These new classes are unlocked via an EXP progression system. After every game you earn EXP that can lead to different passive abilities, weapon buffs, and some fresh new sub-classes.
Also the new hunters bring a sense of customization to the table, allowing players to easily mix and match different classes and sub-classes together for certain scenarios.
For example, Lazurus, the second Medic, can revive fallen teammates AND go invisible to boot. Bucket, the second Support unlock, can lay out sentries which do wonders in the Defend mode, and Hyde’s flamethrower is fantastic in the Nest gametype.
All the classes are highly synergized with each other and provide the basic framework for a dynamic team, affording for a pretty high level of strategic gameplay.
The trick is that you have to know how to use them, and more importantly, know how to effectively communicate with your team.
Communicating with your team and understanding how your skills synergize remain two of the most important factors of being a hunter. This means you’re going to need to don your mic and actually talk to your teammates to get the most out of the game.
Honestly I have had quite a few entertaining sessions going this route, asking a ton of questions and generally getting to know fellow players. Plus it helps if you have a few friends to jump on with as well, and it serves as an excellent bonding exercise to boot.
The FPS mechanics in Evolve are exceedingly fluid and amazingly well-defined. Every hunter has a jetpack that makes maneuvering the huge open stages much more manageable, and makes you feel like an exotic space marine of sorts.
With the jetpack you can quickly dash-thrust in many directions in a way that’s very similar to Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s exosuit thrusts, making it so you can pretty much get out of the way of an explosive blast in a pinch.
But the thrusts are limited and you have to keep an eye on your fuel bar when battling a monster; run out of fuel and it’ll take a bit to recharge, leaving you pretty vulnerable.
The hunter weapons and tools are pretty fantastic as well, emphasizing the teamwork and “think outside the box” style FPS mechanics. You’re not going to win in Evolve by simply gunning down a monster. You win by using trickery, subterfuge and tactical thinking–in this respect it’s a bit like an RTS where you have to battle the mind of your opponent as well as their powerful in-game presence.
Despite all of the badass skills, cohesive teamwork and in-depth strategy, the hunts can be enormously boring escapades of “cat and mouse”. Fun in Evolve seems to be conditional on a number of factors in the game, some of which, like the varying pace of the game, you can’t control.
Sometimes the chasing can get so monotonous and menial you simply just chat to your teammates to liven the mood, just to keep entertained.
The game suffers from a bad pacing issue and gameplay feels “too free”, as if Turtle Rock didn’t know how to constrain the hunter vs. hunted elements properly to ensure there’s never a dull moment.
There are games where you wipe out the monster in the first encounter, and then there are games where you never meet your prey until the very end, where an epic battle occurs. But to get to that epic battle, you have to play through 15 minutes or so of rather boring cat and mouse chases.
One of the most unique elements of Evolve is how quickly hunters can turn into the hunted. This dynamic pretty much underlines the core concept of the game itself, and it happens quite a bit. Once a Kraken hits Rank 3, the entire team retreats, reverting into a defensive position to protect a nearby core.
Final Verdict
Evolve isn’t for everyone and it takes a lot of the power out of today’s power-fantasy shooters. If you’re a hunter, it’s more about being patient, managing your expectations, learning your role and working with your team.
If you’re the monster, it’s all about being clever, swift, smart and being able to adapt to your surroundings. It’s a thinking-man’s game versus the instant-chaos that ensues in today’s FPS games.
Essentially Evolve seems like a novelty that might fade away as it’s overshadowed by games that deliver instant gratification. In its current state the game does have its flaws, but it seamlessly marries the worlds of FPS gunplay and dynamic team-based strategy to provide something unique.
