For the past few months, 2K Games has been heavily hyping its latest multiplayer release, Evolve, which is in stores this week. The game takes a novel approach to the usual multiplayer experience, where four hunters chase after a large monster, who can strike back and eventually “evolve” into something unstoppable. The catch is, players can control all these characters and compete against one another.
It’s a big difference from the usual multiplayer experience that players have come to expect, especially those that have become accustomed to the likes of Call of Duty and Halo. However, it’s an experience that should work for 2K in the long run.
Here are several reasons to consider:
The Hunters Aren’t “Weaklings”, and Are Unique
Some might think that the player controlling the monster in Evolve has the advantage, and, in a way, it is kind of a guilty pleasure. However, that’s not to say the Hunters involved in the game don’t have their role to play. Each one has a specific duty, whether it’s playing as a medic who keeps the other players healthy while unloading gunfire, or a trapper that puts up a temporary electric fence to keep the monster from escaping.
Learning – and mastering – each of these skills provides an overwhelming replay value to the game, and may find players getting accustomed to certain roles with each new match they enter. Considering the generic roles they usually file in other multiplayer experiences (where they just play “soldier” or “grunt”), this is a huge difference.
Playing As the Monster Is a Blast
Okay, so if you get to play as the monster (be it a Goliath, Wraith or Behemoth), you’re going to have a good time. That’s because each monster has a number of capabilities that can easily crush Hunters flat if they’re landed the right way, from throwing rocks to performing a crushing smash into the ground to firing electrical bolts that can hit at a satisfying distance.
Each monster has something unique to provide, and players who finally get a turn with them certainly won’t be disappointed.
