Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark Reviews
While far from the worst Transformers game, Rise of the Dark Spark's interesting ideas are eclipsed by bland action and frustrating design.
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. As a side note, the Wii U version doesn't have Escalation mode -- so just avoid buying it altogether.
While the title attempts to do right by Cybertron fans, it ends up making a mess of things. The core gameplay isn't bad, nor is the structure of the game itself, but it is simply boring. Mix boring with the game's technical flaws and there's not much to love about Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark.
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark feels like a game rushed just to coincide with the movie's release, which ultimately led to a disappointing follow-up to a great game series.
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.
A terrible backwards step for Transformers games, and a movie tie-in so cynical it tries to cut corners by ripping off its own predecessors.
But then, low-level disappointment hangs over Rise of the Dark Spark in a constant fog. It is, at best, a functional shooter that asks little of the player and offers the bare minimum in return. Though it pains me to say it, if there's to be another Transformers game to coincide with the inevitable fifth movie, a little of Michael Bay's bullish mayhem would go a long way in livening up this increasingly dull formula.
Starting off weak and getting not only worse, but extremely tiresome due to repetitive gameplay and some horrendously awkward controls, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark smacks of a cheap attempt to cash-in on the new movie release, not even properly linking to the feature film for those awaiting its release or tying various story threads together from the previous movie and game releases. The mess of a story definitely extends to being a mess of a game. It is simply cynical and bound to leave a bad taste in even the greatest of fans' mouths, this is undeserving of the Transformers name.
The last few Transformers video games bucked the trend of subpar licensed products, instead giving us the Transformers games we always wanted as kids. Perhaps the PlayStation and Xbox versions of Rise of the Dark Spark are just as high-quality as their predecessors, but on Wii U, Rise of the Dark Spark is everything Nintendo fans have come to loathe about movie tie-ins and multiplatform gaming: a lazy port with missing features that treats Nintendo players like second-class citizens.
If you loved the first Transformers games, odds are you'll also like this one. If you liked Michael Bay's movies, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is worth a shot. But if you're expecting a redeeming experience, this is not it.
A good Transformers game has good transforming and good robot-blasting. Rise of the Dark Spark has neither.
While the Escalation mode remains as fun as ever, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is nothing more than a cheap rush job that boasts poor graphics, boring gameplay and a borderline incoherent story.
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is an insultingly overt cross-marketing bid that isn't worth your time.
Offering no more than meets the eye, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is just a shallow, frustrating, and incoherent third-person shooter.
It's lucky it has Insecticons, otherwise I'd have been really, really critical.