Evolve Developed by Turtle Rock Studios, the original developers behind Left 4 Dead and published by 2K Games. The game is a multiplayer shooter which pits 4 hunters against a single, rock solid, Monster, all of which, can be played with other players or A.I controlled in single player (offline)
Bring on the pain, the horror, the beasts within your worst nightmares and face them, there is always something we can recall when growing up, for me it was the under the bed monster that would bite my feet if I got out of bed. Until one day I was quite literally, wanting the toilet, I had to face my fear there and then or piss myself. I pulled off the covers and slowly put my feet down, trembling with fear, I could hear my teeth chattering, then I made a dash for the door in the darkness of night, banged against the door, then fondled around looking for the handle to let me out. I ran to the toilet, did not flush and ran back to bed, jumping about two feet from the actual bed so the monster hands could not reach for me, I then tugged the blankets up, looking around the room, shaking and hearing my heart pounding against my chest, I closed my eyes, and the next I knew it was morning.
Hiding is a luxury in the real life, in Evolve there is no where to hide, you have to face your fears, you are either the pray or the hunted. Play as the Monster, the monster of nightmares with a huge appetite for flesh. Kill your pray and devour to get stronger, this is the goal for you… kill or be killed, and Evolve to the third and final stage of your evolution as a Monster
THE MONSTERS
First evolution completed, the hunters are dropped to take care of you, run, devour, kill, but where ever you go, whatever you do, disrupt, disturb the hunters are tracking your every movement, evolve you must, if you are found, fight and survive you can, with powerful skills, devastating attacks, stealth and decoys, you are the ultimate game.
The Monsters aka The Solid Beasts of Planet Shear consist of 4 hard arses, Goliath, Kraken, Wraith ad finally the 4th Behemoth.
The Wrath, a beast that you can not see, its stealth is its friend and your worst nightmare, armed with two deadly blades and the ability to create a decoy that mimics herself, while she goes for your throat. Beware, she can be anywhere, she attacks fast, and disappears even faster, do you fear what you cannot see?
The Kraken, a mythical beast, the nightmare from the oceans has arisen to bring your worse horrors to life, bigger, harder and more deadly that ever before, evolution has been good to this one. Electricity is what the Kraken bring to the playing field from mines that attached to the hunters and explode doing a fare amount of damage, chain lightening within close quarter battles, lightening strikes from afar or a wall of elemental energy that will push the hunters back. Are you a quick thinker? have quick reactions? you going to need it with this Monster, or prepare to the electrified.
The Goliath, a Monster that forgot his coffee and cookies in the morning, forgot to clean his teeth and have a wash. A deadly beast that can leap down on its enemies and do a great amount of damage with his butt, breath out his, after curry fire breath, do a massive fart and charge forward and throw rocks in a temper because he does not get his own way. Goliath is anyone that simply had a bad night out and feels like shit in the morning, or just one hell of a bad arse.
The Behemoth, the 4th and the worst monster to take on or play as, everything you have learnt so far, you might as well forget about. This bitch is the largest and the most deadliest so far, more health, more armour, a weakness is his weight, he is a slow arse when walking and climbing, so he prefers to roll around. Behemoth has a number of skills, he can use hurl Lava bombs that explode into many fragments to do damage to the surrounding area, a rock wall that will trap a hunter or protect himself from the enemy. Behemoth can use his tongue to harpoon his enemy and bring them closer so he can bring the pain, his final skill is a destructive blast that stuns and scalds anyone and anything in its path. His size is everything, he might be slow, but he hits like a atom bomb, keep your distance or make sure you team are wel prepared.
THE HUNTERS
Hunters consist of the following classes, a healer (Medic) a Hunter (Trapper) a Tank (Assault) and support (Buffer). Choose your team, and take down the beasts on the planet Shear, where anything can kill you. Level up your characters and unlock more characters, skins, Monsters and other perks and upgrades.
There is a total of 12 unique game characters to choose from, each with there own unique set of skills, for the Assult class you have Markov, Hyde and Parnell, Trapper class, you have Griffen, Maggie and Daisy and Abe, Medic Class comes with Val, Lazarus and Caira and finally the Support class has Hank, Bucket and Cabot.
With your team created, with your friends or randoms, are you prepared for the ultimate sporting game, Monster Killing. Choose the Assault, Medic, Support and the Trapper all with their own unique skills. You must work as a team, as it’s teamwork that will help you to take down the enemy, not only must you fight and destroy your worse nightmare, you are surrounded by the elements and other creatures, that simply thinks you are their next lunch.
