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USA cover
Developer	Edge of Reality
Publisher	Activision Square Enix (JP)
Writer	Andy Schmidt
Platforms	PlayStation 3 & 4 Xbox 360 & One Wii U PC
Release date	NA/EU:June 24, 2014 AU: June 25, 2014 JP: August 28, 2014 (PS3/PS4)
Continuity	Aligned continuity family Movie continuity family
Chronology	Between War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron Alternate version of Age of Extinction
Rating	ESRB: T PEGI: 12 CERO: B

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is a video game developed by Edge of Reality and published by Activision for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii U, and PC.^[1] It incorporates elements of both the Transformers film franchise and the War for Cybertron / Fall of Cybertron games. The story takes place before the Ark is launched in the Aligned continuity, and it also deals with a storyline revolving around one of Lockdown's schemes in the Age of Extinction portion. It features over forty playable characters, slightly fewer than the Nintendo 3DS version.^[2]

On December 21, 2017, Rise of the Dark Spark and its downloadable content were delisted from multiple digital storefronts due to the expiration of Activision's licensing deal with Hasbro.^[3] In 2020, Activision discontinued support for the title and disabled its online functionality,^[4] namely the cooperative Escalation multiplayer mode. However, DLC for the Xbox One version of Rise of the Dark Spark, including content only usable in Escalation, remains available for purchase on the Microsoft Store. This version of the game is playable on the Xbox Series S and X via backwards compatibility.

Synopsis

Chapter I: The Dark Spark

Character: Drift

Are you an Angel?

Above Earth, a strange object flies through space, destroying a satellite in orbit. The mysterious item flies past a ship, piloted by none other than the legendary mercenary Lockdown. One of his henchmen arrives in the cockpit and asks Lockdown what it was. He replies that it is "the past come calling." Drift, the Decepticon-turned-Autobot, arrives in a burning city to investigate. He notices that something crash-landed nearby. He contacts Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and tells him about the strange object. Prime instructs Drift to investigate the crash site, but while Drift is en route, Lockdown's goons attack the city. Recognizing that they are not Decepticons, Drift reports to Optimus, who correctly guesses that they are mercenaries (much to Drift's disdain). Drift takes out all three mercenaries and, at Optimus's instruction, equips himself with blasters to better fight with, he continues to the site of the crash, taking out mercenaries as he goes. Drift meets up with Optimus and Bumblebee, and the three arrive at the crash site. The Autobots discover an object that Drift does not recognize, but its appearance horrifies Optimus. To make things worse, Lockdown's henchman have arrived first. After another fight, the Autobots walk to the edge of the crater, and Optimus reveals to Drift that it is the Dark Spark. Before it can be retrieved, Lockdown arrives and steals the artifact for himself. The Dark Spark's power prevents him from intervening, and all he can do is furiously watch as Lockdown departs in his ship for parts unknown.

Chapter II: The Lost Vault

Characters: Soundwave (WFC)/ Shockwave (WFC)

As Shockwave and Starscream fly through an ancient, abandoned Cybertronian city, Starscream complains of Megatron sending him on a fool's errand to find a mystical relic that may or may not exist. As this sparks a discussion between Shockwave and Starscream, Soundwave chimes in over the com link, demanding "less talk". As the three 'cons make their way through the city and into an ancient vault, they are met with heavy resistance from feral cybernetic life forms Shockwave has dubbed "Insecticons". Upon destroying the Insecticons attacking them, Shockwave splits off from the group, hoping to find out more about the vault they are in and what is hidden in it. He never gets the chance, however, as he is attacked by, to his surprise, three sentient insecticons. Inadvertently insulting them, (kind of) and incurring their wrath they all attack him, and are all soundly defeated. As Soundwave and Starscream come upon more Insecticons, they go about opening up the vault further so that they can keep moving. Upon defeating the attacking Insecticons, Starscream is alarmed at the appearance of Hardshell, and begins shooting at him, only to be stopped by Shockwave, who reveals Hardshell, along with Kickback and Sharpshot, to be "new recruits" to the Decepticon cause. Sharpshot points the Decepticons in the direction of the Dark Spark before departing with the other Insecticons. The Decepticons continue their trek further into the vault, they are met with resistance in the form of auto turrets and Crystal Guardians as they deactivate the chamber to the Dark Spark. While doing so, Soundwave begins to notice Autobot energy signatures on his scanners, but Shockwave passes them off as glitches. Soon, the Decepticons arrive, triumphant, at the entrance to the chamber holding the Dark Spark.

