Evolve by Turtle Rock Studios is a few more weeks away from launching. The final beta has come and gone but how much of a difference does Evacuation mode make?
Having played the closed beta a few weeks back and only having The Hunt as a playable option Evolve became very boring surprisingly quickly for me. Even though I enjoyed my time with Evolve I needed more variety. I totally understood the negative comments that I had read after the closed beta had finished. However I also knew that the open beta would open up Evacuation mode so my appetite for more Evolve was as strong as it had ever been and the promise of playing Evacuation made my lips wetter than a teenage girls knickers after hearing that Harry Styles is single.
With that in mind I couldn't wait to get my boots back on the ground of Shear and unleash hell fire on a group of hunters. As much as I enjoy playing as one of The Hunters playing as one of The Monsters is where it's at for me. That feeling of unbridled power you get from playing as the monster really appeals to me and makes for a nice switch instead of playing the so called good guys all the time.
Evacuation, is a five round story mode. When one side wins a match that side will gain a strategic advantage in the next match. That could range from automatic gun turrets being deployed to help The Hunters or Electric Eels being released into the water which will attack The Hunters.
Most matches I played lasted for over an hour and then some. Evacuation isn't a mode you just pick up and play for 10 minutes. This all depends on the skill of the people playing of course. But from what I experienced during the open beta people have been quick to learn strategies and really master the nuances of each character which makes for some edge of your seat finishes.
A good example of this was my first game of Evacuation where I was placed in a lobby with a group of four friends who had never played Evolve before. After some good old fashioned banter and me explaining what they should be doing we started a game of The Hunt. Trusting that they were telling the truth I bulked up my armour by eating the various species of wildlife, evolved to level 2 and steamrollered the bloody lot of them. It was calamity on their part. Plenty of bullets and blood were spilt and not one of them had any idea what they were supposed to be doing. It was an easy victory. This victory unleashed a toxic cloud which would slowly drain any of The Hunters that came into contact with it.
Next up was a game of Nest where the objective is for The Hunters to destroy all the Monsters eggs and the Monster has to protect them. At one point I even got to hatch an egg and let one of my minions run rampant. This is a really good laugh and the banter between everyone was brilliant. I also won this match but by this time The Hunters were settling into their respective roles and were becoming much better. This time I unlocked additional minions for the Rescue end game.
Rescue was the game mode that we played next where The Hunters have to lead as many colonists to the escape point and The Monster has to kill as many colonists as it can. Whichever side saves or kills the most wins. This was much tougher than I expected. After slaughtering two colonists within a few minutes and evolving to level 2 my confidence was high. But my cockiness was to be my undoing. I didn’t armour up and left myself totally exposed. The Hunters were really into their stride now and fought back valiantly and knocked me into the middle of next week. For this victory The Hunters got awarded with automatic sentry guns.
Next up was another game of nest. Wow I really got my ass handed to me here. In my haste to hatch a minion I forgot about my armour and evolving. Thinking that 2 v 4 would be better odds I rushed across the map closely followed by The Hunters and got completely slaughtered. This game lasted barely five minutes, so much for my tactics. The Hunters had now unlocked increased weapon damage.
And here it was Defend or Evacuations end game. The Hunters have to defend two generators which power two shields and then a refueling station. The Monster has to destroy both generators and a refueling station. Take the first one down and move onto the next. Destroy that one and then its onto the refueling station take that down and The Monster wins the game by destroying the evacuating ship. The advantage here is clearly in The Monsters favour (at least thats my experience). As The Monster you start at Stage 3 and with a bunch of minions at your disposal. This was gonna be fun. I send my minions into attack on the first shield generator while I bump up my armour. I cannot state enough how important your armour is in this game even as a stage three monster. A few minutes later and with full armour i jump into the fight. Smashing, fire breathing and rock throwing my way through the first generator in mere minutes. Quickly onto the second and still with my minions in tow we pummel through the second generator. By now I have taken quite a beating. My armour is none existant and I only have two minions left. I now focus all my attention on the refuelling station. To hell with The Hunters this is do or die time. With the clock ticking ever closer to take off and my Monster and minions taking a constant pounding we finally destroy the refueling station which takes the evacuating ship along with it.
I love this new mode and it firmly puts Evolve into my most wanted bracket for this year. With new characters, maps and modes promised I can see myself getting lost in this game for a long, long time.