I hate shooters. Especially multiplayer shooters. There’s no story, no character, and it’s just an excuse to show off gunplay. It’s the exact opposite of why I’m into gaming.
That being said, I’ve clocked over 150 hours in the “Left 4 Dead” series. It’s the exception to the rule, and did a fantastic job creating the world in an unobtrusive way, and letting me emotionally invest in the characters simply by making them seem human. The dialogue is funny, poignant, at times even heartfelt, and combining that with the ability to play with your friends and the excellent gunplay, it’s easy to see why the game has been a mainstay of my Steam library for so long. In fact, it’s a mainstay of almost everyone’s Steam library. It’s the only game I can think of that nearly every single one of my friends own and play.
So naturally, I got a little excited when Gameinformer announced that the original developers of the game – Turtle Rock Studios – are developing a new IP backed by publisher 2K Games.
“Evolve” is the name of the game. Set for release late this year on PC, Xbox One, and PS4, the next-gen coop/competitive shooter sounds like someone might finally get a video game version of “Alien” right. Four players take on the role of alien hunters, working together to take down the fifth player, who plays a very powerful alien monster that can – you guessed it – evolve.
It’s not clear what the evolution exactly entails apart from stronger attacks. Each round the alien player gets more and more powerful, which is just a great idea for a game. One that I’m surprised hasn’t come along before now. It’s like a horde mode with a single enemy set in a science fiction universe.
Count me in.