Battle for the Allspark v2
|
<imagemap>File:Rotfthegame logo.png|center|500px default {{#if:Revenge of the Fallen games|Revenge of the Fallen games|Revenge of the Fallen (video games)}} desc none </imagemap> |
| |||||||||||||||
| |||||||
 {{#if: Also known as "the really bad one". |Also known as "the really bad one".}}}} | |||||||
| {{#if: | {{#if: | }}
(')}} {{#if:| ""}} | |||||||
| Developer | }} | ||||||
| Developers | }} | ||||||
| Publishers | }} | ||||||
| Publisher | Activision}} | ||||||
| Writer | }} | ||||||
| Written by | }} | ||||||
| Additional writing | }} | ||||||
| Story | }} | ||||||
| Platform | }} | ||||||
| Platforms | Online}} | ||||||
| Release date | 2009}} | ||||||
| End of service | }} | ||||||
| Continuity | }} | ||||||
| Chronology | }} | ||||||
| Rating | }} | ||||||
| Ratings | }} | ||||||
| Standard Retail Price | }} | ||||||
| [[|Credits]]}} | |||||||
Battle for the Allspark v2 was an online game serving as a tie-in to the then-upcoming Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game and also as a sequel to the original Battle for the Allspark (itself also a tie-in to the 2007 Transformers video game). Much like the original, it was free-to-play and void of any monetization, with the server costs presumably being covered by sales of the retail games.
The original Battle for the Allspark online game was a significant success; more than a million registered users from around the world played 6.5 million games against one another. So naturally the game returned in 2009 for the second movie, now sporting the gameplay of Rise of the Chevy Autobots which no one liked, and lacking the dynamic fight graphics of either game. Great.
The game has gone offline sometime since, with the fact that we can't even find out exactly when it went offline being more than enough of an indicator of how loved this title was compared to its original version. Nonetheless, much like its predecessor, it has also inevitably ended up in the dustbins of lost media.
Gameplay
[edit]As with the original Battle for the Allspark, the game started by signing up and choosing to be either an Autobot or a Decepticon. Players could then choose one of the four standard characters or a fifth unlockable gold character (see notes). Unfortunately, once a character is chosen, players couldn't choose another. This choice determined starting attributes which were then customized using the starting set of "power up points". The attributes were: "Agility", "Accuracy", "Strength", "Weapons", and "Armor".
Launch version
[edit]
The debut version of Battle for the Allspark v2 was considered broadly underwhelming, providing players with a stripped down game that was missing many of the core features from the original 2007 title - most notably; the zone-based world map system, the animated battles, and the public chat box - and instead focusing exclusively on a newly-reinvented combat system. Unfortunately, the newly-reinvented combat system also sucked.
Once a character was created, a player could challenge other players from the opposing faction into a combat encounter that lasted five rounds, with all actions within those five rounds being preemptively "pre-programmed" by the player and sent out to their adversary (the combat actions chosen naturally being hidden), who could then accept the combat request by also choosing their own set of actions across the five rounds and ultimately seeing how they stacked up to their opponent. An advance was when a player's challenge was not answered and a retreat was when a player did not answer another player's challenge. Each round allowed for an offensive and defensive action, with the offensive actions being "Primary Weapon", "Secondary Weapon", and "Hand to Hand" and the defensive actions being "Block", "Parry", and "Dodge". The player could also choose the strength of their attack from 0 to 100% through a "power meter" slider bar. Each attack type had its own "power meter" which gets used up, reducing the power available in future combat rounds. Presumably a combination of the two characters' attributes, choice of actions, and "power meter" settings determined who won a combat round. However, the game gives no indication why a player wins or loses any given round, so the actual fundamental mechanics of how the combat works are basically a complete mystery.
The game featured a leaderboard based on points which were determined by wins, losses, advances, and retreats. There was also a "War Room" which showed the amount of global wins across Autobots and Decepticons, one of the very few elements from the original game that managed to survive into this version. A player could also earn more "power up points"... Whatever those would even do in the obscurantist combat mechanics of this game.
-
The game's log-in screen. -
Choosing a round's moves. -
An ongoing battle. -
The end-match screen.
Update 1
[edit]Sometime in May, the game received its first and only update, which attempted to bring back some of the missing features from the original Battle for the Allspark. Combat was now turn-based, allowing both players to choose their moves live across each of the game's rounds, and finally allowed a player to see the offensive and defensive moves made by the opposing player, as well as featuring a summary of what happened during combat at the end of each round. This, however; required both players to be simultaneously online (you could previously respond to an invite while another player wasn't online since all of their combat actions had already been decided), and the challenged player only had one minute to accept a battle invite to boot, which eventually made finding opponents across the dwindling population of the game a lot harder. A chat window was added but, with the lack of an overworld and a zone system like that of its predecessor, it was only restricted to chatting during combat. A "Battle History" system was also added which, as self-explanatory, provided a record of battles that the player had previously engaged with.
Perhaps the most anticipated new feature was the introduction of actual animated battles, except... They were kind of a mess. Rather than this being integrated into the aforementioned round-based system, viewing an animated simulation of the combat was only an option that you'd get at the end of a match, and even then, these animations were incredibly janky and buggy, so much so that the feature was removed entirely shortly after being implemented. Ultimately, despite the developers' best attempts to correct the mistakes of the game's launch, it seems that Battle for the Allspark v2 was doomed to die by the shadow of its more beloved and refined predecessor.
-
The updated combat system. -
Ditto, now exhibiting the move an opponent chose. -
The newly-added and rarely used chatbox. -
The end-round screen. -
The end-match battle animation.
Characters
[edit]Much like how the original Battle for the Allspark featured the enemy drone units of the 2007 retail game, v2 featured the enemy units of the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen retail game. While the first game featured a set of seven generic drone bodies, all of which could be selected as either Autobots or Decepticons, v2 — in accordance with the faction-specific enemy designs in the retail game — features a selection of five unique units that are exclusive to each faction instead.
Autobots
[edit]Decepticons
[edit]Notes
[edit]- The Omni Warrior Gold and Gold Stunticon Scout 2 were available through a promotional tie-in with the second Revenge of the Fallen movie trailer, where a code written in Cybertronian could be decoded and then used to unlock the two characters.