I will admit it; I have not been following 2K’s upcoming game Evolve too much. I know, I know, my bad. Leading up to E3 I only knew the game by name, and didn’t know too many more details beyond that. While I was at the Microsoft’s Press Event Evolve was highlighted on stage unveiling a new level, a new monster (The Kraken), and even new characters. How do I know that this was all new, well I listened to those other journalists around me who were excited to see the introduction of such. I was still lost though, as I didn’t know what all the hubbub was all about. Fast forward to the last day of E3 when I attended my appointment at 2K Games, I was lucky enough to be included in the last group of people to get hands-on time with the game, and let me say that I couldn’t be happier that luck was on my side as I now know why there is such a positive buzz about this game.
For the uninitiated out there, Evolve is a co-operative game developed by Turtle Rock Studios. A quick search of the interwebz indicates Turtle Rock developed the first Left 4 Dead game. After being swallowed up by Valve, and then released, the team reformed and THQ was going to publish their next game. Well, we all know what happened to THQ. During the Bankruptcy sale of THQ’s assets Take-Two Interactive acquired the rights to Turtle Rocks “next game”, which happened to be Evolve.
The best way to describe the gameplay of Evolve is it is made up of a whole bunch of boss battles. It is played in a 4 vs. 1 format. A team of 4 players take control of one of four classes within their team (Assault, Medic, Trapper and Support) and set off on a battle against the main nemesis, a LARGE monster. This monster, which is controlled by one player, can either take out the four team members or complete their objective for the particular map that is being played.  In the case of the E3 demo the objecive was to destroy a generator at a Dam on the map. The trick to playing as the monster is that you can evolve a few times and eventually reaching its “highest” form by killing and consuming other creatures on the planet. Once you reach the maximum evolution you can hand out a big can of whoop-ass and really present a challenge for the team of four. As you play as one of the four team members you also have to fight the same creatures that the monster can kill and devour too.
I was given the role of the support character. All four characters on the show floor were newly introduced at E3 and my character was actually a robot, which had quite a few neat ‘support features’. One of the most notable features was the fact that my head could detach from my body and become a UAV. This was very useful when scouting ahead, as well as being able to mark the monster for those times he would retreat as it allowed the whole team to know which general location he could be found. The risk here though is that once the head of my robot was detached my body would became stationary and there was no way to defend against any attacks from the main monster or from other creatures on the planet. Other ‘tricks-of-my-trade’ included a rocket launcher, the ability cloak my teammates and myself, and I could throw out floating turrets. The latter was pretty effective when cornering the monster as I would lay out some of these turrets to add to the damage we inflicted on our enemy.
Working as a team is paramount. Each of us had our unique abilities and using them at the right time was key. While we played a member of the dev-team was able to monitor our progress and give us some great tips while playing. For instance, one of the other hunters, the trapper on the team, had the ability to throw out a force field, which would stop the monster’s progress. Putting this in use at just the right instance is essential given you can ‘trap’ your foe in a corner and lay down some heavy damage. I was lucky enough to join a group that communicated during gameplay. I tagged the monster to show where it was going a couple of times and there was lots of chatter about where others were so we would not get separated and left to our own demise. We also shouted out areas when we got tips or brief sightings of where the monster or other creatures were. For those wondering, we were able to dispose of our enemy in the allotted time, and none of us died. It was great to play with people who worked together as it really did make a difference.
Going into my time with Evolve I was skeptical, but after playing the E3 demo I have to say that I am somewhat impressed. It was intense, fun, and the teamwork aspect makes it a true cooperative experience worth playing. Using the right ‘hunter’ and utilizing each one’s skills was satisfying, not only for those actually using them, but for the all of us in the team too. When it came together it really came together. Listening to the chatter around the booth after I had played, I heard those who played as the monster had fun too. I managed to watch a match or two prior to going in and I did see some people take on the team of 4 and win, so it’s seems to be a fairly balanced experience at this point. I guess I shouldn’t doubt the game at this point though given the lineage of Turtle Rock Studios. Left 4 Dead game was a title that so many gamers had fun playing, including myself, on PC and/or console. 2K Games and Turtle Rock Studios still have lots to unveil to prior to the game’s launch this October, and given my experience at E3 I can’t wait to see what more they have and how the final version of the game turns out. This is one game to keep an eye on for sure.
