Evolva Preview

The ethical and moral questions posed by bioengineering may be too vast to tackle in the world of video games; however, the conjecture about a possible future dominated by rampant gene-splicing is fair game. In fact, it's the name of the game in Computer Artwork's upcoming Evolva on the PlayStation 2. Already released on the PC, the game is coming to the console, courtesy of Virgin Interactive. Evolva looks like it may be an intriguing amalgamation of genres, mixing elements of Quake, Starcraft, and even Gauntlet. More importantly, though, is the game's conception of characters that can adapt and evolve to combat potential enemies and environments. By killing the bad guys and analyzing their DNA, your characters gain new abilities, powers, and mutations.

Evolva is set in a future dominated by the science of biogenetics. Humankind has not only mastered the mystery of the human genome but has also managed to quiet the moral qualms surrounding its application to humanity. Science now wildly tinkers with human attributes, going beyond just changing hair color and height to actually perfecting a method of combining our DNA with other living creatures. The result is the Genohunter, an elite soldier that uses gene-splicing to adapt to any situation. In most cases, this involves collecting a sample of DNA from a living organism and analyzing it for quality attributes. Then, the Genohunter is able to physically mutate its body to emulate the ideal characteristic. The Genohunter is the perfect weapon--a warrior able to adapt to any situation.

Soon enough, the Genohunters are tested by a threat to humanity. As Evolva begins, an alien parasite and its minions have invaded Earth. You enter the picture as a decorated military commander, assigned to command a small force of the Genohunters. Your mission is simple: Seek and destroy the aliens, thereby ridding the planet of the parasite and its guardians. To effectively command the Genohunters, you're given a powerful communications ship in orbit around Earth. From here, you'll be able to dispatch and control your platoon of supersoldiers as they systematically seek out and destroy all varieties of alien baddies, culminating in a climactic battle against the alien parasite itself.

Evolva's gameplay is difficult to classify. On the one hand, it liberally borrows tactical elements from games like Starcraft and Command & Conquer; however, all the action takes place from a third-person perspective that's more reminiscent of games like the Quake-inspired, Hexen. Most levels feature an extraordinary amount of action going on at once, but since you only control one Genohunter at a time, the game's strategic aspects may become lost in heated firefights. Though you're fully capable of issuing group commands, Computer Artworks has provided a computer's partner AI to assume command in hairy combat situations. Think of Gauntlet Legends' hack-and-slash gameplay, where you can switch back and forth between the four characters at will, and you'll have a rudimentary idea of what Evolva's control and gameplay often boil down to.