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YMMV / Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

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  • Alternative Character Interpretation:
    • Shockwave: An insane Mad Scientist trying to help the Decepticons kill all Autobots or a Well-Intentioned Extremist who's doing all he can to actually save Cybertron while trying to appease Megatron for more resources to do so?
    • Starscream: A traitor who wants to rule the Decepticons because of his Pride? Or an abused underling who has deluded himself into thinking he is the savior for his world and desires to make something of himself before the planet dies? He genuinely seems like he doesn't really want to fight the Autobots at all. Instead, the Decepticons focus on rebuilding their once great capital in his image with no desire to waste energon continuing the war. Arguably, Starscream no longer cares about the conflict once Megatron dies.
      • In addition, was Starscream really believing his own hype? Or was he hating himself for constantly digging himself in deeper? The look he gives Megatron's body before declaring himself leader may be him contemplating if he should, because he knows there won't be any turning back.
  • Angst? What Angst?: Jazz finds Sludge still alive, but in stasis lock. He indicates that he'll come back for him once his mission is complete. Later, he floods the area, leaving no survivors left inside; later dialog with Swoop implies Sludge was, in fact, left behind and died. What's really odd about it is that neither Jazz nor Cliffjumper seemed all that bothered by leaving one of there own behind to die. They don't even mention his name after the section where they find him in stasis.
  • Awesome Ego: Throughout his playable sections, Megatron makes several boastful comments and he can back up every single one, especially while fighting in the gladiatorial arena.
  • Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The Lever Transformer that appears during Jazz's chapter. You attempt to use a lever, it transforms into a robot that dances around for a minute, a door behind it (containing a lot of Energon shards) blows up, and it transforms back into a lever.
  • Catharsis Factor: The third chapter has Metroplex rising up again to save Optimus from execution by Megatron's hand...and that's where you can command Metroplex to "Destroy Megatron". The resulting carnage comes in four slams which is a fitting end (for now) for Megatron, especially if you are sick of his atrocities.
  • Character Rerailment: Grimlock was always among the most powerful transformers, but was flanderized into little more than a joke as the original show went on. High Moon Studios saw his inclusion as a chance to reestablish the character, and purposely designed his levels to showcase just how strong and terrifying he actually is.
  • Complete Monster: See here.
  • Demonic Spiders:
    • Shotgunners. Fast, heavily armored (even with one-shot kill weapons, like the Riot Cannon, they take two), and more than capable of getting up in your face and executing you with a point-blank shotgun blast before you even know what hit you. They also have an annoying knack for sidestepping headshots if you try to snipe them.
    • And that's to say nothing of the Guardians in Cliffjumper and Starscream's levels. Identifiable by their gray plating and green lights, they rove about looking for an enemy to blast. The best way to kill them is to cloak (there's a reason they only appear when you're playing a character with that ability) and sneak up behind them, then perform a quick execution attack. But if you draw their ire, then welcome to die. They transform and pummel you with a brutal series of blasts more than capable of smashing your shields before you even know what's happening, and even if you re-cloak, it becomes very difficult to get them to go back to their docile form. They're killable, but it's an endeavor. Taking on one is antsy but doable, but taking on a squadron of them is suicide, full stop. And yes, they will chase you into different rooms. Thankfully, they can't follow Cliffjumper into the vents nor can they follow Starscream if he flies off. However, in both levels where they feature, there is also the V.32 Corruptor gun, which turns enemies temporarily into allies...
      • It's also worth noting that these guys also show up in the co-op escalation mode, where you'll almost always be fighting them in their "attack" mode.
  • Ensemble Dark Horse: Metroplex. The fact that he kills Megatron only makes him even more popular.
  • Even Better Sequel:
    • It takes everything that worked in War for Cybertron and refines it into a more narrowly focused thrill ride that puts you into some amazing set pieces. While War had a decent story, the co-op campaign forced them to generic-ize the characters and their abilities. This game actually puts you behind the controls of a specific character and you get some very dynamic experiences because of it.
    • It was very well-receieved, and was often considered one of the best games of 2012 alongside the likes of juggernauts like Call of Duty: Black Ops II and The Walking Dead.
  • Game-Breaker: The Thermo Rocket Cannon with its firepower and lock-on/homing abilities, so much so that the first patches to the game nerfed it. Also the Riot Cannon, which is powerful even before the upgrades.
  • Genius Bonus: The Earth in the holograms does not show a contemporary Earth. It's in the process of forming the modern continents as Earth really was in the twilight of the dinosaurs.
  • He's Just Hiding: Grimlock. Not many fans believe that he really died when the space bridge went down. They were proved right in the tie-in comics.