Every battle I entered was intense and crazy, sometimes it was because of the dumb players that had their own personal agenda, to make a coffee, head to the toilet, or simply go the wrong way. When the battle went perfect or near enough perfect, you will find the game absolutely fantastic and very enjoyable when playing as a hunter.
Each of the 12 maps offer their own unique environment, beasts and other obstacles to either hinder your battles or gain the advantage over your foes.
GAME MODES
Hunt – Play as the Hunter and track down and kill the Monster, or play as the Monster, evolve to stage 3 and destroy the relay or you can just kill the hunters.
Nest – 10mins as the Monster you must protect your nest and its eggs, as the hunter you must destroy the eggs within the allocated time frame.
Rescue – Five colonists are scattered around the map, as the hunter you must find, revive and protect until they escape, as the Monster you must devour their flesh, whoever rescues or kills five colonists first wins.
Defend – As the hunter you are pitted against a fully evolved stage 3 Monster and its minions of terror, you must stop the Monster from destroying a refuelling starship’s, two generators and its primary power core, as the Monster you have a simple job, kill and destroy.
THERES A SINGLE PLAYER
Something that I never expected, single player game mode, it was not in Titanfall or Destiny and from what I have played within Evolve it could have been possible. A.I has never been perfect when it came to working as a team, they either lag behind, get stuck on rocks, or just plain useless. Some how Turtle Rock Studios have pulled off a miracle, the A.I in this game react, views and acts like real players, good players and playing solo can be rather fun.
So if you not happy with waiting for a match online, or just fed up with the childish gamers, then log off, get your team ready and have fun in Single player, you will not regret it.
THE DARKSIDE TO EVOLVE
But there is a darker side to Evolve, a side that for the first time I have felt anger towards and upset with he way they have done it, this is the Season Pass and DLC. I always thought the Season Pass would bring loads more content to a game, more story, more of everything and it felt good to purchase, but this Season Pass, just takes the piss.
DLC and Season passes, seem to be common place with many game releases of late, some fill in the gaps within the storyline, some add maps, some add weapons, skins and other items that can be used in games. Evolve DLC seems to be ok, mostly cosmetic junk which does not affect the game, or give anyone an advantage over others, all the maps are free for life, however you do seem to have to grab the season pass for extra Hunters? Will the season pass add other stuff over time, I do not know,but for £19.99 for what you get is a total joke and it should not of been released.
Director Phil Robb said “There’s nothing that pisses me off more than useless DLC” yet they have launch skins, useless and a season pass that is, or should I say, adds nothing great to the game, you could literally ignore it.
FINAL OPINION
4V1 sounds like fun right, but have you ever played with other gamers online, it’s like playing with a bunch of useless, foul mouthed little shits, most of the time. 4v1 sounds like fun right, well it is, with your friends in the game with you, all on the microphone and able to work together, this is where Evolve shines through to some degree.
Finding online games is quick and easy, and you get into a match rather fast, if you are playing a Monster expect to wait a little longer, what do you expect really, Monster are bloody fun to play and you do not need to rely on other players to work as a team to achieve the objective.
If you are a loaner, your friends too busy or you totally pissed off with the jackasses online, you do have a single player option, and I can simply say, it’s rather enjoyable and the AI is on par or better than many of the online gamers.
The Season Pass and DLC is not worth it at all, and I would leave that on the sidelines, hopefully at some point they will just give it all free or make the Season Pass worth the price of £19.99. With the full price of the game being £34.99 and has loads of content, charging just over half the price for some skins and 4 new hunters is crazy. There is currently no sign of any more Season Pass content coming apart from what is available at launch, 3 Skins and the 4 new hunters which are coming soon.
The game launches with 12 Unique Maps, 12 Hunters, some unlockable some with the Season Pass, 4 Monsters, 4 Game Modes (Hunt, Nest, Rescue and defend), Evaculation Campaign and finally Full Offline Solo-Play.
Turtle Rock Studios have said that all new maps will be totally free of charge to everyone, which is great, however maps don’t make a game, variety does, so we need more Monsters, a lot more, as four will just become repetitive an boring in time.
Even with all the issues that I have with the game, which is just the DLC and Season Pass, the game is flushed out really well, plenty of challenge, great progression, fantastic environments and weather effects. You do not need any of the DLC to enjoy this game, just do not buy it, and just maybe they will give it all free at some point or add It to the Season Pass.
Bring on the Pain, Bring on the Nightmare, It’s Monster Season
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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