Chapter III: Getaway

Character: Sideswipe (WFC)

Sideswipe and Ironhide have been tailing the aforementioned Decepticon trio through their whole trip to find the Dark Spark, and have arrived at the Dark Spark before the Decepticons. Ironhide, wishing to be long gone before they are found, takes the Dark Spark. As the Autobots are leaving, marveling at their luck, the Decepticons enter the chamber, and, enraged that the Autobots beat them to the Dark Spark, open fire. Ironhide and Sideswipe barely escape from the chamber as security measures cause it to close itself up, trapping the Decepticons inside. Starscream is enraged, but Shockwave bids him to calm down, as Soundwave had released Laserbeak before they entered the chamber, and the small bird-bot would ensure they are not trapped for long. Meanwhile, Sideswipe and Ironhide are running into resistance from the Insecticons, and Sideswipe must juggle keeping the Insecticons away from Ironhide and the Dark Spark, along with using his grappling hook to pull Ironhide up through the tunnel to the exit. As Sideswipe and Ironhide keep moving, they get separated when Sideswipe accidentally closes a blast door between himself and Ironhide. As Sideswipe fights off swarming Insecticons, Ironhide opens up another path for him to travel through, allowing them to meet up again. As they reach the scheduled rendezvous point (some abandoned subway tunnels), Ironhide reports to Prime that they have the Dark Spark. They are greeted at the rendezvous point by Optimus himself and Bumblebee. As Optimus and the others fight off the swarming Insecticons, Sideswipe is ordered to get to the control panel for the subway and call a train. Sideswipe is successful, but the train, being revealed to be on a timer, leaves as quickly as it came, with only Bumblebee on board. Optimus declares that they will have to hold the line against the Insecticons until the next train arrives. As the Autobots fend off the Decepticons, Starscream, having been freed by Laserbeak, arrives, triumphantly demanding that the Autobots surrender or face his wrath. The Insecticons proceed to swarm him. As Starscream is distracted by the Insecticons, the next train arrives, and the Autobots board, departing for Iacon. As the train leaves, Shockwave and Soundwave arrive, just in time for Starscream to finish off the Insecticons and berate them for not coming sooner and letting the Autobots get away. Shockwave simply looks at Starscream, then presses a switch on his arm, causing the train, which had been wired, to explode.

Chapter IV: Possession

Character: Sharpshot

Shockwave, believing Optimus Prime has the Dark Spark, hides in the rubble of the smoldering train. Sharpshot appears and informs Shockwave of the Dark Spark's real location, with Ironhide, and the two set off to get it. After a short firefight, Shockwave seizes the Dark Spark from a heavily damaged Ironhide and begins to head for Kaon. The bridge is destroyed while he is on it, but he manages to escape before he falls. Sharpshot transforms into insect mode and covers him as he advances along the walkway, eventually barred by an energy barrier. Sharpshot destroys the energy barrier, allowing Shockwave to progress, only to be met by another one. After destroying the second barrier, Shockwave is met by a duo of Titans, which cause him to jump off the walkway. He lands in an ancient research laboratory, and, after inserting some moleculon fuses, some history of the Dark Spark is revealed. When Sharpshot journeys down into the catacombs to activate the final switch, he is attacked by Crystal Guardians. Sharpshot returns to Shockwave, and the two exit the facility. Outside, they are found by Vortex, who alerts the other Combaticons. Onslaught and Swindle arrive soon after. Onslaught orders a reluctant Swindle to escort Shockwave and Sharpshot to Kaon.

