Evolve
From: 2K
For: PS4, XboxOne, PC
Four and a half stars (out of five)
I've always been a vocal opponent of multiplayer-only games. You shouldn't have to rely on others to have fun playing a game.
Then Evolve came along.
Evolve presents a new take on the boss battle.
Four player co-op games are reasonably common, but four player co-op against a human controlled monster?
This is Evolve's unique selling point.
There are two teams: the hunters (made up of four separate and distinct classes), and the monster.
Both effectively have the same goal: eliminate the other.
But it's not quite that simple.
The world in which Evolve takes place (Shear), is almost a sixth player in the game.
There are various forms of wildlife and flora that are neutral third parties, attacking the monster and the hunters alike.
You constantly have to be on your toes, not only from your enemies but also that you don't accidentally wander into the lair of a particularly nasty beast.
What this leads to is a supremely balanced game, one which enables you to play as you see fit (give me the stealthy approach any day of the week), and one in which it never feels like one side is completely dominant.
My favourite class by a mile is the monster.
As the monster you begin weak and you're easily killed by the hunters.
But by exploring the world, consuming smaller wildlife and evolving (in terms of strength, abilities and size), the pendulum begins to swing in your favour.
As mentioned before, I prefer the sneaky approach, crouching through bushes and leading hunters into traps and on false trails, but you can also come out swinging.
The hunters are split into four classes: Assault, Trapper, Medic and Support.
Each plays a vital role in the success of the team.
Without one member of the team playing their role to some degree, the monster will likely make very short work of you.
Herein lies Evolve's problem: the problem I mentioned right at the start.
Relying on other people.
If you've got a crew of four, and are communicating and know how to play each class, Evolve will be the most fun you've had in ages.
However, playing online with random players is hit and miss.
Mostly everyone plays reasonably well.
But occasionally you'll get ''that'' guy who just wanders off and does their own thing, which inevitably ends in their death and the entire team is compromised from the get-go.
The learning curve for Evolve is a bit steep initially (there's a lot to take in and its vitally important you know each class's strengths and weaknesses), but once you get a grasp of it its tremendous fun.
I could keep going on about it, but I think I'm going to go back to pouncing on unsuspecting players and beating them to a pulp.
I recommend you join in.
- Simon Bishop
