Shockwave and what could be the Ark.

Wheeljack, Swindle and Arcee

Megatron powered up by Dark Energon

- 1-player action
- Multiplayer TBA
- Fall 2012 release
- Team went back to the drawing board and looked at every criticizm
- “We’ve taken some of the pieces from War for Cybertron that weren’t received well, and turned those into the strengths of the new game” – game director Matt Tiegerw
- Variety of experiences
- AI systems completely rewritten from the groun up
- Core shooting/action is completely new
- Last safe haven of Autobot City has been reached
- Plan to launch into space aboard the newly built Ark spacecraft is threatened
- Prime goes to the frontline with his rifle to help sturn the tide
- Optimus Prime is bulkier/more powerful than in War for Cybertron
- He has new arrmor, his transformation looks warlike and agressive
- Pauses to sometimes call down a fiery artillery strike to destroy a whole squad of enemies
- Eventually reaches a cyber cannon that takes down enemy tanks and dropships
- A strange summoning draws Prime away from the batttle and into the depths of the city
- He emerges into a glowing inner chamber
- Huge metal walls begin to shift outside
- Chasms open up in the ground, Decepticons tumble, screaming to their doom
- Skyscraper-sized robot rises to the tower
- He opens his hand (Prime looks tiny in his palm)
- “Metroplex heeds the call of the last Prime. Awaiting your orders.”
- Metroplex is a city that transforms into a big robot
- 2-3 times the size of Omega Supreme in War for Cybertron
- Team feels they’ve improved greatly on War for Cybertron’s story
- Game starts where War for Cybertron left off
- Not a sequel in the traditional sense
- Fresh jumping-on point for gamers
- Traces the final days of the Transformers on their home planet and their exodus into space
- Single unified campaign, not two separate stories
- Three-act structure
- Begins and ends with the Autobot-centric levels and with an extensive Decepticon-focused section in the middle
- Story about the death of Cybertron
- Broad array of characters and gameplay styles
- Each character feels different than the last
- Cliffjumper: stealth gameplay, cloak of invisibility
- Jazz: grappling hook gameplay, maneuver into place to snipe enemies
- Vortex: helicopter gameplay, head-on approach for enemies
- Vortex joins with his brothers later on to form Bruticus (playable)
- Grimlock stampedes his awy through a melee-driver frenzy of battle until his rage transforms him into the roaring robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex
- Co-op play dropped
- Individual enemy types are built to challenge certain characters, and they exhibit unique transformations that can telegraph their actions to observant players
- Most enemies are unique to their faction
- Enemies actively seek cover, track your movements across the map, pay attention to your last known location
- New weapon system
- Start out with a signature weapon for each character
- Trade out these weapons at any time
- Can carry a primary weapon, a secondary weapon, one piece of defensive equipment, one piece of offensive equipment, and grenades
- Meaningful upgrades
- Teletran terminals: part of a huge, planet-wide computer network used to upgrade your armory
- Each weapon has three major upgrades
- Dramatically increase damage, accuracy, clip size, etc.
- Buy a fourth upgrade if you unlock all three
- This upgrade is a special ability that expoentially expands the utility of the gun
- Switch between weapons in Teletran and you’ll see a display tracking damage, range, accuracy, rate of fire, ammo capacity
- Every weapon is surprising and distinct
- Megatron has a riot cannon (send out mini nuke at the end of every clip when upgraded)
- Optimum Prime’s Pathblaster: rifle, upgrade it to shoot through walls
- Gear Shredder: shoots spinning circular blades to dismember enemy robots, ricocheting off walls
- Scatter Blaster: automatic shotgun that lights enemies aflame
- Energon Harvester: less damage, but heals its user
- Tech Volt Emitter: continuous laser beam
- Upgrade the Emitter to automatically dissipate and destroy incoming rockets
- Sprinting/quick dash/dodge move for all characters
- Third-person camera set closer to the character
- No segmented health system
- More traditional recharging health meter
- Press a button to switch which side of the screen your character appears and their weapon changes hands
- “we repolished, demolished, and rebuilt anything that was holding back the moment-to-moment gameplay”
- Everything on screen pops more than it did in the last game
- Enemies and allies stand out more clearly against backgrounds
- Snow of soot and ash blanket the ground of the ruined city
- Venture into the Sea of Rust
- This area is filled with ancient ruins and the corpses of Cybertronians from a lost age
- Their bodies act as roads, ramps
- Rust storms blow across the desert