Chapter V: Hustle

Character: Swindle (FOC)

While making their way towards Kaon, Swindle, Shockwave, and Sharpshot find themselves in a spacecraft boneyard. As Swindle activates some beacons in order to find a way through, the Decepticons are ambushed by a fleet of Autobot Flyers. Swindle manages to open up a hallway while an Autobot Dropship sends in reinforcements. The Decepticons destroy the Dropship in order to make some makeshift stairs and enter the hallway. While making their way through, Sharpshot senses something and abandons the group (much to Swindle's relief). Shortly afterwards, Swindle & Shockwave are ambushed by a squadron of Autobots led by Cliffjumper. After defeating Cliffjumper and his forces, Swindle & Shockwave surround the Autobot before he activates his invisibility cloak and escapes. Swindle alerts Shockwave that they are nearly at the gates of Kaon and that the other Combaticons should meet up with them at the rendezvous point. Meanwhile, Cliffjumper reports to Optimus that he failed to stop the Decepticons, but Optimus reassures him that he bought them enough time to set their plan into motion.

Chapter VI: Gates of Kaon

Characters: Swindle (FOC)/ Bruticus (WFC)

As the Combaticons meet up at the gates of Kaon, they find themselves under attack by the Autobots. Blast Off offers to deliver the Dark Spark via air, but Shockwave warns that should the Dark Spark fall from a great height, it would cause massive damage to the city. Onslaught orders Shockwave to stay behind while the Combaticons take care of the Autobots. Swindle is tasked with taking down the Enforcers so Blast Off can provide air support. After the Enforcers are destroyed, Shockwave requests some back-up from Swindle. After arguing with Swindle, Blast Off finally provides some air support after Shockwave angrily orders him to. Swindle & Shockwave soon find themselves blocked off by a barrier, and Swindle is forced to protect Shockwave while he hacks the force-field. Swindle meets up with Onslaught and helps him take down a Titan. Soon the rest of the Combaticons arrive and they combine into Bruticus. Bruticus begins defeating wave after wave of Autobot soldiers. While Bruticus has his back turned, Cliffjumper tries to plant a bomb on his back. However, Bruticus finds out and smashes Cliffjumper against a wall. Holding Cliffjumper hostage, Shockwave orders the Autobots to ceasefire. Jazz and his troops comply, but the Decepticons take Cliffjumper with them into Kaon anyway. Jazz alerts Optimus to their situation, with Optimus assuring that they'll rescue Cliffjumper and secure the Dark Spark.

Chapter VII: Infiltration

Character: Optimus Prime (WFC)

Optimus & Jazz begin their rescue mission by driving down a road towards Kolkular, Megatron's fortress. Jazz asks Prime why they just can't leave the Dark Spark with Megatron, considering the Autobots are leaving Cybertron anyway. Optimus is worried however that Megatron may use the Dark Spark's power to destroy the Ark, which is still under construction. Optimus and Jazz manage to make their way into Kolkular by blowing out the vents. Jazz heads off to find a way through, leaving Optimus to fight off some Decepticon soldiers. Jazz finds himself trapped by some turrets, which Optimus manages to shut off. The two Autobots meet up and continue to fight their way through the Recycling Pits. After making their way through some defense grids, Jazz hacks into a terminal and finds out where Shockwave is keeping Cliffjumper. Jazz notices how easy their journey has been, and both he and Optimus agree that they're walking into a trap. On cue, Megatron treats the two with a warm Decepticon welcome, which naturally includes gunfire. Optimus and Jazz fight off Megatron's troops and find the prison cell that Cliffjumper is being held captive. Optimus provides cover for Jazz using a turret while he breaks Cliffjumper out. As Optimus and Jazz check up on Cliffjumper, walls begin to surround the cell, trapping all three Autobots. Optimus contacts Perceptor and orders him to commence Operation Longshot.

Chapter VIII: A Desperate Plan

Character: Jetfire (WFC)

Perceptor relays the details of Operation Longshot to Jetfire, namely how Jetfire's mission is to infiltrate the smoldering remains of Trypticon. Perceptor has reprogrammed a Decepticon maintenance probe to map out Trypticon's interior, which would have changed since Jetfire's last visit. Once inside, Jetfire finds that some of Trypticon's systems are still online, but these are automatic functions and not a sign of Trypticon's consciousness. However, Jetfire notices some new gear inside Trypticon and he is attacked by some Decepticon soldiers. Jetfire discovers that Starscream is salvaging some Energon from Trypticon without Megatron's permission. Jetfire continues on his way towards the cargo bay, but he catches the attention of some turrets, alerting Starscream to his presence. Jetfire soon arrives at the weapon chamber, and he is tasked with reactivating Trypticon's weapon system. Perceptor activates Trypticon's orbital strike, giving Jetfire barely enough time to escape. Starscream is enraged that all his Energon has gone to waste and vows revenge against Jetfire. The energy beam fired from Trypticon soon reaches its target: Kolkular. Things go according to plan, as Optimus, Jazz, and Cliffjumper are freed due to the damage to the fortress and the three begin their escape.

