Evolution

"Well done and Underrated"

I have been playing this game what seems like forever, but the system says I have only played just over 30 hours. At the beginning of the year 2005 the evil decepticons took over the...I mean Evolution came out for the Dreamcast. Okay, that was a little hokey, but I DID get your attention! And that pretty much sums up Evolution!

PLOT: The characters seem a little thin to start off with, but later as the plot unfolds (similar to Lunar), the characters personalities really help along the plot line, to a possible ''whoops, how did we end up saving the world?'' type of game. Though the plot is basic and somewhat predictable, something about it makes it unique especially since the characters were named after 1940's World War 2 weaponary.

GRAPHICS: An old friend told me that all DC games are nothing but great graphics and no real game play. And I can never stand my ground with that guy, he just peeves me off sometimes...(personal friend noone here).
The graphics are first generation DC fare, while it does look good, some things seem missing. The stagnat unmoving lava in the Sheol Ruins comes to mind. And the base of a lamp in the town morphs oddly as you walk past it. The collision factor could have been better at times too. The game still looks great though.

GAME PLAY: This is where this game just shines (where others decided to kill the game in game reviews). I haven't played a game with random dungeons in quite some time! I REALLY enjoyed this part of the game, while the mazes remind you of ROBOTICA's random mazes, it does the game justice, and I can't see this game done any other way. The more your reenter a ruin you'll find different treasure's than before. My last dungeon (Sheol) is where the Mechaphage ended up showing its face, once or twice when I hit an enemy trap in the floor! Or you'll find hoards of appraisal items or nothing but Noalin sometimes along with upgrades and new slots to be added to your Swiss-army-knife-like Cyframe(s). Some of the later levels are done really well, and look great in the process. Even though the dungeons seem mostly like your run down hallway to room, to run down hallway to next room, you CAN and WILL bump into enemies in hallways or in places where you won't expect. I love how the music changes depending on if you surpised the enemy or not.

SOUND: I was alittle disappointed in the music. It sounded more like a first generation Saturn game than Dreamcast (terrible name) music. The tunes are really catchy, and get better throughout the game.
Somehow, the lack of character voices didn't hinder this game. I love how they left the Japanese voices in the battle sequences, though. We even get to hear Eugene's voice and his little snicker just before he does a 3 character hit job in his mecha-robot near the end.

End Comments: I'm sorry, but this game has kept me from playing some of those other RPG's I bought this past Spring for my PSX! It seems addicting and fun, while still feeling fresh everytime I play it. Probably the main drawback for me was that when you were in a dungeon you were in that ruin until you could find a warp disc. Since those are random like the map placement, you might not find an exit back to town for 4-5 floors, which means if you're being forced to go somewhere or have plans and can't get out of the dungeon, you'll plan on keeping the system on until you get back (and we all know how hot the DC can get). Great game, memorable charcters, good maze engine, and decent plot... this game didn't receive the praise it deserves. I still never found that white bear you fight shown on the back of the jewel case....
Nor I have I ever gotten past the second Eugene because of my character selection. I left Gre behind at the beginning, plus I never found the upgrade of health for Mag's cyframe. OVERALL score 8.3 which will change to 8.5 if I ever BEAT this game!
Definitely a keeper!
''Words cut deeper than steel'' - Freeway

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/01/00, Updated 06/01/00