Evolve

I didn't think I would ever use this blog again. I thought that I was done with it, but I feel the need to get my opinion on this game out, so I will, even if no one ever sees, let alone cares, about my opinion.

Evolve is a new multiplayer game that uses a 4 vs. 1 model of gameplay, as 4 Hunters are tasked with hunting down and killing 1 player- controlled Monsters, with different variations on this.

The 4 vs. 1 idea behind Evolve has been commended as new and innovative, but limited idea. I agree with this, but I don't believe that it is limited. There are plenty of possible game modes that could be implemented, such as Hunters capturing waypoints while being attacked by Minions and a Monster inside of an environment meant to look like the Monsters' nesting ground (sort of a reverse Defend mode), or the Monster being tasked with destroying a convoy of trucks protected by Hunters. So, this game is new, innovative, and not nearly as limited as critics expect it to be.

As for the game itself, lets start with the characters. All five classes (Assault, Trapper, Medic, Support, Monster) have the tools to do each of their jobs, as well as help with some others. For some examples; Hank (Support) has very powerful weapons with the Laser Cutter and Orbital Barrage, allowing him to pick up slack for the Assault should it be necessary, the other Supports (Bucket and Cabot) have tools that allow them to track the Monster, helping the Trapper, the third Medic, Caira, has an Acceleration Field, allowing the team to move much faster (backing up Support) and the Assault Markov has mines, preventing the Monster from entering certain areas and helping the Trapper contain the Monster. Also, the characters themselves are well balanced (with some small exceptions), as each one of the current 15 has equal strengths and weaknesses when compared to the other members of their class, for examples; Lazarus is almost incapable of healing his teammates, unlike Val and Caira, but can bring them back from the dead with full health, causing him to have higher risks and rewards, when the other Medics are safer choices, but provide less, also, for the Supports, Hank is better at keeping his team alive during a longer fight using his Shield, something that Cabot lacks, but Cabot can force confrontations to end faster by using his Damage Amplifier to force the Monster to retreat. As for the Monsters, most of the balance comes from different sizes of health and shield bars being used to counter more effective abilities, such as between Goliath and Wraith, which are both close-range fighters. The Goliath is slower, and while it's attacks do more damage (that is based off of playing as both, I don't know actual numbers), the Wraith has an ability that temporarily increases it's damage. However, the Goliath has much more health and shield than the Wraith, allowing Goliath players to tank damage, while Wraith players have to use their speed to their advantage, often using hit-and-run tactics, as the Wraith can't last in a straight up fight.

The game's current 5 modes are somewhat simple; in Hunt you hunt the monster or run from hunters until you're ready to fight, in Nest you destroy/protect Monster eggs (which all hatch Goliaths, oddly), in Rescue you rescue/kill wounded people, in Defend you defend/destroy power stations for an escaping ship, and in Evacuation you play a mixture of the previous game modes spread across 5 different games. The game shipped with 16 maps, with more maps and modes being promised to be for free later. These maps have a mixture of different wildlife, each meant to make a map seem more authentic (for example, the desert-dwelling Megamouth (giant toad that looks like a rock and tries to eat Hunters whole) won't be found in the snowy Distillery). Also, each map has different locations for important objects, and different terrain for each side to work with.

The story is surprisingly deep, something not often mentioned about the game. Turtle Rock created a universe for this game that is slowly revealed, alongside the backstories of the hunters, through conversations between the hunters at the beginning of a match, with the conversations differing depending on which hunters are in play. Aside from that, one of the writers has been writing and releasing backstories for some of the characters, which can be found here. Although the mystery of the monsters' origins isn't even close to solved, some hints have been dropped, and plenty of depth has been added to the current hunters.

This game's biggest fault is in the DLC, which is solely the fault of it's publisher, 2K games. I have no problem with large amounts of DLC, preorder DLC, day 1 DLC, or plenty of other tactics game companies use to sell DLC. These stem from basic economic concepts that many businesses use to sell products. The problem with the DLC is that it is hilariously overpriced and that there has not been enough solid communication regarding it. For example on the first point, right now a Monster is $15 and an individual Hunter is $7.50 (although neither have actually been released, I'm pretty sure these are the announced prices). That means that if no bundling is used, a tier (4 Hunters and 1 Monster, just as a refresher) is $45. The game, which includes 16 maps, 5 game modes, 12 Hunters, 3 Monsters, and the base code of the game, is $60. Although all future maps and game modes are promised for free, the 3 tiers alone would be worth, according to 2K Games, $135 if no bundling is done. Thats over twice as much, and is quite honestly exorbitant and inexcusable, and it isn't as simple as a few hunters and monsters being released over a long period of time. The 4th tier has been already been announced for March 31st, and the concept art for the game, which has been released, shows dozens of future hunters. At the current pricing, very few players will be able to buy (or want to buy) all of the hunters, meaning that most will be missing out on a lot of the game's content. To sum it up, 2K is being greedy, and it is badly hurting their game. Then, their marketing. Someone in 2K games' marketing team badly needs to be fired. Ignoring all of the pre release confusion over DLC (as that mess needs no explanation aside from "they f****d up") they labeled a bundle for 3 skins and 4 future hunters the "Hunting Season Pass", which, by naming it a Season Pass, implies that it's purchaser will be getting all future DLC for the game probably up to a certain date (as there is ALOT of DLC planned for this game) for free, which isn't true. Then they heavily delayed a major patch until the aforementioned March 31st, which despite all of the different ideas/excuses for why, I believe was caused by 2K rushing the developers on the Tier 4 Hunters and Monster (because 2K have been attacked from many sides for promising that much completely unknown DLC, an explanation which also accounts for the promise of future patching being much faster). Finally, said tier 4's release date was withheld, everyone saying "it will be there when it's done", only to be simultaneously revealed and announced to be under a month away. 2K's handling of marketing and DLC isn't just unorthodox and annoying, it is downright stupid.

Aside from that, the game suffers from it's share of bugs, some annoying upgrade requirements, balancing issues, and the simple fact that it is an unconventional shooter. It is innovating and requires tactical thought, something that not everyone is accustomed to. Because of this, there are people playing this game that don't understand it much more than "shoot the monster and anything else that attacks you". For examples from my experience in the game's online multiplayer, while playing as a Support once, my teams Trapper stayed on their gun the entire time, not bothering with laying down harpoon traps or their mobile arena (although they were capable of following their hunting dog around, so we have that). We barely won that match, and only because between the Medic's tranquilizer darts and my sentry guns, we slowed the Monster down enough for the other two to kill it. In another case, I played as Monster in a Defend game, had made a hit and run attack on the generator, and was leaving to feed when the Medic started chasing after me, alone. They died.

Evolve is a great and innovative game with a surprisingly deep story, interesting characters and weapons, and plenty of potential. It does suffer from most of the same issues that plague most new games, but it's greatest weakness is it's mistreatment by it's publisher, a problem that could very easily kill this game and stop this kind of innovation.

Now for something new: a funny game quote! I'll do two here since this is the first post with them

"You have a quality. You make things want to kill you. It's a gift really." -Gorvin (Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor)

"Tyrant here. A slow and painful death if any of you are feeling suicidal." -Bucket (Evolve)