I am so wary of pre-order bonuses. I know that publishers want people to pre-order games so that they are guaranteed a certain number of day- one players and a massive income. However, considering the trend of broken games in 2014, I’m a bit afraid. Evolve is sweetening the deal on their pre-order, but will it win you over?
The original pre-order bonus was the Monster Expansion Pack. That included:
- New Monster Character Free (once it’s available)
- Savage Goliath Skin
Definitely cool to get the new monster free once it is available, regardless of what it is. But now there is even more if you pre-purchase before or during the Xbox One Open Beta:
If you pre-purchase Evolve on Xbox One before or during the Xbox One Open Beta, you get exclusive instant access to Wraith, Parnell, Abe, Caira, and Cabot during the entire beta. Better yet, pre-purchasing on Xbox One guarantees that these characters are instantly unlocked when you pick up the final game which launches on February 10th.
Okay, so you can play with more of the cool characters during the Beta, and you have them unlocked when the game ships instead of needing to unlock them through gameplay. That’s pretty cool – I adored playing with Wraith and I’d love to be able to skip ahead to using her instead of clocking hours with Goliath and Kraken. Then again, Goliath and Kraken are also pretty awesome.
I’m confident in the gameplay that Evolve offers. I’ve played a bunch of the game and the builds are really stable. However, we know nothing about the match-making and lobbies, nor do we know how well the game will work locally. The Alpha was a massive flop in South Africa – we weren’t supposed to be in it and those who managed to get in had horrible experiences with wait times and lag. We still haven’t gotten answers about LAN support, and I’m just not sure how great Evolve will be at launch depending on these issues. I’d happily play it offline and alone, but it really is built for multiplayer – if that part doesn’t work locally, it probably won’t be a worthwhile purchase for many people.
While the pre-order bonuses sound cool, I’m wary of our local situation. I definitely need to own it and play with everyone, but I’m just not sure how great it will be at launch.
Last Updated: January 12, 2015
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 12, 2015 at 11:04
Pre-order bonuses. Ugh. Hate the practice
Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event
January 12, 2015 at 11:15
I don’t particularly hate this practice as long as it is not a “buy from company x and get dlc y” type of thing. That annoys me to no end.
Raptor Rants A Lot
January 12, 2015 at 11:20
My issue is to get certain things you must pre-order. But pre-ordering is a big no no because more than half the time the games come out broken
Admiral Chief
January 12, 2015 at 11:25
“BUY OUR NOT FINISHED GAME AND GET EXACTLY THE SAME GUN BUT WITH NEW SKIN AND SOUND!”
Hulle mielie man!
Admiral Chief
January 12, 2015 at 11:20
Agreed
Hammersteyn
January 12, 2015 at 11:22
Yeah, It’s as with FC4. You get a harpoon gun as a bonus as long as you log into Uplay to claim it. Yeah, no thanks.
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:08
Does games like this still support LAN??
Mis games where you invite your buddys and overnight.
Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event
January 12, 2015 at 11:10
This is gonna be hella fun so pre-order has been in for a while. Then again I am a sucker for pre-orders.
Quo Vadis?
January 12, 2015 at 11:11
2014 does have a nasty knock on effect it seems. Overhyped, zero delivery. That being said, this game and witcher 3 are probably the most anticipated upcoming releases. And my bet is, one of them is going to bomb badly….
RinceThis
January 12, 2015 at 11:14
eish
RustedFaith
January 13, 2015 at 15:22
Well going by the Alpha I can assure you Evolve wont bomb … Witcher 3 will certainly not bomb either … did you play the Alpha?
Quo Vadis?
January 14, 2015 at 08:31
Nope, I’m just speculating here. Experience is a good teacher, but a terrible master 😉
Daniel Hallinan
January 12, 2015 at 11:12
Specifically, I know Evolve Alpha was problematic for those trying to play it on Xbox 360 / One. PC was, as far as I’m aware, a considerably better experience. My group and I had an utterly fantastic time playing it on PC, though I suspect a lot of that was because we were playing as a group – we did find some loners who weren’t enjoying it much. Still, as a group, we couldn’t stop playing it, baring sleep, work, and the odd toilet break.
…of course, being someone who’s playing it on PC, this news items means little to me ;P
Regardless, really eager to jump back in when the Beta opens up for PC users at the end of the month! 😀
RustedFaith
January 13, 2015 at 15:23
I played solo on pc and used matchmaking and had no issues at all.
Daniel Hallinan
January 13, 2015 at 15:35
It wasn’t so much technical issues, as it was the fact that they were forced to play on teams with people they didn’t know and, in most cases, couldn’t communicate with. Particularly in this type of game, that can be extremely frustrating. A bit like L4D2, it’s no fun if no one is working together.
Ryanza
January 12, 2015 at 11:14
The reality of Evolve is that after a few months no1 will be playing this shit anymore. So enjoy the lag while it lasts. Enjoy the bots. And if you bought this game for PC then enjoy never being allowed to get rid of this shit.
Don’t Support DRM.
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:21
Did some one steal your cookie this morning??
You seem extra pissed with a side of douche?:-P
Ryanza
January 12, 2015 at 11:24
This is my normal way of commenting. It’s just words.
Hammersteyn
January 12, 2015 at 11:30
I’d like to image you assigned a keyboard shortcut to paste the phrase Don’t Support DRM.
