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E.V.O. SEARCH FOR EDEN Company: Enix Released: July 1993 Genre: Action RPG Graphics: 7.0 Control: 7.0 Sound/Music: 7.0 Storyline: 7.5 Review by: Corbie Dillard ©2008 SUPER-NES.COM

Before I go any further, I have to tell you that E.V.O. is likely a very different game from anything you've ever played before. In fact, this game is unique in just about every area. You basically begin the game as a tiny fish and as you consume different animals you begin to grow in size and strength. How you choose to evolve is what determines how your animal changes in both look and in characteristics. If it sounds complicated, that's because it is. It's basically the tale of evolution set in the style of an action rpg. To be as simple in presentation and gameplay as this game is, it's uniquely deep and engaging in a strange sort of way. Trust me, if you're looking for something really different, give this game a try. Graphically E.V.O. is a mixed bag. In some of the earlier areas there's not much but water to look at. You see, animals are not the only thing evolving in the game. The world around you is also evolving and changing therefore the scenery around you gradually begins to look better and more detailed the further you travel in the game. Don't get discouraged when you first start playing this game as the graphics do get a lot better later on. This game has a very vivid and colorful style to it, especially as you get farther into the game. You'll also notice that there's a huge variety of wildlife to see in the game, and even the sheer number of different character combinations your creature can become is astounding. The graphics never quite reach the level of some of the other Enix rpgs for the Super NES, but with a game of this nature, it's not much of a negative. This game looks pretty much how it's supposed to look, no worse and no better. I've read some other reviews of this game that heavily criticize the music, but I have to be honest with you, I loved it. In fact it was definately one of the areas of this obscure game that really impressed me from the start. It's generally very soothing and upbeat but also has a distinct moodiness that kind of keeps the pace of the game flowing, so-to-speak. My only real gripe with the sound is that there just isn't a lot of sound effects in the game. Other than a few assorted animal noises and some water splashing, it's mostly just the background music that you'll spend most of your time hearing while playing this game, which I guess isn't such a bad thing after all. I'm not sure why so many gamers don't care for the music in this game as I found it perfectly fitting the strange overtones of the game. The gameplay in E.V.O. is not terribly varied but it keeps with the basic idea of the game really well. This game is about the age old adage, "kill or be killed." It's a survival of the fittest story put into a video game. At the beginning of the game you can basically swim, jump, and eat. As you're creature begins to evolve into more adept forms, it will open up more gameplay for you to experience. When given the chance to evolve you can choose to update different parts of your creature's body. Upgrading the jaws gives you a more powerful attack, updating your body makes you take less damage, and updating your tail can allow you to move faster or fly in the air longer. The experience is much deeper but I'll let you figure out the rest for yourself. You're main goal is to defeat and consume other animals which will build up your EVO points that are needed in order to evolve your creature. What makes the game so challenging is the fact that you start out basically defenseless and must evolve as quickly as you can as the further you go into these different areas, the stronger and more aggressive the other animals get. Remember the "survival of the fittest" part...you have to keepp evolving if you want to have any chance at all of reaching Eden. I have to say that this game is not going to be for everyone. It has a certain interesting charm about it simply because it's unlike any other rpg out there. It's also a game that you kind of have to make yourself stick with as it is slow in developing at the beginning. The sheer number of combinations of creatures that can be created through this evolution process will make you want to keep playing just to see what your creature will look like after the next evolution. There's also that excitement of finally getting the strength to once again be the bully of a new area. With its' simplistic, yet addictive gameplay and some really good music, E.V.O. manages to come off with a lot of personality and originality on a system flooded with standard style rpgs. Just be warned, this game isn't for everyone so you might want to try this one before you buy it.