If you haven't been following Evolve, drop what you're doing and pay attention: the new shooter from Turtle Rock Studios looks absolutely amazing, and contrary to most of its first-person shooter brethren, it's actually trying something new. In Evolve, it's not just players versus other players - instead, it's four teammates against one giant, player-controlled monster. Even though there was only one monster available, the Big Alpha test from earlier in the year was an absolute blast. What's even better is that, from what the dev team has shown, the best is yet to come.
Of course, the game would get boring if there were only a few monsters to choose from. Turtle Rock has been quick to confirm that there are multiple monsters, but when it comes to actually showing them, the studio has been somewhat reserved. Gamers already knew of two monsters - the Goliath and the Kraken - but Turtle Rock studios has finally revealed the third monster.
Meet the Wraith.
At first, the Wraith seems almost disappointingly similar to the Kraken: both monsters fly and have a knack for long tentacles, and while it looks great, players have seen it all before. Then, the trailer really kicks into gear, and it's easy to see that the Wraith is all about tricking the human Hunters. There's a lot of disappearing and reappearing, as well as the ability to isolate one of the other players.
When Evolve is finally released, the Wraith could very well be the most complex of the monsters. The Goliath serves as a basic powerhouse, and the Kraken serves as a ranged killer - but from what players have seen, the Wraith looks to be the sneaky backstabber of the bunch. It'll be pretty impressive if the team can make a giant monster sneaky and actually make it believable.
That's not the only good news, either: IGN has confirmed that an Xbox One-exclusive beta will open on Jan. 15, 2015. The beta test will run until the 19th, and while it's certainly not the longest testing period (only four days), the new 'Evacuation' mode will finally be available to the general public on Jan. 17. Players will start with the same basic characters, monsters and gear when they first boot up the beta, but as with the Big Alpha, they'll be able to unlock new hunters and monsters alike.
Evolve is looking better and better with each passing day. Following its reveal, the game looked rather shallow, but as time went on, Evolve, well...evolved. Now, it's sitting pretty as one of the best-looking games of the new console generation, and on top of that, the team behind the game is actually making something different. It's just not something you see very often in the gaming industry today.
Evolve is set to hit store shelves on Feb. 10, 2015.