Chapter IX: Ascension

Character: Optimus Prime (WFC)

During the Autobot's prison break, Cliffjumper recalls Shockwave bringing up his experiments with the Dark Spark and how Cliffjumper "wouldn't have to be an Autobot much longer". Optimus orders Jazz to get Cliffjumper to safety, while he'll go after Megatron and the Dark Spark alone. Jazz & Cliffjumper are reluctant, but comply. Optimus is soon suppressed by turret fire, but he manages to destroy the turrets power source. Optimus accesses a computer terminal to discover where Megatron's location is, and also locks the doors behind him to prevent any counter-strike against him. After fighting through more Decepticon troops, Optimus enters a room that contains some fallen Autobot soldiers. Megatron and Shockwave observe from a distance and decide to use Optimus for an experiment. Using Dark Energon, Shockwave resurrects the Autobots, now pledging their allegiance to Megatron. Megatron, now using the Dark Spark to increase his power, joins his new troops in their fight against Optimus. Whenever Megatron begins to recharge the Dark Spark, Optimus starts destroying the charging towers. In a last ditch effort, Optimus and Megatron begin to unleash the power of the Matrix of Leadership and the Dark Spark, respectively. Eventually, the power of the Matrix overpowers the Dark Spark, causing it to eject itself out of Megatron and launch itself into space. Shockwave begins to drag Megatron away, having sustained serious injuries. Jazz contacts Optimus to ask him about his condition. Optimus informs him that the Dark Spark has been neutralized and the Autobots should now focus their attention on finishing the Ark. Optimus does express his concerns however, that the Dark Spark may eventually cause havoc elsewhere...

Chapter X: Hunted

Character: Bumblebee (Movie)

Across time and space, Lockdown is contemplating how fortunate it was for him to find the Dark Spark. Bumblebee and Drift have been busy tracking Lockdown's ship and report to Optimus that he may be heading towards an abandoned military base. Bumblebee asks (well, more like beeps) Optimus if their back-up is ready, but Optimus tells him to be patient. After ending their transmission, the two Autobots are attacked by snipers. The duo manage to flank the snipers, and Bumblebee provides cover for Drift as he makes his way down the cliffs. The two eventually make it to base, which is swarming with mercenaries. Drift attempts a stealth attack against Lockdown, but he is quickly spotted and taken down. Lockdown then orders his men to find Bumblebee, knowing that Autobots rarely travel alone.

Chapter XI: Investigation

Characters: Bumblebee (Movie)/ Drift

Bumblebee continues to fight his way through Lockdown's men while looking for Drift. The mercenaries have jammed the Autobot's radio signals, leaving them unable to communicate with Optimus. Bumblebee eventually finds Drift being interrogated by Lockdown. Lockdown mocks Drift for his shift in allegiance and leaves him to get roughed up by the mercenaries. Bumblebee takes this opportunity to snipe one of the henchmen, allowing Drift to escape. While fighting wave after wave of Lockdown's henchmen, Drift overhears Lockdown assuring he'll keep the Autobots distracted. Lockdown unveils his new Titan mercenary, which is impervious to the Autobot's weapons. This forces Drift and Bumblebee to flee.

Chapter XII: Ambushed

Characters: Drift/ Grimlock (AOE)

Drift and Bumblebee make their way outside while more mercenaries try to take them out. Just when it seems like there's no hope left for the two, Grimlock, one of the Dinobots, comes to their rescue. After Grimlock easily dispatches the mercenaries, the Titan mercenary finally arrives. Grimlock smacktalks the Titan before rendering it "extinct". Lockdown takes this opportunity to escape, much to Grimlock's anger.

