With the current console game line-ups being a bit threadbare, I was flicking through the release schedules and a game I’d not really come across before caught my eye.

On the face of it Evolve doesn’t seem that noteworthy. Originally coming to the attention of the general populace during the reporting on THQ’s bankruptcy proceedings; Evolve has somewhat passed under the radar in the subsequent months.

Dig a little deeper, however, and you start to uncover something very, very exciting indeed.

The game is a competitive/co-operative online game, pitting a team of hunters against a human-controlled monster that they have to, unsurprisingly, hunt down. An interesting premise on its own, the game gains even more kudos when you notice that it’s being worked on by the team behind the Left 4 Dead series. For those not familiar with the series, Left 4 Dead and its sequel Left 4 Dead 2 pits a group of survivors against human-controlled zombies in an online battle of survival. Seeing as it’s widely regarded as one of the most enjoyable and stellar online gaming experience available, the fact that the series’ developers are behind Evolve should make fans sit up and take notice.

Dig even further and things just get better.

The hunter team consists of 4 players, each with a distinct role; Trapper, Medic, Assault & Support. Each hunter has a specific weapon loadout adn 3 abilities.

• The Trapper’s role is to try and encircle the monster, corralling it into a set area to keep it from escaping and give the team a chance to take it down. They have the Mobile Arena ability, which is an energy bubble used to entrap the monster in a small area and is visually reminsicent of Halo’s Bubble shield. In addition, theyhave the Harpoon Gun, which is used to slow down the monster, particularly useful when combined with the Mobile Arena for obvious reasons
• The Medic, as expected, is tasked with keeping the team alive and free of ailments, but also, interestingly, with disabling the monster. While nothing is known yet about how this will work, put your money on it being with some sort of status afflictions.
• The Assault character is your damage-dealer; the main DPS character who will close in for the kill when the other characters, particularly the Trapper, have done their jobs. They have a longer range assult rifle and a close range lightning gun to deal firefight damage, along with a cache of up to 8 proximity mines, providing the opportunity for traps and amushes. mines hidden near herds of animals or under corpses anyone?
• Finally the Support character is described, all be it vaguely, as the most flexible of the characters, able to use talents and skills to assist other players. The skills available speak of a real all rounder, with a Cloaking Device for stealth, Orbital Strike for massive damage and a Shiled Gun which renders fellow players briefly invincible, its obvious that the Support player will become a lynchpin of the Hunter team. 

In addition, while if the monster dies once, the game is over, the hunters effectively have 3 lives, where they respawn after being reduced to zero health, though it takes a full 2 minutes to respawn, a hefty time considering they’re on a time limit to complete their mission. After the third ‘death’ the players do not respawn, unless revived by their medic, demonstrating how vital the medic’s role is.

Against this array of skills and weaponry you might be forgiven for thinking the monster will have little chance, but have no fear, there’s more than meets the eye to this gremlin-on-steroids. The monster starts of at a base level, but gains energy by killing and devouring the native creatures of the environment. This energy, when possessed in high enough levels, then allows the monster to evolve in various ways, becoming more powerful, both in physical size and in skill, making new abilities and powers available. The monster starts at level one, withthe two chosen abilities picked at creation and can level up to level 3, with the 2nd level being fairly easy to achieve, but level 3 taking a much larger energy reserve.

Gathering energy to level up is key to the monster and something that is necessary immediately. The monster is spawned into the game 30 seconds before the hunters are, allowing it time to gather resources, scope out the area and hide itself before the hunt begins. This is the opportune time to gather energy for a level up, as once the hunters drop in remaining hidden will prove difficult while feeding, especially with a trail of bodies for them to follow.

The team bill the game as a 4v1 boss battle where anything can happen, but it seems far more than that. The tactical approaches and demand for team thinking are obvious, with all players needing to think carefully about what they do. This won’t (or at least shouldn’t) be a straight off deathmatch style game from the off, at least from the monster’s point of view. If the monster fronts up to the hunters early on, barring particularly incompetent hunters, the only result will be a particularly ugly new trophy above a fireplace or a surprised-looking rug. No, the game is clearly designed to be a tense cat and mouse affair, with the monster trying to remain undiscovered while gathering energy from animals, with the hunters stalking them around the map. The possibilities are vast and varied, with extended Predator-style tension-filled periods of hunting, followed by action-packed battles to the death. I’d put big money on the tracker being able to divine information from the animal carcases the monster leaves behind. Imagine staling as a team through the jungle, finding the evidence of the monster; knowing it’s out there and near, but not where. Imagine being the monster, the need to feed and level competing with the need to remain undetected.

Indeed, one big aspect of the game that really adds to this is the idea that if the monster can level up enough, they will get to a position where they can turn the tables on the hunters and start to pursue them, shifting the dynamic considerably. If the monster reaches level 3, not only do they become powerful enough to significantly threaten the hunter team, a secondary win scenario opens up, where if they destroy a power generator on the map and kill enough civilians they will win the game. Another intriguing facet to gameplay indeed.

Couple this with the possibility of environmental aspects, such as traps and landscape features affecting the game, as well as hostile animals roaming about and you’ve got yourself the potential for one hell of a multiplayer experience. Play this with 4 good friends and you’ve the potential for some of the best online experience to date.

Whether you favour the longbow of the claw, it matters little; Evolve is my tip to take over from Titanfall as the seminal next-gen multiplayer experience when it’s released in the 3rd quarter of 2014. And in keeping with the game, I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled for when it breaks cover, ready to home in on it.

And to Turtle Rock Studios and 2k Games; only one thing seems appropriate to say right now:

Clever Girl!