| Transformers: Fall of Cybertron | |
|---|---|
 Game poster | |
| Developer(s) | High Moon Studios Mercenary Technology (PC) Fun Labs (PlayStation 4, Xbox One) |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Director(s) | Matt Tieger |
| Writer(s) | Dan Jolley |
| Composer(s) | Troels Brun Folmann |
| Series | Transformers |
| Engine | Unreal Engine 3 |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 PlayStation 4 Xbox One |
| Release | Microsoft Windows,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360PlayStation 4,Xbox One |
| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer |
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is athird-person shootervideo game based on theTransformers franchise, developed byHigh Moon Studios and published byActivision. It is the sequel to the 2010 video gameTransformers: War for Cybertron, and directly follows the events of that game, as theAutobots struggle to defeat theirDecepticon foes in acivil war for their home planet of Cybertron. The game was released on August 21, 2012, in North America and on August 24, 2012, in Europe forMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 3, andXbox 360. In 2016, it was released forPlayStation 4 andXbox One on August 8, in Australia and on August 9, in North America. Mercenary Technology developed the game's Windows version, while Fun Labs developed the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions.
Set as the prequel toTransformers: Prime, the game tells the story of the Transformers, fictional robotic life forms, and the final days of conflict on their home planet of Cybertron. An origins subplot for the Dinobots is also told, reimagined from theTransformers: Generation 1 continuity. Other subplots also tell an adapted story for several characters. Some of the voice cast from the 1984 seriesThe Transformers return to reprise their roles, includingPeter Cullen as Autobot leaderOptimus Prime andGregg Berger asGrimlock. Other actors return to reprise their roles fromTransformers: War for Cybertron.
Fall of Cybertron received generally favorable reviews from critics. Critics generally felt that the game was true to theTransformers franchise and provided goodfan service, but some thought that the story pace slowed at times. Gameplay was mostly praised, but some reviewers cited the removal ofWar for Cybertron's cooperative campaign as a low point. Graphics and audio also received broadly positive comments. A spin-off,Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, which is partially set betweenWar for Cybertron andFall of Cybertron, was released in June 2014. Later, following the expiration of the licensing deal between Activision and Hasbro, the game title was delisted from digital storefronts.
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, like its predecessorTransformers: War for Cybertron, is athird-person shooter. Players can control each transformer in both its robot and vehicle forms. Instead of a traditionalhealth system, the game features a system similar to theHalo series of video games. The player character has both a regenerating shield and health, the latter of which can be replenished by ahealth pack.[1] The weapon selection inFall of Cybertron is expanded, with new weapons that can take on very significant upgrades, including one that allows a weapon to fire up to 75% faster. These are purchased throughTeletran 1 kiosks found throughout the game.[2]
Every character has been given their own unique ability. For example, Jazz can fire a grappling hook to reach high or distant places,[3] Optimus Prime can command the massiveMetroplex, and the Combaticons have the ability to combine into the DecepticonBruticus. Segments in which players control Bruticus are designed to accommodate its larger size. Scale is maintained so the character towers over enemies.[4] The Autobot Grimlock, who transforms into a roboticTyrannosaurus, is controlled differently than other characters. Carrying only a sword and shield, Grimlock cannot transform at will, instead accumulatingrage as he battles opponents. When he gains enough rage, Grimlock is able to transform and inflict massive damage.[4] The online cooperative campaign play featured in the first game has been removed in favor of levels that utilize each character's specific abilities.[5]
Thesurvival mode Escalation fromWar for Cybertron returns. In this mode players must defend against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. As gameplay progresses, new sections of the level open, which give players access to upgraded weapons and abilities. Franchise characters are used in Escalation, while players can customize one of four character classes (Scientist, Infiltrator, Destroyer, and Titan) on 9 different maps (Sewers, Spire, Abandoned, Bowels, Array, Corrosion, Tempest, Convoy, Desolation) in competitive multiplayer.[6] Autobot and Decepticon Transformers can be customized with parts earned through a ranking system or purchased through the game's marketplace. Several parts from famous Transformers can be used, such as heads, torsos, legs, and arms. Hundreds of pieces and color options are available.[6] Players can also buy and upgrade their gear.[5]
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a direct continuation ofTransformers: War for Cybertron. Giant robotic life forms known asTransformers are at civil war. Two factions, theAutobots and theDecepticons, vie for control of their home world, Cybertron.[5][7] The events of the previous game have left the planet unable to sustain life, and the Autobots, desperate to ensure the continued existence of the Transformer race, seek to flee the planet. The Decepticons, still bent on domination, will stop at nothing to ensure that the Autobots either submit to the Decepticons or are eliminated.Fall of Cybertron depicts the final battle between the two robot factions, which results in the desolation of their home world, forcing the Autobots to seek refuge in our galaxy, theMilky Way.[8][9] The developer,High Moon Studios, hoped to show a darker tone than the original game.Game Informer's Matt Miller stated that the game "changes and improves upon so many of the fundamental ideas that the developer considers the game a natural successor rather than a true sequel."[7]
| Autobots | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decepticons | ||||
^a Not a playable character
^b Downloadable content, playable only in multiplayer
^c Alternate skin available (pre-order/downloadable content)
^d Slag was renamed Slug in the game due toSlag being a derogatory term in some cultures
^e Playable in escalation
In the final days of the war for Cybertron, the Autobots attempt to flee their dying homeworld aboard theArk, but their spacecraft comes under attack by the Decepticon flagshipNemesis. WhileOptimus Prime engagesMegatron on the outer surface of theArk,Bumblebee is sent byRatchet to find and assist the former. Just as Megatron is about to fire a killing shot, Bumblebee jumps in and takes it for Optimus.
