Evolve: Next-Gen Alien Hunting From the Makers of Left 4 Dead

[Andy Chalk]

Evolve: Next-Gen Alien Hunting From the Makers of Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock Studios is returning to action with a next-gen multiplayer shooter entitled Evolve.

Remember back in May 2011 when Left 4 Dead developer Turtle Rock Studios announced a deal with THQ for a new multiplayer shooter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/110471-Left-4-Dead-Creators-Announce-Deal-With-THQ]? That property ended up in the hands of 2K Games when THQ went under and today has finally been revealed as Evolve, a shooter that pits a team of four human hunters against a single, player-controlled alien that grows more powerful over the course of multiple matches.

As reported by Game Informer, each member of the hunter team will have unique abilities and items, while the alien will compensate for the numerical imbalance with size and "an assortment of devastating attacks." There will be more to Evolve than just bug hunts, however, as it will reportedly offer "a novel mix of cooperative and competitive multiplayer elements."

Since we don't have anything else to go on just yet, I'm going to imagine that this is essentially Catch the Chicken with an alien twist. Speaking of which, it's hard to overlook the similarity between the alien image on the GI cover and the Alien image at the top of today's Alien: Isolation preview [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/previews/10872-Alien-Isolation-Reveal-Preview], but pay attention to capitalization and try not to get them confused.

Evolve is expected to launch this fall for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

Source: Game Informer [http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2014/01/07/february-2014-evolve-768796.aspx]


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[Flippincrazy]

I'm game.

Whilst there's not much to go on so far, the premise sounds like it'll be a laugh with friends in much the same way as L4D 1&2 were. God knows I sank enough hours into those. Can't wait for more information.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Hmmm...the idea seems a bit odd to me, but it's somewhat inventive, so there's a big tick there.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Left 4 Dead team work combined with asynchronous multiplayer against a single foe?

Seems interesting, but with every game of this type I'd imagine everyone would scramble to be the alien. Partially because playing teamwork focused games online is as fun as shoving your dick into an electrical socket and partially because fucking aliens are cool man.

 

[Z of the Na'vi]

shoving your dick into an electrical socket and partially because fucking aliens are cool man.

Very interesting word choice you have here...

OT: I'm going to assume Turtle Rock was the name of the team before they started working for Valve, or am I missing something here? I thought Left 4 Dead was developed by a team under the Valve name.

Nevertheless, sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Baresark]

Seems cool enough. I wouldn't mind checking out a game like that. I honestly would literally love Left4Dead, with cool alien environments and just against aliens. I mean... right now it is a single mode which doesn't sound like fun for every long.

 

[Aeshi]

So it's pretty much a modern-day version of Giants: Citizen Kabuto?

Sounds good to me!

 

[Brisingr]

Sounds pretty much like Hidden Source (an old mod for HL2 [http://www.moddb.com/mods/hidden-source], check it out if haven't played it). It could work pretty well by the sounds of it.

 

[Bindal]

shoving your dick into an electrical socket and partially because fucking aliens are cool man.

Very interesting word choice you have here...

OT: I'm going to assume Turtle Rock was the name of the team before they started working for Valve, or am I missing something here? I thought Left 4 Dead was developed by a team under the Valve name.

Nevertheless, sounds like a lot of fun.

Yeah, you miss that Turtle Rock originally created Left 4 Dead before they were bought by Valve.

And the game sounds like "Hidden: Source - Alien Edition" with less players on the human side.

 

[fix-the-spade]

OT: I'm going to assume Turtle Rock was the name of the team before they started working for Valve, or am I missing something here? I thought Left 4 Dead was developed by a team under the Valve name.

Originally, Left 4 Dead was developed by Turtle Rock studios, who were bought out by Valve about a year before L4D was released, between the release of L4D and L4D2 the Turtle Rock guys left Valve and reformed Turtle Rock. The exact why and how of their split from Valve has never been elaborated on, but they worked with/for Valve on and off for five or six years before the buyout on Counter Strike: Condition Zero and Source, so that and the fact that they got the Turtle Rock name back makes it sound relatively civilised.

This game sounds a lot like the Tanks For Nothing mod of L4D2 (or plain Tank Mode), although seemingly here the emphasis is on killing the target rather than just surviving. Or The Hidden in reverse.

 

[ShirowShirow]

Am I the only one that finds it friggin HILARIOUS that the little thumbnail of the Alien from Evolve sitting right next to the Alien from Alien: Isolation makes it REALLY REALLY OBVIOUS where this game is drawing inspiration from?

Alien is officially to science fiction what Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy.

 

[Ipsen]

Hmm, 1 v +1 Tremulous, by L4D devs?

Sounds interesting. I'm still iffy on a PC team vs even a power-creeping single entity, because this simple concept usually boils down to team relying on cheap tactics. It's not even so much that this is unwarranted, but rather that the gameplay doesn't allow much else (or at least, devs haven't figured out a way to make interesting balance on this level).

But like always, we wait and see.

 

[shintakie10]

Hmm, 1 v +1 Tremulous, by L4D devs?

Sounds interesting. I'm still iffy on a PC team vs even a power-creeping single entity, because this simple concept usually boils down to team relying on cheap tactics. It's not even so much that this is unwarranted, but rather that the gameplay doesn't allow much else (or at least, devs haven't figured out a way to make interesting balance on this level).

But like always, we wait and see.

I usually run into the issue that player skill becomes hugely important in how fun the game is. A bunch of baddies on all sides can make for a fun game. I know some of my favorite LFD2 games were where all of us were just incredibly awful. However you toss one good player in on either side and its just a gigantic rollover.

Still though, very interested in this.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

It sounds fairly similar to Monster Hunter I think, just a little more grotesque obviously, being a game about aliens rather than monsters.

 

[Amir Kondori]

Left 4 Dead team work combined with asynchronous multiplayer against a single foe?

Seems interesting, but with every game of this type I'd imagine everyone would scramble to be the alien. Partially because playing teamwork focused games online is as fun as shoving your dick into an electrical socket and partially because fucking aliens are cool man.

L4D is pretty much the only MP game I even play, and it is cooperative. I love it for that very reason. You have to build a list of friends to play with who are decent at the game and are team players though.

 

[Sarge034]

I'm interested and I love L4D to death, while L4D2 can go die in a hole, but I am worried about only having one enemy on the alien side. How is it even feasible to balance that? If the human players only get marginally better through gun upgrades and the like will the alien start supper weak and grow to be super op? So all I need to do as the alien is hide for a level or two and then wreck face with impunity? Like I said, interested but I need more info.

 

[Moloch Sacrifice]

It sounds fairly similar to Monster Hunter I think, just a little more grotesque obviously, being a game about aliens rather than monsters.

The difference being, of course, that the monster is controlled by a human, making the game 10x more awesome and more challenging.