RinceThis
January 12, 2015 at 11:32
lol
Admiral Chief
January 12, 2015 at 11:33
Macro is programmed if you ask me
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:34
lol
Aries
January 12, 2015 at 12:07
Thinking that as well, G keys is worn already
Ryanza
January 12, 2015 at 14:03
Is a keyboard shortcut the same as that function, remember password, for your DRM.
A few times I’ve forgotten my password for Steam. Try playing your games without a fucken password. Don’t Support DRM.
Keyboard shortcut for, Don’t Support DRM, sounds like a good idea but I still prefer typing it out, just like I prefer playing games without DRM.
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:33
Sweet,love that we still have freedom of expression.
CAE9872
January 12, 2015 at 12:17
Yip he is right – that is his normal way of commenting. He isn’t a troll. Just anything except Witcher 3 = shit in his view (it would appear anyway).
Ryanza
January 12, 2015 at 13:59
I use The Witcher 3 a lot because of the NO DRM thing. If I feel a game will be good, I will say so. Bloodborne, Baynonetta 2, The Last of US, I even said some good things about Destiny before it was released hoping it would be good but that didn’t turn out too good.
I get a lot of hate for my negative views on games that people, for some reason, like but I can’t promote games that look shit and that will end up shit.
If there were other good retail games coming without DRM, I could mention more games other than The Witcher 3 to go along with, Don’t Support DRM.
Don’t Support DRM. Cyberpunk 2077 is coming.
CAE9872
January 12, 2015 at 14:26
Yip I know – we have discussed before. Your opinions are permitted – not for me or anyone else here to make you see differently. It is actually a good thing.
I don’t believe most games released are shit – yes some are rehashes and suchlike but hey they entertain me (and many other gamers) on most levels. You think differently and that is cool.
Hahaha re: Cyberpunk – man I REALLY hope that game turns out the way they make out. Could be awesome.
Ryanza
January 12, 2015 at 15:05
discussed before? lol. I don’t remember. I just do my thing and the rest doesn’t matter.
RustedFaith
January 13, 2015 at 15:23
Yes just like no one is playing left4dead anymore … lol
Hammersteyn
January 12, 2015 at 11:20
I will the SP work though? I mean you need a team to take down a monster right? I mean co-op is fun and all but people tire from a game eventually then you’re left alone while they play something else
Admiral Chief
January 12, 2015 at 11:21
I’d just play as the monster ALL the time
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:23
Its why i wanna know if this game will support LAN,i will find it a better experience in a room of people then alone on my couch or PC.
Admiral Chief
January 12, 2015 at 11:24
Yeah, I can only imagine the awesomeness in a LAN
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:32
Dop,snacks and your budds with this game,gonna be epic,
Just hope it lives up.
Daniel Hallinan
January 12, 2015 at 11:25
A quick look through the forums reveals they added LAN support in the closed Alpha / beta testing, so it’s safe to assume it will be there at launch.
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:30
Then i predict many sleepless weekend nights,its gonna be awsome!
Something other than Borderlands for a change
Daniel Hallinan
January 12, 2015 at 11:34
Uuuunfortunately it seems I was looking at something completely unrelated, but with the same name.
Essentially – it won’t be possible to play Evolve *offline* at launch. You CAN still get together with friends and play over a network, but everyone still needs to be connected to the internet.
…and I know that’s not always possible at LANs, so sorry 🙁
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:36
I thought there was a offline mode from scratch,or is that just for SP?
Daniel Hallinan
January 12, 2015 at 11:39
Looks like you can play offline (and unlock characters – which is neat, didn’t know that myself), but that’s for singleplayer, as you guessed.
I’ll do a bit more digging to see if the devs have said anything more recently regarding offline lans and get back to ya.
Ghost In The Rift
January 12, 2015 at 11:43
Awsome sweet thnx,i need this LAN:/
Ryanza
January 12, 2015 at 11:27
Single player lol. Evolve is a 4v1 mode turned into a full price game. Single player = playing with bots lol.
Hammersteyn
January 12, 2015 at 11:29
Well that’s the final selling point for me. I mean Destiny is playable alone.
Nicholas Merz
January 12, 2015 at 20:12
I have seen some gameplay of the single player, and the AI seems really smart. One youtuber explained how the teamwork between the roles was really good, considering he played against bots.
Of course playing against bots will never really compare to playing against live people, but this game seems to have its AI intelligence down, from what I’ve heard.
Hammersteyn
January 13, 2015 at 07:27
Bots can be tricky to implement
CAE9872
January 12, 2015 at 12:18
Will I pre-order – HELL NO!!! Not on their or any games life…except maybe Bloodborne Collectors Edition but that is technically dead!
2014 left a bitter pill.
Nicholas Merz
January 12, 2015 at 20:17
Yeah, 2014 hurt the gaming industry a lot. Let’s hope this year will be better.
I have faith in Evolve, though. It has a high competitive element, and I think once the community actually starts to form, it’ll be played a long time.
RustedFaith
January 12, 2015 at 12:47
My alpha experience was great. No lag or long wait times ….
Cabbit
January 12, 2015 at 20:40
Same here, the game crashed on me once. Otherwise the experience was great.
RustedFaith
January 13, 2015 at 15:19
Agreed I just wanted to check it out but ended up playing 5 hours the evening. Its going to be a fun game.
Cabbit
January 12, 2015 at 20:42
They did confirm dedicated server support in one of their reddit Q&A’s. So I’m very hopeful that at least the evolve pc community will flourish.