Evolve

Evolve had been on my RADAR since early development, I’m a fan of a heavy team based shooter, and I don’t mean team based shooter like Counter Strike or Unreal. I’m talking nitty gritty ENTIRELY reliant on team effort shooter. Left 4 Dead filled that void for me for the longest time before it got stale and repetitive and it took a while for a solid enough alternative to come about.

I’ve played enough of Evolve to tell you, as far as a team reliant shooter is concerned, it really, really takes the cake.

Essentially Left 4 Dead meets Lost Planet, four players take on four different roles to hunt down and kill (or be killed) a fifth player (or bot) that takes on the role of a monster. Every class has a variety of different characters with unique abilities that mix up the role to accommodate any play style

For instance, front and center is the Assault class, who has the potential to be a primary damage dealer, or a hefty tank depending on the subcharacter you choose for the class.

The game starts off with the hunters being dropped into the level, it is the Trapper class’s job to track down and find the monster, using a plethora of abilities to help him do so. The faster you find the monster, the easier killing it becomes. Upon finding the monster, the trapper sets up a large energy field that the monster becomes trapped in and is forced to face the hunters for a set amount of time before the field goes down. Once the field is down, the monster may flee, or, depending on how hurt the hunters are, simply finish them off. You gain experience at the end of the level for your class, granting you perks and more efficient equipment depending on how well you do.

On the Monster side of the spectrum, the monster must try its best to create as much distance between itself and the hunters initially, so it can have time to kill wildlife in the area and level up to a max of Stage III after which it becomes near unkillable, granting it more powers, health, and armor. There are several monster characters, each with an area of traits and abilities that make the hunters lives very, very difficult if well executed. You’re also granted experience and perks for the monster you’ve played as by the end of the level.

Several game modes are available to keep the experience fresh for as possible. Such as the Arena mode, which directly pits a level III monster against the hunters in an inescapable arena for a best of three rounds system. Or the more widely played Hunt mode, where you simply must hunt and kill the monster.

My first impressions, playing as the monster can be a difficult experience at the start, until you find your preferred monster. Playing as the Hunters definitely relies on a huge team effort from all classes (Support, Medic, Assault, and Trapper) to maximize the efficacy and experience of your game. There’s a lot of room for tomfoolery, and those that go rogue will never live to tell of it. If a monster catches a sole hunter, they’re not likely to survive the encounter by the time the other hunters get to them.

Needless to say, this can be great for those with a nice, set, premade team. Or incredibly frustrating when playing in an uncoordinated pick up group when searching for online games.

Another heavy peeve of mine is how long it takes to find online games, and that is where my one quam lies.

Otherwise, Evolve is a very, very polished game that is fun and testing to the team effort. As well as the monsters effort to divide and conquer. No mindless bullet showering here. And no mindless clawing and scratching either, monster.

Happy hunting!