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Evolva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Evolution or Evolve (disambiguation).
Evolva
European cover art
Developer(s)Computer Artworks
Publisher(s)
Director(s)William Latham
Producer(s)Vince Farquharson
Designer(s)Mark Atkinson
Vince Farquharson
Programmer(s)Rik Heywood
Mark Atkinson
Artist(s)Karl Wickens
Composer(s)Keith Tinman
Platform(s)Windows
Release
Genre(s)Action
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Evolva is a third-person action game created by British computer artist William Latham and game designer/programmer Mark Atkinson,[3][4] and released in 2000.

Gameplay

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The player leads a team of four "GenoHunters" exploring a planet; each of the GenoHunters can develop new abilities by incorporating and altering the DNA they've absorbed from the creatures they have killed.[4] The GenoHunters change their physical appearance (change colors, develop spikes or horns) based on the DNA they've used to mutate themselves. Genohunters can punch, jump, super jump, breathe fire, vomit flammable liquids, shoot explosives, scramble enemies' brains, and spawn small alien offspring that injure enemies. Prior to the game's release, publisher Interplay Entertainment advertised that there are over one billion possible variations on the basic Genohunter.

The game has 12 large, linear levels populated with alien insect-like creatures known as the "parasite guardians". There are different types of these alien creatures. In some of the levels there are "Bosses" at the end which your team of GenoHunters must defeat.

Reception

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The game received favorable reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings.[5] The game was praised by critics as very innovative, without any major criticisms, other than the high hardware requirements (for the time) and weak multiplayer support.[citation needed] Jim Preston of NextGen said of the game, "The gorgeous graphics and beautiful sound conceal some rather ordinary, if mostly fun, gameplay."[18]

Nick Woods of AllGame gave it a score of four stars out of five, saying, "A strong point of Evolva is the quality of the environments created by Interplay. The sense that you're on another planet is apparent and adds to the enjoyment of the game. I'd recommend this game to just about anyone as, overall, Evolva is a good, solid game that will provide many hours of enjoyment."[20] Michael Lafferty of GameZone gave it 8.5/10, calling it "a well-designed action-adventure game that demands intellect and reflexive skill."[21] Barry Brenesal of GamePro said, "Evolva has its distinctive elements-good team AI and great pathing, a wonderful variety of exotic creatures, and a novel application of color over a 3D terrain. But much of the game is simply traditional shooter material with an alien overlay. I kept hoping for something more creative, given the 3D possibilities-perhaps abilities that included flight. Evolva doesn't disappoint, but it doesn't raise much enthusiasm, either."[22][a]

Based upon Evolva, Universal Interactive invited Computer Artworks to make a pitch for The Thing, a game based on the 1982 film of the same name. For the pitch, Computer Artworks reskinned a level from Evolva with an Antarctic theme and a Thing-like creature as a boss fight. The pitch impressed Universal sufficiently, and the deal was signed.[23]

Notes

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  1. ^ GamePro gave the game 3.5/5 for graphics, 2/5 for sound, 4/5 for control, and 3/5 for fun factor.

References

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  1. ^ Fudge, James (May 25, 2000). "Evolva Ships". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 30, 2003. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  2. ^ Bye, John "Gestalt" (May 11, 2000). "Evolva review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 18, 2002. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  3. ^ Kushner, David (May 2000). "Mutations". Spin. Vol. 16, no. 5. Next Management Partners. p. 88. ISSN 0886-3032.
  4. ^ a b "NG Alphas: Computer Artworks". Next Generation. No. 33. Imagine Media. September 1997. pp. 64–66.
  5. ^ a b "Evolva for PC". GameRankings. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 29, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  6. ^ Bub, Andrew S. (June 13, 2000). "Evolva". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  7. ^ Perkins, Dave (June 19, 2000). "Evolva". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on May 30, 2003. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  8. ^ Bailey, Joe (September 2000). "You Say You Wanna [sic] Evolution? (Evolva Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 194. Ziff Davis. p. 112. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 23, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  9. ^ Edge staff (May 2000). "Evolva" (PDF). Edge. No. 84. Publishing. pp. 84–85. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  10. ^ McEnery, Paul (September 30, 2000). "Evolva". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on July 12, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  11. ^ Bye, John "Gestalt" (May 11, 2000). "Evolva". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on January 7, 2001. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  12. ^ "Evolva". Game Informer. No. 88. FuncoLand. August 2000.
  13. ^ "REVIEW for Evolva [Incomplete]". GameFan. Shinno Media. May 30, 2000. Archived from the original on June 19, 2000. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  14. ^ Sparks, Shawn (July 2000). "Evolva Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Parker, Sam (June 7, 2000). "Evolva". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  16. ^ Madigan, Jamie (June 12, 2000). "Evolva". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on June 1, 2002. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  17. ^ Lopez, Vincent (June 13, 2000). "Evolva". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Preston, Jim (August 2000). "Evolva". NextGen. No. 68. Imagine Media. p. 96. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  19. ^ "Evolva". PC Gamer. Vol. 7, no. 9. Imagine Media. September 2000.
  20. ^ Woods, Nick. "Evolva - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  21. ^ Lafferty, Michael (June 7, 2000). "Evolva Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  22. ^ Brenesal, Barry (June 22, 2000). "Evolva Review for PC on GamePro.com". GamePro. IDG. Archived from the original on January 20, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  23. ^ Mason, Graeme (May 4, 2014). "The making of The Thing". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
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