Meet the Hunters of Evolve

Evolve, recently shown off at PAX East 2014, is gaining traction and renown amongst first-person shooter enthusiasts as the next step in co-op and teamwork within the genre. Known for the Left 4 Dead series, Turtle Rock Studios’ upcoming shooter once again centers around cooperative gameplay, where a team of four hunters take on one, titular monster.

Oh, and the monster is controlled by another player.

Both a cooperative and competitive title, Evolve forces a team of four hunters to work together to take on a raging behemoth, hell-bent on killing them. The excitement of the game is built on the need for teamwork, with each hunter being geared for a specific role in the fight against the creature.

Based on our hands-on demo with the game, Turtle Rock hinted at the possibility of future classes being released, but will launch with only the primary four. Each has their own set of weapons and equipment, favoring their strengths.

Medic

The Medic comes equipped with a sniper rifle, a healing gun, and a tranquilizer gun. The sniper rifle can pierce the creature’s armor, creating weak points for others to exploit, while the healing gun does exactly as it sounds. The tranquilizer is an interesting weapon; not only does the creature slow under its effects, but it tags the creature on screen for the medic and others to follow.

Trapper

Trappers have a fun, primary weapon in the harpoon gun, firing large harpoons with cables attached to hold the monster in place for a short duration. They also have a secondary assault rifle to help in the general maelstrom of combat, on top of a handy device that creates a spherical shield around the area, trapping the creature inside. It is not a small area though, and both hunters and creature will maintain a large amount of mobility. Trappers can also drop sound spikes in areas, picking up the creature’s movements and pinpointing it within the world. This provides the Trapper with both the location of the creature and creates an early warning system in a way, preventing the creature from sneaking up on the group.

Support

Support provides that extra oomph in battle, using a powerful laser weapon that fires a continuous beam. They also carry a portable shield generator that creates a force field around a fellow hunter, though never for themselves. Lastly, they also carry a secondary assault rifle, helping in the midst of combat.

Assault

Assault is the tank and damage dealer of the group, armed with a humongous and deadly arc lightning cannon. It can fire in a constant stream, dealing devastating damage to the creature. This hunter also carries arc mines, deployable discs of badass that explode in similar fashion to the arc cannon.

The behemoth creature show at PAX East, named the Goliath, came with his own array of abilities. The creature starts at Tier 1 with limited health, armor, and capabilities. As it kills and devours the fauna of the planet, it grows and eventually achieves Tier 2 and Tier 3, becoming deadlier in the process. These tiers come with a devastating leaping ability, the ability to throw chunks of earth, and even spewing flames.