Six days earlier, Optimus leads the defensive against the Decepticons, who are attacking the dockedArk. After assistingPerceptor,Ironhide, andWarpath, Optimus accidentally awakens the city-sized ancient Autobot TitanMetroplex, who helps turn the tide of the battle; he destroys two of the Decepticons' Warp Cannons but is seemingly killed by the last. While trying to destroy the last cannon himself, Optimus is captured byStarscream and theCombaticons, who bring him before Megatron. Just as Megatron is about to execute Optimus, Metroplex comes back online and crushes him to death. Starscream assumes leadership of the Decepticons and orders a tactical retreat. Despite their victory, the battle cost the Autobots all of their Energon, leaving them unable to fuel theArk.
Meanwhile,Jazz,Cliffjumper andSideswipe, tasked by Optimus with investigating the disappearance of the Lightning Strike Coalition Force - consisting ofGrimlock,Slug,Sludge,Snarl andSwoop - track their signatures to the Sea of Rust. While investigating a Decepticon presence in the area, they find Sludge's remains and an enormous tower in a lake of Energon firing a bright beam into Cybertron's orbit, operated by the Decepticon scientistShockwave. Shockwave explains that the tower is a Space Bridge, used by their ancestors to find and travel to other planets, and flees after commanding a swarm ofInsecticons to attack the Autobots. After destroying the tower, Cliffjumper and Jazz escape with Sideswipe and report back to Optimus.
After the Autobots salvage the Energon from the tower, Starscream and Combaticon leaderOnslaught devise a plan to ambush the Autobot transport carrying the Energon and reclaim it. After the CombaticonsVortex,Brawl andBlast Off destroy a bridge the transport must cross, Starscream leads an airstrike on the transport despite Onslaught's warning about its anti-aircraft cannons. Meanwhile,Swindle destroys the transport's wheel struts, causing it to activate its flight mode and take off. Starscream orders a retreat, but the Combaticons ignore him and board the transport, combining to form the giant DecepticonBruticus. However, they inadvertently cause the transport to crash, losing half of the Energon, and Starscream arrests them for insubordination. Meanwhile, beneath the Decepticon capital of Kaon,Soundwave resurrects Megatron in a new, superior body. Megatron then challenges Starscream for leadership of the Decepticons during the latter's coronation and chases him away. After freeing the Combaticons, Megatron orders a full-scale assault on an Autobot stronghold in the ruins of their capital city, Iacon. There, Megatron finds the Decepticon TitanTrypticon, trapped in stasis lock sincehis defeat at Optimus' hand, but his intact power core allows Megatron to permanently transform him into theNemesis.
Seeking revenge against Megatron, Starscream infiltrates Shockwave's tower laboratory and finds an imprisoned Grimlock. Starscream offers him freedom in exchange for his loyalty, but Grimlock escapes by throwing Starscream into the restraint controls. As he fights his way through the lab in search of Swoop, Slug, and Snarl, Grimlock learns that they were all captured while investigating the Space Bridge in the Sea of Rust and subsequently experimented on by Shockwave, giving them new alternate forms. Shockwave reveals that he is building a new Space Bridge to find another planet brimming with energy for the Decepticons to plunder, and based Grimlock's team's new forms oncreatures he found onone such planet. After rescuing his teammates from the Insecticon swarm leadersHardshell,Kickback andSharpshot, Grimlock contacts Optimus and informs him of the situation, then attempts to destroy the Space Bridge himself but is re-captured by Shockwave. He escapes by transforming into his dinosaur form and biting off Shockwave's left arm, then destroys the tower. This destabilizes the portal in Cybertron's orbit, giving the Autobots an opportunity to leave via theArk before it closes.