Chapter XIII: Extinction

Character: Grimlock (AOE)

Lockdown and his men enter their base located in the middle of a city. Upon hearing that the Autobots have entered the city, Lockdown orders the mercenaries to keep them occupied. Grimlock and Optimus make their way through a blockade on a bridge. Afterwards, Optimus heads off to meet up with Drift and Bumblebee, and Grimlock has to continue alone. As Grimlock rampages his way through, Optimus detects Energon surges coming from within the city. The Autobots reach the entrance to Lockdown's hide out and Grimlock is tasked with destroying the transmitters that allow Lockdown to communicate with his troops. Grimlock then meets up with the rest of the Autobots and provides cover for Optimus as he tries to get the entrance to open. Optimus succeeds, and he and Bumblebee enter Lockdown's lair.

Chapter XIII: Locked Down

Character: Optimus Prime (Movie)

Optimus and Bumblebee make their way underground, while Drift and Grimlock guard the entrance. Optimus and Bumblebee fight Lockdown's mercenaries as they make their way through the base. Drift meets up with the two and assures them that Grimlock has everything under control. The three Autobots soon confront Lockdown and discover that he has built himself a time bridge. Since the Autobots failed to prevent him from recovering an amplifier that was located in the jungle, Lockdown is free to go back in time and save the Decepticons that were in the Battle for Chicago. After destroying the energy stabilizers for the time bridge, Lockdown begins to monologue about how well-paid he was during the war and that after Megatron's death, things haven't been the same. Lockdown intends to bring the Decepticons into the present and continue the war anew. Lockdown intends his first job to deliver Optimus to Megatron. Optimus is disgusted by Lockdown's plan and tries to fight the bounty hunter. Lockdown is impervious to Optimus' weapons thanks to the Dark Spark and Optimus has to resort to melee attacks in order to damage him. Eventually, the two begin to grapple with each other and Optimus tosses Lockdown towards Drift, who cuts the Dark Spark out of Lockdown's chest. Optimus then uses the Matrix to toss the Dark Spark into the time bridge. The time bridge becomes too unstable, and the Autobots make their escape. His plans ruined, Lockdown flees from the Autobots in his ship.

Meanwhile, the Dark Spark finally lands in the middle of a desert. Watching over this, a familiar face expresses horror that the day has finally come...

Featured characters

Quotes

Starscream: "Soundwave, did Shockwave make a joke back there?
Soundwave: "AFFIRMATIVE."
Starscream: "Was it intentional?
Soundwave: "AFFIRMATIVE."
Starscream: "You know, Soundwave, you've become quite the conversationalist."
Soundwave: "AFFIRMATIVE."

-Starscream and Soundwave discuss Shockwave's brief moment of humor.

Starscream: "A pity, then, that we are only three."
Soundwave: "LASERBEAK: EJECT."
Starscream: "My mistake. Three and a half."

-Starscream does not think much of Soundwave's minions.

[A failed headshot prompts the Mercenary Titan to turn towards Bee and Drift]
Bumblebee: [Surprised beeps]
Drift: Bee, I have formed a plan: Run!

-Drift, coming up with brilliant impromptu plans.

Swindle: "No sign of the bug [Sharpshot]. Oh well, can't say I'm sad to see him go."
Shockwave: "Are you implying that you two were not forming a long and lasting bond of friendship?"
Swindle: "You can't be serious?"

-Shockwave discusses with Swindle about his slash fic observations of the two.

Jetfire: "I used to be stationed on Trypticon, remember? I can find my way."
Perceptor: "Your knowledge is based on the erroneous notion that Trypticon's layout was not altered during his conversion from space station to smoldering wreck."
Jetfire: "Point taken... Well, lead the way, little buddy."

-Jetfire and Perceptor

"The only future to master is one's own. The humans understand this. Yet they also understand that the past is the genesis of all things, and must be afforded proper deference."

-Movie Optimus Prime is willing to segue into a Generation One epilogue...but he's going to be meta about it.

