Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (Wii U) Review

Edge of Reality is behind development duties rather than High Moon Studios that did the non-Nintendo releases War of Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron. Why is this important, though? Well, other than some impressive ports of games to Nintendo 64 in the early 2000s, the team has not achieved much of note, so it is surprising to see it at the helm here. Rise of the Dark Spark acts as a follow-up to aforementioned two Transformers releases by High Moon, and is also pegged as a story that takes place after the new movie Transformers: Age of Extinction, despite that not having released yet. Still, the tale of a hunt for an ancient relic - the game's namesake, the Dark Spark - that is as powerful as the Matrix of Leadership may be of intrigue to long-term enthusiasts. Whereas the Matrix grants wisdom, the Dark Spark gives the user the power to bend the universe and its inhabitants to their own will. Quite the powerhouse indeed, and unsurprisingly everyone wants it! However, whilst the on-screen action may cover any storyline cracks in the world of movies, the plodding events that transpire in Rise of the Dark Spark make for quite the painful affair...and a confusing one at the same time.

Everything is also marred by clunky controls that can be tweaked in the menu screen to improve matters marginally but still not enough to make for an overall smooth experience (and, should the default controls not be the best option anyway?). Additionally, bland settings and rudimentary 'go here, shoot that, grab this' type missions without any flair are the norm right from the start, with no change in quality as the game progresses. The 'fast-paced running-and-gunning' promise of the game's blurb is disappointingly absent, and when reaching parts where turning into a vehicle is recommended, get ready for some of the worst driving controls ever experienced. Awkward and unresponsive, staying out of vehicular form will be preferred, but even then dashing around on foot is not as intuitive as it should, for some crazy reason, and yet enemies (even on the 'Easy' setting) apparently have no such issues!

There may well be the choice to switch between Autobots and Decepticons for those that wish to see things from the good and bad angles, choosing from over 40 characters to play as in the single-player campaign, yet without the actual thrill to draw players in and with the control gripes, the varied selection is meaningless. To rub salt into the wounds even more, despite this supposedly being developed across all formats, shockingly the Wii U edition is actually missing a large chunk of content, namely the Escalation multiplayer mode that almost makes up for the lacklustre solo campaign in other home console iterations. Everything about Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark smacks of being rushed to hit deadlines, whereas a little more care and attention on the controls side alone would have improved the experience considerably. Saying that, it would not have saved it from the mundane objectives and repetitive action, but at least it would have helped slightly to numb the agony.