After Metroplex sacrifices himself by transferring all of his Energon to theArk, the Autobots make a run for the portal but are intercepted by theNemesis. Soundwave leads the first wave of troops onto theArk through giant cables and deactivates the ship's automated defense system, whileJetfire destroys the cables and helps Jazz blast Bruticus off the ship after the Combiner destroyed theArk's fuel line. The game then returns to the opening scene of Bumblebee sacrificing himself to save Optimus from Megatron. The two resume their fight, but before the winner can be decided, both ships are pulled into the portal to an unknown destination. The portal then closes, leaving Cybertron a deserted ruin.
During an investor conference in November 2010Hasbro confirmed that a sequel to the 2010 gameTransformers: War for Cybertron would be developed.[7][10]Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was officially announced on October 6, 2011, in an article posted on the gaming magazineGame Informer's website.[7] In the article,Game Informer noted that their November issue would contain an exclusive feature on the upcoming game and the cover would include concept art.[7]1UP.com's Chris Pereira wrote that fans would be excited to hear another original Transformers game from High Moon Studios was being developed, since thegame based on the filmTransformers: Dark of the Moon did not meet critical expectations.[11][12] Henry Gilbert ofGamesRadar was also pleased to see an original game being developed and said "we're glad [...] developer High Moon Studios is back to what it does best: crafting new/old adventures for the Autobots and Decepticons".[8] High Moon Studios originally announced that they would not be releasingFall of Cybertron on theMicrosoft Windows platform[13] but changed their plans.[14] The Windows version was completed by Mercenary Technologies, while High Moon Studios handled the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases.[15] The game is powered byEpic Games'Unreal Engine 3 and utilizes theHavok physics engine.[16][17]
Some characters who previously appeared inWar for Cybertron feature updated appearances and transformation schemes, or moving parts that animate regardless of player action, similar to breathing.[19] The character Optimus Prime was redesigned for a "more warrior-type feel",[18] with more bulk added to his body mass.[19] The weaponry inFall of Cybertron was also modified and enhanced; the designers of the game put out a call to everyone in the studio for new weapon ideas.[2] Matt Tieger of High Moon explained that in addition to new designs, each weapon could be upgraded, continuing, "We really made a conscious choice to make every upgrade a significant improvement, so one upgrade might increase your firing speed by 75%. We could have made the system so that there were a lot of upgrades that each improved your guns a little bit, but we wanted to make each upgrade feel like this giant thing. That way when players buy it they’re really going to feel the difference."[2]
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AtE3 2012 veteran Transformers voice actorsPeter Cullen andFred Tatasciore were confirmed to reprise their respective roles of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Tatasciore also voices Ratchet and the city-sized Transformer Metroplex.[17]Gregg Berger voices Grimlock fromThe Transformers for the first time in twenty-five years.[5] Other cast members include:Troy Baker as Jazz, Jetfire, and Kickback;Keith Szarabajka as Ironhide;Nolan North as Cliffjumper, Bruticus and Brawl;Steven Blum as Shockwave, Swindle and Sharpshot;Isaac C. Singleton Jr. as Soundwave andSam Riegel as Starscream.[20]Jim Ward provides the voice for Perceptor, David Boat voices Vortex,Travis Willingham performs as Sideswipe, Slug and Onslaught,Jamieson Price voices Warpath, andKeith Silverstein portrays Blast-Off and Rumble.[17]
The game featuresStan Bush's song "The Touch", originally featured in the 1986 filmThe Transformers: The Movie.[17] The rerecorded 2007 version was used during promotional trailers for preorder items, while the game's end credits utilize both it and a remixed version of the song. The remixed version, called the "Power Mix", was based on the melancholy "Sam's Theme" version of the song, which was created for possible inclusion in the live-action filmRevenge of the Fallen.[21] The credits begin with the "Power Mix" version, and segue into the 2007 version.[22] Bush later released the "Power Mix" on iTunes the following September.[23]
As of 2020, Activision has discontinued support forFall of Cybertron, and the game's multiplayer servers have been shut down.[24]
The first official cinematic trailer for the video game was shown at the 2011Spike TV Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011[25] and featured the song "The Humbling River" byPuscifer.[26] A second cinematic trailer, dubbed "Our World", was released in March 2012.[27] Gameplay was shown during the 2012Botcon convention.[28] On July 5, 2012, the UK release date for the game was brought forward one week to August 24, 2012.[29] A trailer featuring an in-game look at the city-sized Transformer Metroplex was released with the announcement.[30][31] The song featured was an Everlove cover of theSiouxsie and the Banshees song "Cities in Dust". The launch trailer was released on August 17, 2012, and featured the theme "The Last Kingdom" by Alessio Nanni and Daniel Lessner. The game was released in North America on August 21, 2012, and Europe on August 24.[32][33]