Trophy/Achievement list

When completing various goals and tasks during the game, the player will be rewarded as part of their console of choice's meta-goal system. Players can earn up to 51 Trophies on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and 50 Achievements on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The PlayStation versions' trophies come in four types: Bronze, which represent easier tasks and are worth the least experience; Silver, which are awarded for challenges of mid-level difficulty; Gold, which are given for harder tasks and worth more experience; and Platinum, the highest-level trophy unlocked only after earning all of a game's other trophies. On the Xbox versions, each achievement has a Gamerscore value that adds to the player's total Gamerscore across all games played; up to 1000 Gamerscore can be earned in Rise of the Dark Spark. These achievements can also be earned in the PC version as part of the Steam interface, but lack the individual values and weights from the console versions.

Achievement/Trophy name	Achievement/Trophy description	Gamerscore	PS Trophy
Til All Are One!	Earned All Trophies.
Aligned	Chose your allegiance.	10
Peace through tyranny	Defeated 250 Autobots.	15
It Was An Honor	Defeated 250 Decepticons and mercenaries.	15
Short Circuit	Reached Level 5.	10
Perfect	Reached Level 10.	10
You Got The Touch	Reached Level 25.	10
Covenant of Primus	Activated Prime Mode.	50
It’s The Thought That Counts	Opened 3 Gear Boxes.	5
Tough	Made it through Wave 5 in Escalation.	10
Double Tough	Made it through Wave 10 in Escalation.	25
Double Tough Hard	Made it through Wave 15 in Escalation.	50
Hmm, Upgrades	Upgraded an installation to max level in Escalation.	10
You Get Nothing, Good Day Sir	Slowed down the reverse engineering project.	10
Make Peace, Not War	Destroyed Lockdown's Weapon Caches.	10
Somebody's Watching Me	Found all the Stalker's Observations.	25
Make It Rain	Discovered the fate of the Entrepreneur.	25
Spoils of War	Listened to all the Veteran's laments.	25
Snitches Get Stitches	As Drift, destroyed all the Anti-Alien Propaganda Billboards.	10
My Blade Has Tasted Better	As Drift, defeated 25 enemies with the Blade Dash ability.	10
Spectacularly Amazing!	As Sideswipe, got through the whole chasm using less than 6 grapples.	25
Softly Softly Catchee Monkey	As Swindle, defeated Cliffjumper without causing any collateral damage.	20
No One Gets Outta Here Alive!	Destroyed everything outside the Gates of Kaon.	10
What Could Go Wrong?	As Optimus, completed the rescue of Cliffjumper without using the turret.	25
I'd Like To Leave Here Please	As Jetfire, escaped the ruins of Trypticon without taking any damage from the laser gates.	15
Sting like a . . .	As Bumblebee, defeated a sniper with a melee attack.	10
Tread Lightly	As Grimlock, prevented Optimus from falling below 50% health while defending him.	25
Give Me The News Doc	Healed 50000 health points amongst you and your allies.	25
Need ... Oil ... Can	Defeated 75 enemies that are slowed.	25
Bleeding Edge	Completed the game with a HACK active.	25
Of Merit and Distinction	Earned 250 Combat Distinctions.	25
Challenge Accepted	Completed 50 Challenges.	25
Blasters! Blasters! Blasters!	Unlocked every weapon.	25
This Weapon of Iron & Wood	Fully upgraded a primary weapon.	10
VROOM-pire!	Defeated 50 enemies by siphoning their health away with the Energon Harvester.	10
Y U Heff 2 B Mad?	Used the V32.Cybr Corrupt@r on a Power Foe and have them defeat an enemy.	25
Shadow Company	Defeated 25 enemies after using the Cloak ability.	25
Thumbs Up Soldier!	Defeated 35 enemies using throwback damage from the Kinetic Capacitor Shield ability.	10
Marked For Destruction	Defeated 50 enemies marked with E.D.U.	25
Turret Buddy	Defeated 25 enemies with your Battle Sentry.	25
healing.exe	Repaired 5000 points of damage with your Repair Sentry.	25
Quartermaster	Resupplied 250 times with the Ammo Supply Core.	25
Totally OP	Defeated 100 enemies with the Riot Cannon.	25
I Hope You Have Insurance	Healed 15000 health points with your Heal Beam.	25
Scrapped	Used Explosive Path to defeat 35 enemies.	25
Tormenta	Used Thunder Blast to earn 35 multi kills.	25
Loadsa Money	Earned 25000 Energon Shards.	20
What Does This Do?	Used 50 T.E.C.H.	15
It's Not A Sprint	Drove or Flew 26 miles (42km) in vehicle mode.	10
Full Metal Jacket	Reloaded 1000 times.	10
Welcome to Earth!	Defeated Lockdown.	50

