Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition

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Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition
Developer	Tessera Studios
Publisher	Outright Games Bandai Namco Entertainment(Europe) Phoenixx(Japan)
Writer	Simon Furman Pere Suau Massanet Marcos Neila Muro
Platform	Nintendo Switch,PlayStation4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Release date	NA/EU:October 13,2023 JP:July 11,2024
Ratings	ESRB: E10+ PEGI: 7+ CERO: A

Transformers: EarthSpark - Expeditionis a video game byTessera Studios,released onOctober 13,2023.It is the first game based on theEarthSparkfranchise, and is set between the first and second seasons of thecartoon.

Contents 1Synopsis 2Featured characters 3Quotes 4Gameplay 4.1Cheats 5Achievements 6Notes 6.1Continuity notes 6.2Transformers references 6.3Real-world references 6.4Continuity errors 6.5Trivia

Synopsis

Some time afterhelping save all the Transformers on Earth,Bumblebeeis ambushed byArachnamechs,leading him and the Maltos to concludeMandroidhas somehow returned. AfterAlexgives Bumblebee some refresher training at the farm,Optimus Primecalls them to confirm that the Arachnamechs have been tracked to a decommissionedG.H.O.S.T.base. Despite noting Optimus's demeanor as unusual, Bumblebee, Alex, and theTerransleave to investigate. Upon arrival, the Terrans begin working to restore it so they can use it as a command post during the search for Mandroid, though one area remains curiously blocked off. The bots find an audio message left by Mandroid, confirming his survival. He announces his plan to build a robot army and excavate ancient Cybertronian technology, and challenges the listeners to stop him. Though they presume this to be a trap, Bumblebee agrees to go after Mandroid and takes theGroundBridgeto the indicated coordinates.

As he arrives on the old canyon road, Bumblebee spots a massive mining facility and begins dismantling Mandroid's operations by shutting down his massive Arachnadrills. While exploring, he runs afoul ofSkullcruncher,once again under the control of Mandroid, though theDecepticonis all to happy to try and pound Bumblebee into the pavement anyway. Bumblebee soundly defeats Skullcruncher, who warns that Mandroid has much worse plans for the little yellowAutobotthan simple mind-control. Bumblebee eventually breaches Mandroid's lair, where Mandroid taunts him over one of the screens, confirming his latest plan to make theTransformerspecies extinct is already in motion. As Bumblebee explores, Optimus confirms that he will be unable to send additional support, as they are already struggling to contain the Arachnamech threat nationwide. Bumblebee eventually reaches the lair's sewers, where he is attacked by Skullcruncher again. Bumblebee narrowly emerges victorious and has Skullcruncher sent via GroundBridge to one of their base's holding cells. He eventually locates the Cybertronian tech Mandroid was seeking, a strange glowing cube that empowers him with Ancient Energon. Bumblebee can't shake the bad feeling he has, but agrees to bring it back anyway. Upon his return, Optimus confirms the cube to be part of anEnergon Activator,a prototype Decepticon weapon capable of generating a nuclearelectromagnetic pulseto wipe out machine-based life, which the Autobots had split into parts and separated to prevent its use. Knowing two parts are unaccounted for, Optimus orders Bumblebee to Mandroid's next dig site.

Bumblebee next arrives in a jungle, where Mandroid has set up shop inside an old citadel. Bumblebee ponders whether Mandroid can even use the Activator with one of the parts in their possession, but Optimus warns of the chance that Mandroid could reverse-engineer the missing part by analyzing the others, and that they will need to collect all three parts to stop him. As Bumblebee destroys Mandroid's forces and enters the citadel, Mandroid once again taunts Bumblebee, claiming the Autobot doesn't yet understand the full scope of his plan. Bumblebee ventures further in, where he is ambushed byGrimlock,who has once again fallen under Mandroid's control. Bumblebee eventually subdues Grimlock and bridges him back to one of the base cells for his own safety. Bumblebee grabs the Activator's second component, but he starts to wonder if this is all going a little too smoothly. Discussing it with Alex later, Bee continues to feel like something is wrong, with Alex noting how distracted Optimus has been. Determined to beat Mandroid to the last part, Bumblebee departs for the last mining site.

Bumblebee reaches the mining site atop a glacial mountain and begins eliminating Mandroid's troops, only to be ambushed byNova StormandSkywarpduring his search. Bumblebee forces the twoSeekersto retreat, and eventually makes it inside Mandroid's lair, where Mandroid announces that Bumblebee will be the one to help him achieve his goals. When Bumblebee reaches the lair's deepest interior, Skywarp and Nova Storm are waiting for him, ready for a rematch. Bumblebee takes them down and sends them to a cell before grabbing the final component, though he still feels as though things are unfinished.

