Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, like its predecessor Transformers: War for Cybertron, is a third-person shooter. Players can control each transformer in both its robot and vehicle forms. Instead of a traditional health system, the game features a system similar to the Halo series of video games. The player character has both a regenerating shield and health, the latter of which can be replenished by a health pack. The weapon selection in Fall 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 through Teletran 1 kiosks found throughout the game.
Every character has been given their own unique ability. For example, Jazz can fire a grappling hook to reach high or distant places, Optimus Prime can command the massive Metroplex, and the Combaticons have the ability to combine into the Decepticon Bruticus. Segments in which players control Bruticus are designed to accommodate its larger size. Scale is maintained so the character towers over enemies. The Autobot Grimlock, who transforms into a dinosaur, is controlled differently than other characters. Carrying only a sword and shield, Grimlock cannot transform at will, instead accumulating rage as he battles opponents. When he gains enough rage, Grimlock is able to transform and inflict massive damage. The online cooperative campaign play featured in the first game has been removed in favor of levels that utilize each character's specific abilities.
The survival mode Escalation from War 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. 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. Players can also buy and upgrade their gear.
Synopsis
Setting
Transformers: Fall of Cybertron is a direct continuation of Transformers: War for Cybertron. Giant robotic life forms known as Transformers are at civil war. Two factions, the Autobots and the Decepticons, vie for 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 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, the Milky Way. 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."
Plot
The game begins on the Ark, the spacecraft the Autobots use to flee their dying homeworld of Cybertron. On their journey, the Decepticons attack. Optimus Prime engages Megatron directly on the outer surface of the Ark. Ratchet sends Bumblebee to his aid and finds Optimus just as Megatron is about to deliver a finishing blow. He dives in front of the fatal blow, saving Optimus. The game then flashes back to six days earlier.
The Autobots defend the docked Ark from Decepticon forces and three Warp Cannons. Optimus realizes they have broken through Grimlock's post after unsuccessfully trying to contact him. Optimus leaves to help Ironhide, Warpath and their forces defend the Ark. Jazz, Cliffjumper and Sideswipe are sent to investigate Grimlock's disappearance, and while eliminating enemy tanks, Optimus's turret suddenly deactivates. As he leaves to repair it the room transforms around him, leading him to a brightly lit chamber where he unknowingly activates the city-sized ancient Autobot Metroplex. The Titan destroys two Decepticon Warp Cannons but is shot point-blank by the third and presumed dead. Starscream and the Combaticons ambush and capture Optimus soon after and bring him before Megatron. As Megatron prepares to execute Optimus, Metroplex, still alive and functional, arrives and pummels him into the ground. With Megatron dead, Starscream claims leadership of the Decepticons and orders a tactical retreat.
Meanwhile, Jazz, Sideswipe and Cliffjumper track Grimlock's signature to the Sea of Rust to locate him and his Lightning Strike Coalition Force composed of Slug, Sludge, Snarl and Swoop. After exploring the area and eliminating dozens of Decepticons, Jazz and Cliffjumper find Sludge's dead body and an enormous tower in a lake of Energon firing a bright beam into Cybertron's orbit. They find the Decepticon scientist Shockwave at the scene and discover it is a Space Bridge. Shockwave escapes the ensuing confrontation, and Cliffjumper becomes trapped, leaving Jazz to fight off the incoming Insecticon swarm. Cliffjumper overloads the tower, and he and Jazz are saved from the Tower's explosion by Sideswipe. They report back to Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet and Perceptor.
