Turtle Rock studio is concerned with making Evolve the best game that it can be, which is, admittedly, slightly less outrageous.
That said, we’re surprised it's been delayed at all. We’ve had the pleasure of playing Evolve, a lot of Evolve, actually. We've played alongside other hunters in the wild (well, at conventions), we've battled against the developers and we’ve even had a sneaky peak at the AI in action. And what continues to surprise and delight us in equal measure is how fresh every game of Evolve feels.
We played two consecutive games, and they both felt totally different. In fact, no two games have ever felt a like. Regardless of the mix of Hunters leaping out of the dropship; no matter which of the monstrous beasts we are controlling or the map we are stalking through, Evolve finds a way of feeling different every time we play it.
Evolve is insanely balanced. No matter how hard we try to find one, there don’t seem to be any game breaking tactics to exploit. We’ve found no surefire way to ensure victory. It’s a battle of attrition: a slow and enormously entertaining crawl towards dominating your opponent. Of course, that isn't to say there wont be any.
Considering how polished everything that we've played is, refining the balancing is no doubt what Turtle Rock is challenging itself with as we write and the driving reason for the delay.
Then again, Evolve will live or die by the player base it establishes. Turtle Rock and 2K are aware of the behemoth launches dropping in October and November, and while February 2015 is looking just as congested, it'll have enough space to invite players into its addictive embrace.
The thing with addictions is that the first taste is always free. And that’s why the Xbox One exclusive beta is still coming to Xbox Live. That’ll be out in a couple of weeks, but be wary of playing it. Once you start, you’re going to be desperately craving more.
BLOODY TERRIFYING MONSTERS
Going up against the Kraken is bloody terrifying. As it should be, it is a monster, after all. But there’s something truly frightening about seeing tentacles rising above the trees, something almost tangibly uncomfortable in the seconds before it strikes. The Kraken is as deadly as the Goliath, but you’ll need to bring a new set of tactics to the fight.
HUNTING GROUNDS
The latest map to be revealed, the Distillery, changes the entire approach to Evolve. Not only is it full of more deadly wildlife than we ever encountered on The Dam, but it’s also host to some pretty awful weather. While the snow storms that swept through looked incredible, they really impaired visibility, making it very difficult to avoid and go looking for trouble.
A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES
Our biggest worry with Evolve was that new Hunters would disrupt its insane balance. New weapons, powers and nuances could have broken the flow that we’d previously been so impressed with. It turns out that Turtle Rock has completely nailed this particular aspect of the game. The new Hunters
provide a new challenge, and wickedly inventive ways to try and tackle the beast.
Evolve continues to display a level of diversity and balance that no other co-operative focused game has ever managed to achieve. .
That said, we’re surprised it's been delayed at all. We’ve had the pleasure of playing Evolve, a lot of Evolve, actually. We've played alongside other hunters in the wild (well, at conventions), we've battled against the developers and we’ve even had a sneaky peak at the AI in action. And what continues to surprise and delight us in equal measure is how fresh every game of Evolve feels.
We played two consecutive games, and they both felt totally different. In fact, no two games have ever felt a like. Regardless of the mix of Hunters leaping out of the dropship; no matter which of the monstrous beasts we are controlling or the map we are stalking through, Evolve finds a way of feeling different every time we play it.
Evolve is insanely balanced. No matter how hard we try to find one, there don’t seem to be any game breaking tactics to exploit. We’ve found no surefire way to ensure victory. It’s a battle of attrition: a slow and enormously entertaining crawl towards dominating your opponent. Of course, that isn't to say there wont be any.
Considering how polished everything that we've played is, refining the balancing is no doubt what Turtle Rock is challenging itself with as we write and the driving reason for the delay.
Then again, Evolve will live or die by the player base it establishes. Turtle Rock and 2K are aware of the behemoth launches dropping in October and November, and while February 2015 is looking just as congested, it'll have enough space to invite players into its addictive embrace.
The thing with addictions is that the first taste is always free. And that’s why the Xbox One exclusive beta is still coming to Xbox Live. That’ll be out in a couple of weeks, but be wary of playing it. Once you start, you’re going to be desperately craving more.
BLOODY TERRIFYING MONSTERS
Going up against the Kraken is bloody terrifying. As it should be, it is a monster, after all. But there’s something truly frightening about seeing tentacles rising above the trees, something almost tangibly uncomfortable in the seconds before it strikes. The Kraken is as deadly as the Goliath, but you’ll need to bring a new set of tactics to the fight.
HUNTING GROUNDS
The latest map to be revealed, the Distillery, changes the entire approach to Evolve. Not only is it full of more deadly wildlife than we ever encountered on The Dam, but it’s also host to some pretty awful weather. While the snow storms that swept through looked incredible, they really impaired visibility, making it very difficult to avoid and go looking for trouble.
A NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHES
Our biggest worry with Evolve was that new Hunters would disrupt its insane balance. New weapons, powers and nuances could have broken the flow that we’d previously been so impressed with. It turns out that Turtle Rock has completely nailed this particular aspect of the game. The new Hunters
provide a new challenge, and wickedly inventive ways to try and tackle the beast.
Evolve continues to display a level of diversity and balance that no other co-operative focused game has ever managed to achieve. .