When he returns, Alex confirms that the locked portion of the base has suddenly unlocked. When he opens the door, Bumblebee comes face to face with Optimus,energon-axedrawn. While Bumblebee stares in confusion, Optimus uses his command override to release the mind-controlled captives, who head straight for the Energon Activator components. Optimus declares his servitude to Mandroid and knocks Bumblebee out. When he comes to, he finds Optimus guarding the Energon Activator, in the process of being assembled. Mandroid appears, having uploaded his consciousness into a giant Arachnamech before his last encounter with Bumblebee and the others. With his mind control patches interfering with the Cybertronian-Spark Interface in the Activator and no body to obtain the components himself, Mandroid instead opted to mind-control Optimus and deceive Bumblebee into gathering them for him, using the other mind-controlled bots to give himjustenough resistance that he wouldn't suspect anything. Drained of his Ancient Energon powers and unable to reach Alex, Bumblebee is left to fight Optimus and Mandroid alone. Grabbing the components, Bumblebee restores his new powers and destroys Mandroid's machinery, stopping the Energon Activator. Mandroid attempts to turn all of the mind-controlled bots against him, but Alex and the Terrans arrive using one ofNightshade's devices to disable the mind control patches. As Mandroid stews in his failure, Bumblebee fires a massive blast that destroys the giant Arachnamech.

In the aftermath, Optimus and the others thank Bumblebee for saving them all, with Optimus awarding him a Cybertronian Excellence Medal.Thrashworries that Mandroid's AI escaped and may still return, butHashtagbelieves that it had nowhere to escape to given the base's terrible reception. Though Bumblebee claims he'll miss the challenge, Alex reveals that he motion-captured everything and added it to the battle simulator for Bumblebee to practice against at any time, and the group all take a celebratory photo.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"My self-esteem took a knock there."
"Judging by those dents, that wasn't all."
"And there was me thinking I couldn't feel any worse."

—Bumblebeefails one ofThrash'schallenges.

"Enough talk. I am rrr-ready to rumble! How about you?"
"You bet, Jurassic!"

—GrimlockandBumblebeeface off. (We see what you did there, Bee...)

Gameplay

Transformers: EarthSpark - Expeditionis a 3D action-adventure game with hack-and-slash elements, similar toTransformers: Devastation.Players control Bumblebee, who can freely transform between vehicle and robot modes while exploring three different biomes: a Canyon Road, a Jungle Citadel, and a Glacial Mountain. By completing objectives across the map, such as eliminating targets and taking down enemy camps, Bumblebee will retake control of the area from Mandroid; once a certain level of control is taken, players will be able to access Mandroid's facility and challenge the area's Boss. TheTerranscan also be found around the map and will provide side missions for Bumblebee, such as a race or enemy gauntlet. Players will be given a gold, silver, or bronze rank at the end of each challenge, and will receive more rewards the better they perform. Various collectibles such as trading cards and Cybertronian glyphs can also be found scattered around each map.

When in combat, Bumblebee can use a mix of physical attacks and blaster fire to take down opponents, as well as perform defensive dodges. Continuous attacks will deplete the enemy's stun gauge; once empty, the enemy will be stunned and become more vulnerable to damage. While exploring, players will be able to return to the command post to modify and upgrade Bumblebee, practice in the training room, or travel to one of the three biomes. By defeating enemies and breaking boxes, players will collect scrap metal, which can be spent used to unlock attack combos, special attacks and abilities for Bumblebee on a skill tree. Bumblebee can also find or purchase consumable items for his inventory, including health kits that can restore his health and boost kits that can raise his attack or defense. Each time Bumblebee is infused with Ancient Energon from the Energon Activator components, he will gain a new traversal skill that allows him to reach previously inaccessible areas, encouraging players to backtrack and revisit each biome to get anything they missed. Bumblebee can also be customized with different horns and energy trails in vehicle mode, which can be purchased at the command post.

Cheats

Six special cheats can also be unlocked. Four are unlocked by entering a code in the game's "Cheat" menu, while the remaining two can only be earned by finding every collectible. All code letters useAutobot Alpha betcharacters, so use that for reference.

Cheat	Unlock condition
Bobblehead Mode	Enter the code "HEAD".
Special Collectible Card	Enter the code "BEEE".
Extra Scrap	Enter the code "BACH".
Bumblebee Banners	Enter the code "BEAD".
Digital Mode	Scan all Cybertronian glyphs.
8-Bit Mode	Collect all trading cards.