  • He Really Can Act: Troy Baker as Jazz has got to be the blackest a white guy has ever sounded and you'd be forgiven for assuming he actually was African American.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: In chapter 4, Nolan North and Troy Baker explore ruins and tombs together. They later team up in the 4th Uncharted game to do the same thing.
  • Ho Yay:
    • Jazz and Cliffjumper sound Like an Old Married Couple in their dialogue.
    • Soundwave being the only Decepticon crushed by Megatron's death and providing everything he can to revive him.
  • Iron Woobie: Optimus Prime as always. Despite seeing so much death and destruction from the war, his Iron will gives him strength and he maintains his optimistic hope for a brighter tomorrow.
  • It's the Same, Now It Sucks!:
    • Not in the sense that it's like War For Cybertron, but like the video game tie-in of Dark of the Moon, which had single-player levels that "focused" on making the playable Transformers unique.
    • To note, it was the removal of co-op that got to most people.
    • The same could be said for some the tie-ins with Transformers: Prime.
      • Although some folks changed their tune when they learned that said tie-ins would result in the Dinobots appearing in Prime... which they never actually did. Oh well... There were tie-in comics where the Dinobots met characters from Prime but they never appeared in the actual show besides a quick joke in the episode Project Predacon.
  • Jerkass Woobie: Starscream. He's thrown out of the Decepticons after Megatron and the other troops finally have enough of him. The sad part is that he has nowhere else to go and even stays hidden in the base so he can get even with the troops who abandoned him and sabotage Shockwave's projects. This is heavily supported by listening in to all the troops mocking him while they think he's gone for good.
  • Memetic Badass:
    • Grimlock. The trailer made him even more awesome before his gameplay was shown.
    • Metroplex. To give a sense of his size, You spend an entire level walking through him, and he flattens Megatron.
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • "METROPLEX HEEDS THE CALL OF THE LAST PRIME" and variations of it have become popular with Transfans.
    • Megatron's "NOOOO! I WILL NOT BE DENIED!" at the end of the game has its fans, as well.
  • Moral Event Horizon: See here.
  • Paranoia Fuel: Starscream. The ruthless, murderous, treacherous schemer has a cloaking device and is very good at sneaking around. Meaning he could be anywhere, at any time. He could be right behind you, listening to you, ready to run you through with his sword, and you wouldn't even know it. How do you know he's not behind you right now...?
  • Polished Port:
    • While the PS4 and Xbox One releases don't do much more than being integrated with the DLC, it does have fewer technical issues than either the PS3 or Xbox 360 releases, with a more consistent framerate, for one. Sadly it is digital-only, and with Activision losing the Transformers license, they can no longer be purchased.
    • Zigzagged with the PC version, which, unlike WFC's Porting Disaster, has 60 FPS and higher resolution graphics, and DLC available to boot. However, the animated main menu in the console versions is reduced to a still image for some reason, and the inexcusable decision to make keyboard controls unrebindable is still there.
  • Porting Disaster: The PS3 version has some issues, although it's still playable. The framerate gets rather low during the most intense scenes, textures load rather slowly resulting in low-detail characters, the game occasionally stops to load during gameplay and cutscenes and the game has a tendency to freeze/crash.
  • Shocking Moments:
    • Megatron prepares to destroy the Ark, but Metroplex has none of that and pulverizes the Decepticon leader.
    • Performing an execution on an insecticon bruiser while in Grimlock's dino form, which has him pick the thing's head off; and keep in mind these are are bigger than he is while he's in robot mode.
  • Signature Scene: Metroplex's debut and his utterance of "Metroplex heeds the call of the last Prime."
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks!:
    • Opinions on Optimus Prime's new design are mixed at best. Megatron's have been slightly better received, though.
    • Bumblebee going mute got some flak from some. On the other hand, some prefer him that way.
  • Too Cool to Live: Metroplex.
  • Too Good to Last: Despite being considered to be the best Transformers game in existence when it launched, note , the series was unfortunately cut short after Activision wasn't happy with the B-Team Sequel Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark. The series was discontinued and eventually rebooted, before Activision's Transformers license expired anyway — as of December 2021 they've not renewed it, and have actually shut down the servers, meaning some versions aren't even playable.
  • Unexpected Character: In Escalation, they added Quake as a playable character.
  • Visual Effects of Awesome:
  • What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: This is easily one of the darkest and depressing Transformers stories ever released. It's much Darker and Edgier than the first game or any cartoon ever shown. It's loaded with Family-Unfriendly Death, a straightforward War Is Hell theme, lots of robot blood, and references for older fans of the franchise. And to further this trait, Megatron symbolizes Adolf Hitler.

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