A toy line based on the game was manufactured by Hasbro under theTransformers: Generations banner.[34] Bruticus, a character formed by combining five Decepticons, is part of the line.[34] Other figures include Optimus Prime, Jazz, and Shockwave.[35] It was announced the toy line would be released August 21, 2012, in North America, a week earlier than originally planned.[36]
In North America,Amazon.com and video game retailerGameStop offered preorder codes for downloadable content. GameStop offered aG1 Retro Pack that unlocks aThe Transformers Generation 1 themed Optimus Prime skin, a Generation 1 inspired Megatron rifle based the character's alternate mode, and a Shockwave Blast Cannon.[37] Amazon offered a Generation 2 Bruticus skin.[37] In the United Kingdom, Play.com also offered preorder codes. The codes unlocked the Dinobot Swoop for use in the competitive multiplayer.[38]
Multiple downloadable content packs were released. TheMultiplayer Havoc Pack launched on the game's release date of August 21, 2012, and contains five characters for use in multiplayer: Perceptor, Ultra Magnus, Blast Off, Wheeljack, and Zeta Prime. It also unlocks the associated customization pieces related to these characters.[39] The Dinobots, excluding Sludge, make up the DLCDinobot Destructor Pack, released on September 11.[40] The Insecticons, G1 Optimus, Megatron, Hound, and G2 Bruticus were released as DLC for single and multiplayer in theMassive Fury Pack on September 25.[41] Players can also purchase specific customization pieces for their multiplayer characters viamicrotransactions, allowing players to access content they would otherwise have to play to unlock.[42]
On August 8, 2016, Activision releasedFall of Cybertron forPlayStation 4 andXbox One in Australia without announcing it. These versions were developed by FunLabs.[43]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 79.17% (PC)[44] 76.48% (PS3)[45] 81.40% (X360)[46] |
| Metacritic | 78/100 (PC)[47] 77/100 (PS3)[48] 79/100 (X360)[49] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 8/10[50] |
| G4 | 4.5/5[51] |
| Game Informer | 9/10[52] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[53] |
| Giant Bomb |   [54] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[55] |
| Official Xbox Magazine (US) | 8.5/10[56] |
Fall of Cybertron has received generally positive reviews. The PlayStation 3 version received an aggregate score of 77/100 atMetacritic,[48] while the Xbox 360 and Windows versions both hold scores of 79/100.[47][49]GameRankings reports similar scores; the Xbox 360 version has an aggregate score of 81.40%,[46] the PlayStation 3 a score of 76.48%,[45] and the Windows version a score of 79.17%[44]Jeff Gerstmann ofGiant Bomb gave the game a 60% approval, the lowest score reported.[54][note 1]
Alec Meer ofEurogamer praised the developer's focus on staying true to the Transformers source material: "Fall of Cybertron is a love-letter to a fictional universe created in 1984 that has ... continued to this day."[50] Matt Miller ofGame Informer agreed, calling the narrative "tightly crafted".[52]G4TV's Matt Keil lauded the story, character development and voice acting. He called the game "a cinematic shooter that stands on the strength of its design and gameplay".[51]GameSpot's Kevin VanOrd stated that while the game's levels focused on flight are enjoyable and that some levels give players a sense of power, the campaign mode was "too often more exciting to watch than to play".[53] Corey Cohen ofOfficial Xbox Magazine gave high marks for the variety of characters players control during the campaign. He noted that each felt unique from the others, but thought that the game could have utilized the gargantuan transformer Metroplex more.[56] Miller cited that the variety of playable Transformers and their unique abilities kept the game interesting, adding that the control scheme suited each unique character well.[52]
In a more critical review, Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann felt that the game had uneven pacing and gameplay. "The highs inTransformers: Fall of Cybertron are very high [...] but it doesn't go far enough in that direction to stand out" he stated.[54] Gerstmann disliked theframe rate drops during heavy action sequences.IGN's Matt Cabral also noted this, but dismissed these moments as "occasional hiccups".[55] Cabral gave high marks for visual presentation, including the transformations each character used to change forms.[55] Both Cabral and Keil criticized the lack of cooperative campaign gameplay, a feature available in the game's predecessor, as a low point ofFall of Cybertron.[51][55]
According to theNPD Group, the game sold well during the month of its release, placing seventh in sales despite only being available during the last ten days.[57]Fall of Cybertron sold 105,000 copies during its North America debut according toGame Informer.[58]
A video game titledTransformers: Rise of the Dark Spark was developed byEdge of Reality and published byActivision. Most of the game takes place between the events ofWar for Cybertron andFall of Cybertron. It is also a crossover to the fourth live-action filmTransformers: Age of Extinction, and is therefore a tie-in to the film. It features characters from both timelines.
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