome! I loved going into rage mode and just completely destroying shit. Though I can't agree with the boss battles. I had a little trouble with Omega Supreme as Megatron, but other than that the AI did its job.

 

[Grimh]

War was a pretty good game and the series really came into its own with Fall which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Sad to see this happen to the franchise.

 

[ExtraDebit]

Transformer Armada for the ps2 will remain the best transformer game in my heart. I can't believe people actually bought the previous rail shooters for a transformer game.

 

[Veldel]

I mean, how HARD is it to make a good game based on robots blowing shit up?

More like transforming robots blowing shit up.


OT: Just from previews and stuff I saw I could tell this game would be crap. I fucking loved War and Fall so this really disappoints me :/

 

[Shadow-Phoenix]

I mean, how HARD is it to make a good game based on robots blowing shit up?

More like transforming robots blowing shit up.


OT: Just from previews and stuff I saw I could tell this game would be crap. I fucking loved War and Fall so this really disappoints me :/

You know what's worst of all of this, for a whole fucking year we've been lead to believe High moon was killed off by Activision after what happened with Deadpool, we get edge of reality who don't have a great track record and have obviously done a real piss poor job using half the assets of both a bayformers and Cybertron game from two different studios and only recently on HM's wiki page do we find out Activision gave them the duty of handling the latest COD's last gen ports =/.

So my sole question is thus, why did they do this when High Moon is clearly still alive?, they did wonders with the War and Fall games and the records showed even though the game didn't smash into millions upon millions (Activison=COD record expectations) they were still regarded as great games for Transformer fans so instead we get a half assed job in an obvious attempt to grab quick dosh while testing a new formula of merging two games into one to cut corners, it's clearly not worked but we know Acti will either blame us or keep trying again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Moon_Studios

 

[Draconalis]

Deadpool got pulled off the market

It did?

You know what's worst of all of this, for a whole fucking year we've been lead to believe High moon was killed off by Activision after what happened with Deadpool,

What the hell did I miss? What happened with the Deadpool game?

 

[J Tyran]

You know what's worst of all of this, for a whole fucking year we've been lead to believe High moon was killed off by Activision after what happened with Deadpool,

What the hell did I miss? What happened with the Deadpool game?

It was an issue with Marvel and Activisions licensing agreement with them, I don't think it was anything to do with High Moon. Unless they made the other games, or Deadpool provoked the cancellation of the licence which is doubtful.

The Marvel games from Activision have been god damn awful, like really terrible. Deadpool might not have been great but it was fun enough and far better than the rest, Marvel also yanked some of Capcoms licensed titles at the same time so it was a wider issue.

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I prolly would've gotten the game anyhow if it had Arcee, Slipstream, and other femmebots/their parts for customization. Prolly for the best I dodged the bullet here, I guess.

 

[Draconalis]

The Marvel games from Activision have been god damn awful, like really terrible. Deadpool might not have been great but it was fun enough and far better than the rest, Marvel also yanked some of Capcoms licensed titles at the same time so it was a wider issue.

I thought the game was pretty entertaining, and the combat was competent enough for a beat em up. It's good to know Deadpool wasn't the item that apparently caused the apocalypses of super hero gaming.