Notes

Continuity notes

• The Cybertron portion of the game occurs between War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron – the Ark is under construction, Trypticon still lies where he crashed, and we see Shockwave discover the Insecticons for the first time. However, there are two notable inconsistencies – see 'Errors' below.
• The Age of Extinction story, meanwhile, is utterly irreconcilable with the events of the film – the Autobots have an existing alliance with the Dinobots, and Optimus Prime and Bumblebee sport the new bodies they acquire during the film, yet Lockdown is perfectly alive and Prime is active on Earth. Stinger's brief cameo as a mercenary is similarly impossible to reconcile (although KSI could have plagiarized Stinger's model.)
• Audio logs speak of the Patterners and Galvatron indicating that studies of the Dark Spark took place during the Age of Origins in The Covenant of Primus.
• Starscream sarcastically makes note of how Soundwave is becoming a "conversationalist", likely alluding to the vow of silence he takes and employs during the Prime cartoon.
• For the first time in the "Aligned" games, Shockwave and Megatron use Dark Energon to revive dead Autobots and turn them into Terrorcons (though not named as such within the game), as we would later see in Prime. It is also first alluded that Dark Energon has a connection to Unicron.
• Like his namesake, Drift was once a Decepticon before switching allegiance to join the Autobots, as noted by Lockdown when the former was held captive. Whether this background also applies to the film is unknown, given the above differences in the continuity.
• In chapter one, Optimus Prime refers to a line: "The humans never asked for our war", which was previously heard in the previous game, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, during an attack on Detroit.

Transformers references

• In the first level of the game, there's a billboard that reads "Vote Berger for Mayor", an obvious reference to the original The Transformers cartoon character Shawn Berger, who expressed such mayoral desires in the two-part episode "Megatron's Master Plan".
• Shockwave quotes his motto from his toy's bio, "Clarity of thought before rashness of action".
• Ironhide and Sideswipe both paraphrase Ironhide's motto from his original bio, "High-tech circuitry is no replacement for guts".
• Blast Off quotes his motto from his original bio, "I destroy Autobots by choice, not command".
• Swindle mentions Starscream freeing the Combaticons from the Decepticon brig, a reference to the origin of the Combaticons in the G1 cartoon episode "Starscream's Brigade".

Errors

• Despite the game's script clearly positioning it before the events of Fall of Cybertron, and the main menu background depicting him in his War for Cybertron body, Megatron is depicted in the new body he acquired only part-way through that game.
• Ironhide and Sideswipe encounter an Insecticon Bruiser, despite Fall of Cybertron having established them as a creation of Shockwave.
• The live-action film universe Matrix of Leadership uses the model from the Aligned games, rather than the very different Matrix design first seen in Revenge of the Fallen.
• Lockdown's model has a Decepticon insignia and is undersized.
• During the fourth chapter, Shockwave plummets off a ledge and crashes through a ceiling while carrying the Dark Spark, to no ill effect. Two chapters later, Shockwave conversely claims that that Dark Spark falling from height could cause citywide damage.
• If the player hits an allied character, they react physically, but the accompanying sound effects present in previous games in the series are missing.
• As Stinger and Bumblebee are both redecoes of each others, while Bumblebee's head uses the unmasked head, Stinger on the other hand uses the masked & unmasked head at the same time: if you zoom closely you'll notice it & by clipping in game, you'll see Bumblebee's unmasked head (with purple eyes).
• The entirety of Chapter 8 contradicts a LOT of things.
  • The remains of Trypticon are apparently in Decepticon hands, unlike in Fall of Cybertron, where his remains are in Autobot hands.
  • Trypticon looks really different than from his War for Cybertron appearance. His head looks more dinosaur-like and his color scheme is completely different.
  • Apparently, Jetfire and Perceptor take ALL of the Energon remaining in Trypticon, along with the other amount Starscream needed for something, despite the BIG fact that the AUTOBOTS were USING Trypticon for the ARK, which would get them OFF of Cybertron in Fall of Cybertron. Does that make Jetfire AND Perceptor war criminals? This game is a poorly written and buggy mess.

