Enter Evolve, giving you the opportunity to not only BE that monster, but to take down that monster. Players got a chance to experience the game through the "Big Alpha" and the beta, showing off the 4 v 1 mechanics, but would the full release bring a full-featured game, or would we be left with a one trick pony?
Here is what I think of Evolve:
So first off: what exactly IS Evolve? At its core, Evolve takes 4 "Hunters" each with their own designated class (Assault, Support, Medic, Trapper) who have to take down a giant monster on one of many maps across the planet Shear. The monster (Goliath, Wraith, or Kraken) gains armor by killing and eating the planet's wildlife, and once enough food has been eaten, the monster has the ability to "Evolve", which adds health and allows the monster to put more points in their abilities, essentially "leveling up", the monster can do this twice throughout a match, so level 3 is the cap. Of course, the Hunters' job is to prevent this from happening.
Let's just walk through a typical "Hunt" mode match (the standard match in Evolve):
- The monster gets a bit of a head start to roam the map, looking for wildlife to kill, building armor and buidling up their "Evolve" meter.
- The Hunters are airdropped in and begin searching the map for the monster, they have a number of ways they can track him down, such as: footprints, birds that get scared by the monster, a trail of dead animals, any number of Hunter abilities such as a UAV, a pet, sound spikes, etc.
- Once the Hunters find the monster, the fight is on! The monster uses their abilities to try to take out the Hunters, and the Hunters unleash hell on this towering behemoth. This usually involves the Trapper using the most critical ability in the game: the Mobile Arena, which places a dome in a 60yd radius of wherever it is placed, trapping the monster inside. This lasts for a minute and is essential to victory.
- The Arena goes down, the monster usually high-tails it outta there, and the cycle repeats until a win condition is met.
- The game ends when: (A) The Hunters kill the monster (B) The Monster knocks all the hunters out or (C)The Monster destroys a Power Relay after hitting stage 3 evolution.
Got it so far? Ok, so lets get a little advanced.
There are 3 different characters found within each Hunter class. They have 3 unique abilities and 1 shared ability. For example: The "Assault" class is made up of Markov, Hyde, and Parnell, they all have a personal shield which grants temporary invulnerability, but Markov's arsenal includes a lightning gun, assault rifle, and arc mines, while Hyde uses a flame thrower and minigun, and Parnell uses a shotgun and rocket launcher. This adds a layer of strategy that the other members of your team need to account for. This also gives players more options and more characters to master and helps keep the action fresh. It also helps that these characters are likeable and unique (Buckets is a support and one of his abilities is to rip his own damn head off and use it as a UAV, how freaking cool is that?).
While in a match there will be a couple "Elite" animals that, when killed, offer a random perk to who ever kills it/eats it. These range from "Less fuel burned using jetpacks" to "Heath regeneration" , to "Damage increase". This adds another strategic element and the right perk at the right time could mean the difference between victory or defeat for either side.
Playing the monster is a lot of fun, and while you may not be an indestructible Godzilla-style giant (the Hunters need a chance to win too right?) it is still satisfying to wail away on puny humans and hear their cries for help. The Goliath is the monster that has been on all the marketing for the game, and he is the melee bruiser of the group, using rock throws, fire breath, slams, and charges, to take down the enemy. The Kraken is the flying monster that throws lightning upon its foes, and the Wraith is your stealth style monster, utilizing fast slashes and decoys to cause havoc.
The team of Hunters must work together, using all of their abilities, to stand a chance in the fight. Never has the term "Play Your Class" been more relevant than here in Evolve. If your Medic isn't throwing those heals on the right people, if the Support isn't using their shield properly, or locating the monster through whatever means necessary, if the Trapper is missing with those critical Mobile Arenas, or if the Assault isn't doing the damage they need to do, the team will fall.
You will die in Evolve, many times. If you are incapacitated, you can be revived with a "Down Penalty" which is a 20% hit on your max HP. You get 2 "incaps" before you die outright and have to wait for the next airdrop to get back in the fight (there is an exception with one character, Lazarus, a Medic, who's ability is to rez a fallen Hunter with no down penalty, which makes him a prime target and someone that may be difficult to play for a beginner).
"Hunt" isn't the only mode though. The other modes include:
- Nest - Hunters must destroy 6 eggs spread around the map, the monster tries to prevent this and can even hatch a egg to spawn a minion to help fight.
- Rescue - Hunters try to save (and the monster tries to kill) survivors spread around the map. There are 3 waves of survivors, 2 in the first, 2 in the second, and 5 in the third, first team to score 5 wins.
- Defend - Hunters try to protect a home base while waves of enemies (and the monster who is stage 3) try to destroy it. The monster wins by destroying the base, and the Hunters win by either killing the stage 3 monster, or lasting the time limit.
You can play these modes/maps individually with "Quick Play" or go through the "Campaign" with the Evacuation mode. Which is REALLY neat. In Evacuation, there are 5 maps/mode combinations (or "days") that go one after the other, and whoever wins a match with get a little boost for the next map. For instance, if the Hunters win on a certain map, they get access to med bays on the next map, but if the monster wins, those med bays are destroyed and soaked up by plants that the monster can eat to gain health. It is said there are hundreds of thousands of different combinations of Evacuation, which really ups the replay value.
My biggest concern was that this was going to be a multiplayer only game, and you had to be online all the time. Luckily, that is not the case, since you can play every mode, even Evacuation, offline with bots. You can also earn achievements and rank up your equipment offline. Thank God! The last thing I need is for internet assholes to keep yelling at me to play better when I just picked the game up. Of course there is more fun to be had online, it is nice to have the option and more games should take note of this.
So while that may be a synopsis of the game, actually playing it is an absolute blast. Whether it's playing as a Hunter or the monster, getting a win is so satisfying and rewarding. There is always that uneasy tension as a Hunter when you are searching the map just waiting for the monster to show its ugly head, knowing that you could also be straight-up eaten by certain animals. While playing as the monster you have that feeling of being hunted and it makes you feel a little uneasy. You know that at any moment, a group of wannabe heroes can get all up in your face and try to take you down, you have to nut up and show them who is king of the damn jungle. It's pretty freaking awesome.
Let me wrap up by saying this: Evolve is a unique shooter that I have not experienced before, it is NOT a run-and-gun shooter like a Call of Duty or a Battlefield and it is not a pure class based shooter like Team Fortress 2. I actually liken this more to a Dota 2, not in gameplay, obviously (even though Goliath is basically Roshan, right?), but more in the sense that you have to know how your character works with the team, you have to work together, and it is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to pick your battles, engage the right way, and make the best use of your abilities. If you do all that, you will get the most out of Evolve, and I recommend you do, because this game is a hell of a lot of fun.
Side Note: Evolve has one of the best logos I have ever seen. It is simple, sure, but take a second and look at it. 4 boxes on the left 'V' 1 big box on the right. 4 v 1 where the 4 are equal to the 1. Brilliant! Genius!
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