Looking back at PAX East 2014, our favorite gaming experience was none other than Evolve, published by 2K Games and Turtle Rock Studios. For those at the convention, you probably saw the impressive demo station with the to-scale Monster towering over the crowds (pictured below). We were happy to see that the setup did not yield a let down, but rather, an original gaming experience that will change online gaming on PS4, XBox One, and PC in Fall 2014.
Evolve takes four specialized player classes (Assault, Medic, Trapper, and Support) and puts them up against one player-controlled Monster. This innovative gameplay strategy makes the player classes continuously communicate and work together in order to defeat the Monster, yielding the popular ‘#4v1’ hashtag. 4 versus 1 is a really interesting gameplay idea, and the Evolve team has done a great job balancing the power to create a fair fight. The objective of Evolve is for the players to defeat the Monster and for the Monster to defeat the players. However, there are also other objectives in a match. For example, in the match we played at PAX, the Monster won the battle by destroying an in-game generator before we were able to kill it.
At the start of each match, the player classes have the advantage against the Monster, who is relatively small and not very powerful. However, as the Monster begins to feed on wildlife and other in-game components, its Evolve Meter will begin to fill. When the meter is filled, the Monster evolves, becoming significantly more powerful until it reaches its peak power after is second evolution. At that point, the Monster then has the advantage with its quick moving, superior strength, and added abilities.
We had a blast at the PAX demo. Evolve presents really beautiful graphics and fun gameplay. We really enjoyed the 4v1 component, and thought the specialized classes were really creative and well-balanced. Evolve will surely be on the shelf of every gamer upon its release.
A to-scale replica of Evolve’s Monster
Gamenomics & Comicology 