Achievements

When completing various goals and tasks during the game, the player will be rewarded as part of their console of choice's meta-goal system. Players can earn up to 24 Trophies on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, and 23 Achievements on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The PlayStation versions' trophies come in four types: Bronze, which represent easier tasks and are worth the least experience; Silver, which are awarded for challenges of mid-level difficulty; Gold, which are given for harder tasks and worth more experience; and Platinum, the highest-level trophy unlocked only after earning all of a game's other trophies. On the Xbox versions, each achievement has a Gamerscore value that adds to the player's total Gamerscore across all games played; up to 1000 Gamerscore can be earned inExpedition.These achievements can also be earned in the PC version as part of the Steam interface, but lack the individual values and weights from the console versions.

Icon	Achievement/Trophy name	Achievement/Trophy description	Gamerscore	PS Trophy
	Transform and roll out!	Obtain all Trophies
	Canyon secured	Open Mandroid's Lair in the Canyon	45
	Canyon liberated	Gain full control back in the Canyon	50
	Who needs a plumber?	Defeat Skullcruncher	45
	Citadel secured	Open Mandroid's Lair in the Citadel	45
	Citadel liberated	Gain full control back in the Citadel	50
	Jurassic fight	Defeat Grimlock	45
	Mountain secured	Open Mandroid's Lair in the Mountain	45
	Mountain liberated	Gain full control back in the Mountain	50
	Double trouble	Defeat Novastorm & Skywarp	45
	And don't come back! (again)	Defeat Mandroid and Optimus Prime	50
	Mission accomplished	Save the day	50
	Training started	Purchase a new combo from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	30
	All suited up	Purchase all combos from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	45
	Getting better	Purchase a new skill from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	30
	The best version of yourself	Purchase all skills from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	45
	I know kung fu	Purchase a new special attack from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	30
	Ready for the job	Purchase all special attacks from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	45
	New paint job	Purchase a new trail from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	35
	I want it all	Purchase all trails from the G.H.O.S.T. Base	45
	New hobby started	Collect a card	45
	Avid collector	Collect all cards	50
	Amateur archeologist	Decipher a Cybertronian Glyph	35
	Lara... who?	Decipher all Cybertronian Glyphs	45

Notes

Continuity notes

• The game picks up an unspecified amount of time after the events of "The Last Hope, Part 2".
• Robby and Mo's roleplay with the Terrans during the first cutscene gives an abridged recap of the events of the show thusfar, particularly of "Secret Legacy, Part 1"and" The Last Hope, Part 2 ".
• Dot Malto,Megatron,Arcee,andTarantulasare mentioned during the story, but do not otherwise appear.
• Teletraan-1is seen in the command post, but isn't referred to by name or treated as any different than a normal computer.
• Bumblebee references the previous times Skullcruncher and Grimlock were mind-controlled by Mandroid in "Secret Legacy, Part 2"and"Home, Part 1"respectively. As acknowledged by Bumblebee, the victims were usually silent during previous instances, as opposed to this game where they are both communicative and seemingly aware of their own mind control.

Transformers references

• Bumblebee suggests that there's "more to Mandroid than, um...meets the optics".Subtle.
• The Mercenary enemy type is based onSwindle.
• Bumblebee refers to Mandroid's drones as "kitbashbots ".
• When completing one of her missions, Twitch comments that Bumblebee has "the Touch".Bee furthers the reference by confirming he's" at [his] best, when the going gets rough ".
• Bumblebee comments that Ancient Energon was the rumored "drink of choice" for theoriginal 13 Primes.
• Bumblebee's final line is "It's true what they say...it never ends!"
• The collectible Glyphs hidden throughout the biomes, after they've been deciphered, spell out quotes from various other series:"Use the power of the Matrix to light our darkest hour","Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing",and"There's a thin line between being a hero and being a memory".

Real-world references

• One of the achievements is named "I know kung fu", quotingThe Matrix.
• Another achievement is named "Lara... who?" in reference toTomb RaiderprotagonistLara Croft

Continuity errors

• The visuals during the Maltos' roleplay inadvertently implies Bumblebee to be one of the Terrans.

Trivia

• The existence of anEarthSparkgame was first teased atHasbro Pulse Con 2022,but the game would not be fully revealed until June of the following year.
• None of the show's voice cast reprise their roles for the game, though Bee's voice actorJoe Ziejapreviously voiceda different Bumblebeein theWar for Cybertron Trilogycartoon.
• Due to technical issues (and the complete lack of an Xbox market in Japan), the game was only released on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC in Japan.^[1]