Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

A hard sell even for die-hard Transformers fans, Rise of the Dark Spark brings nothing new to the table. [September 2014, p72]

Being a robot that can transform into different shapes and use cartoony weapons to blow up other robots is fun, and maybe story is unnecessary for this kind of play.

Although it feels like more than a mere movie tie-in, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark still isn’t a good enough game to stand on its own.

It’s not really good game or a really bad one, it stays somewhere in the middle.

Some solid action can’t cover up the fact that Rise of the Dark Spark feels horribly rushed, with massive splotches of shoddy design and a poor plot evident from the opening cinematic to the end credits.

Rise of the Dark Spark is a step back from Fall of Cybertron, and that’s an utter travesty.

If Activision cares to know, fans are indeed hungry for a new Transformers game – just not one that shamelessly tries to make us trade our hard-earned cash for junk.

While far from the worst Transformers game, Rise of the Dark Spark's interesting ideas are eclipsed by bland action and frustrating design.

The bland campaign is a slog with uneven difficulty, while vehicle transformations and combat are largely unsatisfying. Without nailing that, you’ve got a bad Transfomers game.

The absence of the practiced creative hands of previous Transformers developer, High Moon Studios, is keenly felt as Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark has sadly turned out to be both the weakest Transformers licensed title and the most uninspired third-person shooter in sometime.

After the good chapters that have preceded this Dark Spark, we were expecting something more. What we find here is a chapter that falls short of all the fun, that amputees the online mode and co-op campaign.

Want to race without a proper sense of speed? Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is your game. Feel like playing a game with washed-out graphics and severely disappointing sound effects? Well, you should definitely give Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark a try. Stuck with a craving for clumsy shooting mechanics with a taste of wasted potential? Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark comes highly recommended.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is a dull, ugly looking and boring third-person shooter, with a confused plot and without a single passage worthy of being remembered. The online co-op slightly uplifts the situation, but other than that there is really very little to save.

There are some positive features, but the negative things take over the whole experience creating a game much worse than its predecessor.

A third person shooter without any distinctive features, some glitches and a really bad progression.

If you're a die-hard fan of the Transformers film series, I would recommend picking up Rise of the Dark Spark when it's heavily discounted (like, under $10) with a group of friends just to play Escalation.

Fleeting moments of fun and an improved Escalation mode aren't enough to save Spark from becoming yet another bland tie-in destined for the bargain bin base. [Sept 2014, p.106]

If only there was a button to transform this game into a GOOD game. This is just a broken mix, designed to lure money out of your pockets. [Issue#244]

Just stay away from it. This game will ruin your entire Transformers memory.

Rise of the Dark Spark is a decent enough title, but its failing is that it changes too much. It’s nothing more than a shallow, poorly executed imitation of Fall of Cybertron.

Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark is a movie tie-in that doesn’t have much in common with Michael Bays latest explosion, err I mean movie. Instead it’s a Gears of War styled shooter mainly set on Cybertron. Even though that’s not a bad thing at all, everything is half done at best and especially the graphics and story is downright terrible. Even so, it’s still somewhat entertaining for fans.

The game is quite dull. It requires the gamers to do nothing, and it gives them nothing at all in return. This is another worthless riding on the movies' coat-tails as well as the usual money trap.

Rise of the Dark Spark isn't completely hopeless. The shooting mechanic is alright, the weapons are creative and running around on Cybertron is relatively fun. Unfortunately everything wrapped around the main mechanic is a huge letdown, and the final product feels generic and without any distinguishing features.

The storytelling is sloppy, the set-pieces are repetitive - and in some cases stolen from past games - while the visuals are dated. It's redeemed only by enjoyable third-person shooter action, which comes alive in co-op multiplayer when there's no story holding players back.

Despite an enjoyable coop mode and some pretty cool weapons, Transfomers: Rise of the Dark Spark is one of the worst and uninspired Transformers' videogame to date.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is, as the name already suggests, the return of the film game as a monstrosity. Where recent Transformers games excelled in quality, nothing of that is to be found here. The poor script, repetitive levels, boring gameplay and technical shortcomings make this game a disappoint even for the most seasoned Transformers fan.

A resounding failure in most respects. [Issue#247, p.68]

Rise Of The Dark Spark feels rushed: a mess of half-baked ideas and sloppy execution that’s put Transformers on the same track as the Spider-Man games, approaching the point of no return.

As a next-gen title, Transformers Rise of the Dark Spark is an embarrassment

It’s not always entirely drab – a bit of mindless blasting is always entertaining in short bursts – but much like the weedy Ultra Magnus, this is still a shadow of the title that it’s trying to replace.