Sequels are often bigger and better than their predecessor, but sometimes the developers manage to take the same idea, do something similar but still manage to make it worse. Welcome to the world of Transformers: Rise of the Dark.
The review for Dark Spark has been some time coming, but as will be explained later in this review, that is probably no bad thing as this is essentially a solo experience with a Horde Mode added. The main campaign of the game follows the same style as the previous two Transformer games; War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. You play as both the Autobots and the Decepticons and switch between the two to advance the story. Edge of Reality have replaced High Moon Studios as the developers on this game and rather than bring back the 3 player campaign co-op that made the first game a surprise hit, they have decided to stick with the Horde Mode that made the second game passable.
However, whilst it was a disappointment that Fall had no campaign co-op, the solo experience still held up. As we advance to Dark Spark, even this is no longer the case; we lose both co-op and decent gameplay. I understand that sequels are fraught with pitfalls; rehashing the same gameplay leads to the series growing stale, but in the case of Dark Spark, the gameplay is not only rehashed, but also slightly worse. Whatever balance to the running and gunning that High Moon brought to the franchise has somehow been lost in the handover to Edge of Reality.
This time the game is not only set on Cybertron, but also visits Earth. You would imagine that this would lead to some interesting vistas that shake up the series, but instead your eyes are attacked by polygons that would be better suited to the PlayStation 2 era. The lack of texture and tone is hidden well in the metallic world of the Transformers, but our organic planet is not best served by the engine.
There are other elements that are also not well served; the AI for one. The artificial intelligence is sporadic, some enemies are fiendishly difficult, whilst others Transformers would find it hard to open themselves up even if you handed them the can opener. Therefore, you run across a series of scenarios that are either too hard or too easy – only one or two hit the right balance.
If I am being a little harsh, it is only because the game is so mediocre. The series was never stellar, but it was solid and did at one point have a golden co-op period. Now the game feels lazy and stale. There is fun to be had running around and shooting in 3rd person. The addition of perks to mix up the gameplay by creating a difficulty/experience risk/reward balance works well and there is loot aplenty to find. You can also swap between a variety of light and heavy weaponry that should allow you play the game as you see fit. Finally, there are a set of mini-achievements that are integrated into the game that does make some of the monotonous gameplay appear more worthwhile.
With the single player experience being at best average, can the co-op save Dark Spark the ignominy of being as bad as the movies? As mentioned, the co-op mode is a Horde style, but known as Escalation. This 4 player online co-op mode is advancement on the Escalation Mode of the previous game and develops on it further by basically stealing from the best. Many games have paid homage to Gears of War 3’s Horde Mode, but Dark Spark is essentially one of those low rent tribute acts that are like the original, but nowhere near as good.
Escalation is certainly a solid gameplay type. The maps on offer are far tighter this time around and allow for better strategies between team mates as you try and bottle the enemies into tight spaces to lay down fire. To aid you are a series of tricks and tools; acid fields, decoy bots, turrets etc. You earn money from kills and spend this on buying and upgrading the extras – like I said, Horde Mode.
You cannot deny that this style of gameplay is fun and as you move towards the 25th wave, it does pose a challenge. The experience points and internal achievements also carry on through this mode so you can unlock loot and improve your characters in both gameplay modes. Playing with 3 other people online is always some level of fun and the Escalation Mode is solid enough to keep you entertained for a couple of hours. However, the lack of variety and feeling of having played this before means that it has a relatively short lifespan. You will enjoy it whilst it lasts, but you would be best off investing your time in Gears or Destiny instead.
The Co-Optimus review of Transformers Fall of Cybertron is based on the 360 version of the game.