Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a third-person shooter video game developed by High Moon Studios and published by Activision. It is the direct sequel to the 2010 video game Transformers: War for Cybertron. The game follows the events of War for Cybertron as the Autobots struggle to defeat their Decepticon foes in battle for their home planet of Cybertron. The game was released on August 21, 2012 in North America and on August 24, 2012 in Europe for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gameplay
Like its predecessor, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is played from a third-person perspective. The weapon selection in Fall of Cybertron is upgraded, with new weapons that can take on very significant upgrades, including an upgrade that allows a weapon to fire 75% faster. The Autobot, Grimlock (a Transformer who transforms into a dinosaur) is controlled differently than other characters. Not having long range weapons (only a sword and a shield) Grimlock cannot transform at will, instead accumulating "rage" as he battles opponents. When he gains enough "rage" Grimlock is able to transform and perform massive damage. Every character will have their own special and unique ability, such as the Autobot Jazz acquiring a grappling hook, Optimus Prime's control of the massive Metroplex and the Combaticons ability to transform into the Decepticon combiner, Bruticus. Bruticus will be playable only in a level where the players will feel "the most powerful." The online co-op campaign play feature in the first game has been dropped. The "Escalation" horde type game-mode from War for Cybertron has also returned. There will be multiple waves of enemies as the game mode progresses, also opening up upgrades in weaponry. Instead of a health system the game will feature a regenerative system. The player will also be able to buy and upgrade their gear. The character creation for online multiplayer has been retooled and will feature more "variety." For online multiplayer, players are able to create their own Autobots and Decepticons from scratch, with hundreds of pieces and thousands of paint job options. Scientist, Infiltrator, Destroyer and Titan are confirmed to be the four "character classes."

Setting
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a direct continuation of Transformers: War for Cybertron. The Transformers are at civil war. Two factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons, vie over control of their home world, Cybertron. The events of the previous game have left the planet unable to sustain life, and the Autobots, desperate to assure continued existence of the Transformer race, seek to flee the planet. The Decepticons, still bent on domination, will stop at nothing to assure 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 destruction of their home world, forcing the Autobots to seek refuge in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The developer, High Moon Studios, hopes 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."

Characters
Not a playable character

Downloadable content, playable only in multiplayer

Downloadable content, alternate version/generation playable only in multiplayer

Plot
The game begins on the Ark, the spacecraft the Autobots use to flee Cybertron, the Transformers' dying homeworld. On their journey the Decepticons attack. Optimus engages Megatron directly, and Bumblebee later heads to join him after being temporarily rerouted. He finds Optimus and just as Megatron is about to deliver the fatal last blow, Bumblebee takes the hit. The game then flashes back to six days earlier.

Optimus and the Autobots are defending the docked Ark from Decepticon forces. Realizing they have broken through Grimlock's post, Optimus tries to contact him to no avail. Jazz and Cliffjumper are sent to investigate, and whilst eliminating enemy tanks Optimus' turret suddenly deactivates. As he leaves to repair it the room transforms around him, leading him to a brightly lit chamber where he activates the city-sized Transformer, Metroplex. The gargantuan robot disables two Decepticon cannons, being shot point-blank by a third. Optimus is captured soon after by Starscream and his Combaticons and brought before Megatron. As Megatron is about to execute Optimus, Metroplex arrives and pummels him into the ground. Having lost Megatron, Starscream claims leadership of the Decepticons and orders a retreat.

Meanwhile, Jazz and Cliffjumper arrive at the Sea of Rust to locate Grimlock and his Lightning Strike Force. They stumble upon an enormous tower firing a bright beam into Cybertron's orbit. They find Shockwave at the scene and soon realize it is a Space Bridge. Shockwave escapes the ensuing confrontation, and Cliffjumper becomes trapped, leaving Jazz to fight off the incoming Insecticons. Cliffjumper overloads the tower, and it begins to melt down. Sideswipe arrives to save Cliffjumper and Jazz from the Tower's explosion, and all report back to Optimus.

After the Autobots salvage all the Energon they can from the tower, Starscream and his Combaticons arrive to reclaim it. Onslaught, the team's leader, briefs them on a complicated plan to ambush an Autobot Transport. Combaticons Vortex and Blast Off fly into the canyons and meet Brawl at a bridge the transport must cross. There they destroy the bridge supports. Meanwhile, Swindle engages Autobot ground forces and destroys the wheel struts underneath the transport. The transport transforms to levitate off the ground and engages the Decepticon team. Starscream orders the Combaticons to abort the mission, but they defy him and then combine to form Bruticus, who brings the transport down. Starscream arrives at the crash site and arrests the Combaticons for insubordination.

Elsewhere, Soundwave assembles a newer, more powerful chassis for Megatron. He awakens, frees the Combaticons, and stops Starscream's coronation as King of the Decepticons. He then leads a full scale assault on Iacon, where the massive Decepticon Trypticon's remains are kept. Megatron invades the facility and takes Trypticon's power core. He informs the lifeless beast that he is not to be rescued, but will instead be reassembled into Megatron's flagship, the Nemesis.

Starscream, having been humiliated at the hands of Megatron, infiltrates Shockwave's base where he stumbles upon Grimlock being held prisoner. He offers Grimlock freedom in exchange for his fealty, but Grimlock rejects and throws Starscream aside, escaping. He searches for his fellow teammates, finding Swoop, Slug, and Snarl and defeating the defending Insecticons. Grimlock learns from Shockwave that their processors were tampered with, leaving Grimlock with a speech impairment. Shockwave also found a new planet by way of his Space Bridge inhabited by large creatures; these were used to inspire all of their new alternate forms. Grimlock was further tampered with, as now he cannot transform on command, but instead must be in a state of rage to do so. Grimlock remembers a name that Sharpshot gave them, the Dinobots, and claims it as their new team name. Grimlock then notices another Space Bridge tower that Shockwave has constructed nearby. Grimlock fights his way to Shockwave, knocking him from the tower and destroying it. The crumbling tower falls and the portal in Cybertron's orbit begins to decay.

