There's fun to be had in Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark, but it's a dialed-in action shooter game, which is a mistake since there was never a chance that this game would compete with the big budget games in the genre, such as Destiny, Call of Duty, or Titanfall.

While far from the worst Transformers game, Rise of the Dark Spark's interesting ideas are eclipsed by bland action and frustrating design.

It’s not really good game or a really bad one, it stays somewhere in the middle.

If you're a die-hard fan of the Transformers film series, I would recommend picking up Rise of the Dark Spark when it's heavily discounted (like, under $10) with a group of friends just to play Escalation.

Rise of the Dark Spark is a decent enough title, but its failing is that it changes too much. It’s nothing more than a shallow, poorly executed imitation of Fall of Cybertron.

The storytelling is sloppy, the set-pieces are repetitive - and in some cases stolen from past games - while the visuals are dated. It's redeemed only by enjoyable third-person shooter action, which comes alive in co-op multiplayer when there's no story holding players back.

A terrible backwards step for Transformers games, and a movie tie-in so cynical it tries to cut corners by ripping off its own predecessors.