Trivia

• Rise of the Dark Spark is one of only two Activision-published Transformers games, alongside Transformers The Game, to be released in Japan, albeit only on PS4 and PS3.
• Rise of the Dark Spark marks a PlayStation 4 milestone by being the first game to support the PlayStation Store pre-loading feature introduced in the console's 1.70 update.^[5]
• The game reuses a large portion of existing game assets from Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, such as character models, environmental textures, animation cycles, control sequences and weapons. In contrast, the majority of assets freshly created to represent the AOE scenarios do not match the quality of the re-used assets, and even go as far as to reskin a number of them.
  • The Crystal Guardians the Decepticons face in chapter 2 are all generics with the body-type of Zeta Prime.
  • Grimlock's AOE iteration in the game is a complete reskin of his depiction from Fall of Cybertron, meaning he retains all his animations and attacks from that game, despite using a mace rather than a sword. This does not stop him from somehow stabbing enemies with the aforementioned mace, and also results in an unusual transformation, with Grimlock's parts flipping around randomly before suddenly swapping models from T-Rex to Robot mode. Because of him reusing animations, his body parts clip in his body when they move.
• Just to give you a quick rundown on how much this game does and doesn't reuse from the last 3 games:
  • All of the audio of this game is reused from other games, save for the dialogue and some voice clips. The main menu music is new, but it doesn't even come from the actual game!
  • The Mercenaries you fight in the Earth levels consist of Revenge of the Fallen game & Dark of the Moon game character models. The common Mercenary Solders reuse Autobot solder models from the DotM game (which were modeled after the Ark's crew). Rocket-troopers, Shotgunners and Titans reuse the Combaticon Scouts, any generic Seekers and Combaticon Warriors models from RotF respectively. Leapers are tweaked Combaticons Warriors too with Mirage's blades and at last but not least, the Wall Crawlers are reskins with added bits of their Decepticons counterparts from Fall of Cybertron.
  • The level models for Campaign and the Earth levels for Escalation are all new, though some designs are reused from War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. The returning War for Cybertron Escalation maps have been completely remade, almost looking better than their original counterparts. The Fall of Cybertron Escalation maps are completely reused.
  • Earth Bumblebee uses his DotM vehicle mode, retextured to look like the 2014 Camaro vehicle he scans in Age of Extinction. Stinger's vehicle mode uses Mirage's vehicle mode from the Dark of the Moon game, once again, retextured to look like his vehicle mode in Age of Extinction.

Guess who's still not back?

• During Escalation, Earth characters are noticeably bigger than Cybertron characters with Earth Optimus hilariously towering over Warpath.
• This game marks the first time Shockwave and Sharpshot are playable in a Story mode, as well as the first instance of Hardshell speaking.
• The relationship between Bumblebee and Drift is much more friendly than in the movie. Lockdown also is very different. In the game, greed and personal power seems to be his primary motivation, while in the movie Lockdown simply wanted fair payment for his services as he talks about how inferior humans are and how he thinks extremely highly of his creators.
• Steve Blum really gets his work cut out for him, since he gets more than an entire level dedicated to his three characters, Swindle, Sharpshot, and Shockwave. Scott McNeil would be proud!
• In the game's files, there are unused models, textures, and a character portrait of Barricade, possibly meaning that he was at one point going to be in the game, but scrapped again for whatever reason. You can mod the game to play as him, but modding this game is stupid difficult.

Foreign names

• Europe: Transformers: The Dark Spark
• Russia: Трансформеры: Битва за Тёмную Искру (Transformers: Battle for the Dark Spark)

References

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External links

• Announcement trailer
• G1 Optimus Prime trailer
• Bumblebee trailer
• Gameplay trailer
• Bruticus trailer
• Grimlock trailer
• Gampelay trailer - Escalation