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.
Verdict
Co-Op Score
Overall
The Co-Op Experience: Until the servers where shut down, Players could play together in Escalation, which delivers wave-based, survival-style gameplay for up to four players online cooperatively. It features new, upgradeable defense systems, recognizable adversaries from the lore, and an expanded roster of playable characters from past and present.
Co-Optimus game reviews focus on the cooperative experience of a game, our final score graphic represents this experience along with an average score for the game overall. For an explanation of our scores please check our Review Score Explanation Guide.