GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate and advertising partnerships for sharing this content and from purchases through links.

E3 2002: Evolution Worlds GameCube preshow report

We get our first look at the GameCube compilation of two Dreamcast RPGs.

Comments

At its pre-E3 press event, Ubi Soft was showing off Evolution Worlds for the GameCube. The game will be a compilation of Evolution and Evolution 2 for the Dreamcast, with both games being forged into one epic experience. Much like Evolution was for the Dreamcast, Evolution Worlds will be the first traditional RPG to be released for the GameCube. Ubi Soft is hoping that this will cause translate into consumers giving the game a thorough examination.

Boasting 40-60 hours of gameplay depending upon the player's abilities, Evolution Worlds will be one huge game. But besides including two games into one, the improvements on the Dreamcast outings look to be minimal. The most impressive change is that voice acting has been added for every character in the game. Considering that there are well over 100 NPCs, that's quite an impressive feat. But it should also be mentioned that the dialogue has been toned down to ensure the game gets an E rating and reaches the broadest audience possible.

Otherwise, the games have gone basically untouched. The first half of the game will have randomly generated dungeons like the original Evolution, and the second half of the game will not. Apparently, changing the code would mess with the balancing of each half, and therefore it has not been made consistent across the board. There will be eight dungeons total, and possibly one new dungeon exclusive to the GameCube version. The dungeons themselves almost look like the VR training levels in games like Metal Gear Solid, because they seem to be set in a black expanse. The game plays from a top-down or behind-the-back perspective and features traditional turn-based combat. Characters have ratings in seven categories including attack, skills, items, talents, move, defend, and escape.

The attacks themselves are performed in real time and are fairly impressive, though odd. One older character named Gre performed an attack called a casserole where he approached an enemy, lifted the top off a serving dish, and flooded the screen with mist. The other playable characters included a young boy who uses melee weapons named Mag and a female called Linear who utilizes magical musical attacks.

Aside from some of the attacks, there aren't a lot of positives concerning Evolution Worlds' graphics. The games have gone virtually untouched when compared with the Dreamcast iterations. The character models are fairly basic and feature a cartoonish look. There is no lighting the game at all, which makes everything look a bit flat and bland. The frame rates do manage to stay the course, and the texturing is adequate.

The outlook for Evolution Worlds is a shaky one. While it will be the first traditional RPG released for the GameCube, it's a half-hearted port of an average Dreamcast game. The added dialogue is nice, but you'd expect a compilation of games that are almost 3 years old to feature more improvements. We'll have more on Evolution Worlds when we receive an updated build of the game.

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com

Join the conversation
There are no comments about this story