Evolve is a new title that takes a unique spin on the Sci-Fi First Person Shooter genre. Comparisons can be made between Evolve and games such as Borderlands (also a 2k production) and Lost Planet in its class system and attributes, boss battles, and weaponry. Where Evolve intends to deviate from the beaten path is in its multiplayer mechanics. In Evolve, a single human player will control the Monster, the AI controlled boss in any other game, while four human Hunters attempt to track and kill their opponent. It will be intriguing to see if this game changing mechanic will pay off.
The multiplayer experience is set up as follows; A team of four Hunters, each selecting a class from Assault, Medic, Trapper, and Support, are dropped into a sandbox environment to track and kill a Monster. While this is happening the Monster feeds off local wildlife to grow stronger and evolves abilities to defeat the Hunters. As would be expected each class of Hunter plays a unique part in taking down their prey. Assault is the main damage dealer, Medic keeps the team in top health, Trapper has tools to detect the Monster’s movement and ensnare it, while support can buff weapons and provide additional fire power.
These classes must work together to achieve their goal while the Monster will capitalize on any mistakes and exploit weaknesses to tear the team apart. The Monster is able to use other creatures in the environment to bulk up its armor while attempting to leave misleading trails and elude the Hunters. Leveling up will allow players to unlock new weapons, characters, abilities and monsters.
While the game looks smooth and exciting and the weapons and class abilities are compelling what remains to be seen is how the game will reward its players and entice them to come back for more action with a fairly simple gameplay model that relies heavily on the multiplayer experience. Some games have done this fantastically and had unrivaled longevity such as the Counter-Strike franchise, while others had players chomping at the bit but failed to deliver come release day *cough*Brink*cough*. Only time will tell if Evolve has what it takes to keep its players on the hunt for that next exciting kill or fantastic new weapon upgrade.
Evolve, developed by Turtle Rock Studios and published by 2K, will be available on Xbox One, PS4, and through Steam and is slated for release on October 21st, 2014.