Before the launch, Metroplex transfers all of his Energon to the Ark and sacrifices himself in the process. Optimus then calls for the launch of the Ark to try and make it through the portal before it closes, but Decepticons arrive in the Nemesis to stop him. Soundwave leads the first wave of troops onto the ship through giant cables and destroys the Ark's automated defense system. Jetfire is then launched into space to disengage the cables. Bruticus launches from the Nemesis and destroys the Ark's fuel line before being blasted off the ship into empty space. Nearby Megatron and Optimus engage in battle. Before a winner can be declared, Optimus and Megatron are pulled off of the hull of the Ark and pulled with both ships into the portal, where it finally closes and leaves Cybertron alone and quiet.

Development
In November 2010, Hasbro confirmed in an investor conference that a sequel to the 2010 game Transformers: War for Cybertron would be developed with a release set for fall in 2012. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron was officially announced on October 6, 2011 in an article posted on the gaming magazine Game Informer's website. In the article, Game Informer noted that their November issue would contain an exclusive article on the upcoming game and the cover would feature concept art for the game. 1UP.com wrote that fans would be excited to hear another original Transformers game from High Moon Studios was being developed since the game they developed based on the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon was disappointing. Games Radar was also pleased to see an original game being developed, stating, "we're glad [...] developer High Moon Studios is back to what it does best: crafting new/old adventures for the Autobots and Decepticons," and echoing that the prequel was "shockingly good". High Moon Studios originally announced that they would not be porting the game to the PC, however, plans were changed.

Design
Characters in the game will feature an updated appearance, and superior transformation schemes. The character, Optimus Prime was changed to fit a more "warrior" type class, adding more "bulk" on to Prime's body mass. Not only does appearance in character change, but also in weapon design. The designers of the game put out a call to everyone in the studio for ideas of new weapons. Matt Tieger of High Moon explained a main improvement in gameplay with weapons, quoting "We really made a conscious choice to make every upgrade a significant improvement, so one upgrade might increase your firing speed by 75 percent. 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." Fall of Cybertron has been described to be "more colorful than War for Cybertron".

Audio
Peter Cullen and Fred Tatasciore have been confirmed during E3 to reprise their respective roles of Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Megatron, with Tatasciore now also taking on the part of Metroplex. Voice actor Gregg Berger has been confirmed to reprise the role of Grimlock from The Transformers, for the first time in twenty-five years. Other confirmed cast members include Sam Riegel as Starscream; Keith Szarabajka as Ironhide; Nolan North as Cliffjumper, Bruticus, and Brawl; Steven Blum as Shockwave, Swindle, and Sharpshot; Isaac C. Singleton Jr. as Soundwave; and Troy Baker as Jazz, Jetfire, and Kickback. Other voice actors include Jim Ward as Perceptor, David Boat as Vortex, Travis Willingham as Sideswipe, Slug, and Onslaught, Jamieson Price as Warpath, and Keith Silverstein as Blast-Off and Rumble. The game features Stan Bush's song "The Touch", which was also featured in The Transformers: The Movie. The original version was used during promotional trailers for preorder items, while the game's end credits utilize a remixed version of the song. The remix version, subtitled "Sam's Theme", was created for possible inclusion in the live-action film Revenge of the Fallen. It adds rap verses and has been described as a "redux a la Linkin Park".

Marketing and release
The first official cinematic trailer for the video game was shown off at the 2011 Spike TV Video Game Awards on December 10, 2011. The trailer featured the song "The Humbling River" by Puscifer. A second cinematic trailer, "Our World" was released in March 2012. To promote the game, gameplay was shown at the 2012 Botcon convention. On July 5, 2012, the UK release date for the game was brought forward one week to August 24, 2012. A trailer featuring an in-game look at Metroplex, the city-sized Transformer, was also released with the announcement.

Toy line
A toy line based on the game will be manufactured by Hasbro, under the Transformers: Generations banner. Bruticus, a character who consists of five Decepticons, has been confirmed to be in the line. Other figures confirmed include Optimus Prime, Jazz, Sideswipe, Shockwave, Starscream, Soundwave, Grimlock and Kickback, an Insecticon. Originally stated to be released at the end of August, it was announced the game will now be released a week earlier, on August 21, 2012 in North America.

Downloadable content
Amazon.com and GameStop, in North America will offer special codes for downloadable content, when the game is pre-ordered. Gamestop offers a "G1 Retro Pack," that unlocks a The Transformers / Generation 1 themed Optimus Prime skin, a Generation 1 inspired Megatron rifle based on the gun alternate mode for Megatron, and a Shockwave Blast Cannon. Amazon will offer a Generation 2 Bruticus skin in the UK, Play.com will offer special codes when the game is pre-ordered. The code unlocks the Dinobot Swoop for use in the competitive multiplayer. The Dinobots, excluding Sludge, will be one DLC pack for future release (Dinobot Destructor Pack). The Insecticons, G1 Optimus, Megatron, Shockwave, Hound, and G2 Bruticus will be later released as DLC for multiplayer and single player (Massive Fury Pack). Release dates are rumored to be November 9 (Dinobot Pack) and November 25 (Massive Fury). The first DLC pack is Multiplayer Havoc pack and contains 5 characters (Perceptor, Ultra Magnus, Blast Off, Wheeljack, Zeta Prime) for use in multiplayer.

Reception
Fall of Cybertron has received generally positive reviews, the Xbox 360 version receiving a 82% aggregate score at Metacritic.