THUMBS
02-11-2014, 02:40 PM
Ed writes and talks about what the Left 4 Dead team did next
The mark of a great game is that it never unfolds the same way twice. Even at this early stage in the coverage cycle, Turtle Rock's Evolve for Xbox One appears to have that quality in spades. It's also rather abundant in extremely large, angry extra-terrestrial creatures, each of which is capable of morphing into an even larger, angrier version of itself after consuming enough NPC wildlife.
Your mission, as one of four puny human mercenaries? Hunt one of those monsters down before it reduces the contents of an entire map to a freshly excreted boulder of xeno manure. Alternatively, you might become that monster, trading a nifty selection of far-future rifles, jetpacks, heal rays and laser cannons for teeth, fists and a cocktail of progressively unlocking biological perks such as the ability to leap or climb huge distances. Only one monster has been revealed so far, the Goliath, but I'm assured there are plenty more to come, including some "exciting" variations.
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In Hunted mode, at least, your objectives as the beast are twofold: you can either turn the tables on those hunting you, perhaps luring them into the jaws of other, AI-controlled predators, or focus on your own evolution. Evolve to your final phase, and you'll be able to win by completing a map objective - on the one I've sampled, the idea is to beat up a forcefield generator then guzzle down some delicious scientists. Be wary, though - the more you rampage around the map eating things, the more indications of your presence you'll leave. Besides their guns, the Hunters have access to a range of creative hunting tools - Sound Spikes that bleep when they detect movement, for example, and an energy dome to prevent their quarry's escape.
I've played a fair bit of Evolve now across two separate hands-on events - you can expect a preview in the very next issue of OXM, which hits shelves on Friday, and oodles more coverage on the site in the weeks to come. In the meantime, I thought you'd be interested in the very first gameplay video, below, which includes a commentary from myself and OXM editor Jon "Scared Woodland Animal" Hicks. Let us know what you think. This has the makings of a classic.https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TpwAUfkHwVA
The mark of a great game is that it never unfolds the same way twice. Even at this early stage in the coverage cycle, Turtle Rock's Evolve for Xbox One appears to have that quality in spades. It's also rather abundant in extremely large, angry extra-terrestrial creatures, each of which is capable of morphing into an even larger, angrier version of itself after consuming enough NPC wildlife.
Your mission, as one of four puny human mercenaries? Hunt one of those monsters down before it reduces the contents of an entire map to a freshly excreted boulder of xeno manure. Alternatively, you might become that monster, trading a nifty selection of far-future rifles, jetpacks, heal rays and laser cannons for teeth, fists and a cocktail of progressively unlocking biological perks such as the ability to leap or climb huge distances. Only one monster has been revealed so far, the Goliath, but I'm assured there are plenty more to come, including some "exciting" variations.
13731
137321373313734
137351373613737
In Hunted mode, at least, your objectives as the beast are twofold: you can either turn the tables on those hunting you, perhaps luring them into the jaws of other, AI-controlled predators, or focus on your own evolution. Evolve to your final phase, and you'll be able to win by completing a map objective - on the one I've sampled, the idea is to beat up a forcefield generator then guzzle down some delicious scientists. Be wary, though - the more you rampage around the map eating things, the more indications of your presence you'll leave. Besides their guns, the Hunters have access to a range of creative hunting tools - Sound Spikes that bleep when they detect movement, for example, and an energy dome to prevent their quarry's escape.
I've played a fair bit of Evolve now across two separate hands-on events - you can expect a preview in the very next issue of OXM, which hits shelves on Friday, and oodles more coverage on the site in the weeks to come. In the meantime, I thought you'd be interested in the very first gameplay video, below, which includes a commentary from myself and OXM editor Jon "Scared Woodland Animal" Hicks. Let us know what you think. This has the makings of a classic.https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TpwAUfkHwVA