E.V.O.: Search for Eden

You've seen simulation games that ask you to build cities, worlds, and even space colonies. Now Enix has a game with an interesting new concept-you need to build you!

Workin' on the (Food) Chain Gang

EVO is a one-player, side-scrolling, semi-RPG that crawls all too slowly up the evolutionary ladder. You begin as a fish and end as whatever you've evolved into. To evolve, you must collect EVO points, which enable you to buy items like horns, powerful jaws, and adaptive dorsal fins. To get EVO points, you must kill and eat other creatures, lots of creatures! This game is survival of the fattest.

The reward for evolutionary excellence is Caia, the third daughter of the Sun.

Caia has been granted the ability to create "Life," and she must find her destined mate among these living creatures. (Talk about a fishy choice).

There are five stages, which start on the World Before Land, through the Ice Age, and into the Early Man stage. Each stage is guarded by a boss, which can prove formidable. Although the game play can get monotonous, it's interesting to see what works best in different settings. For instance, will a Dual Horn and Jumping Dorsal Fin work best against the Queen Bee, or should you go with an Armored Body and Thorny Spring Tail? It's up to you to find your best battle tool.

Don't Get EVO-lved

Sometimes the best defense is to let evolution pass you by. As you move through the game, you can store an evolved creature with the game's battery backup. Later you can eat a Green Crystal to bring the stored creature back for a limited amount of time. More help is available from Blue Crystals (enormous amount of EVO points), Red Crystals (evolve into a special creature for a short time), and Yellow Crystals (advice-givers).

It's too bad there are no speed-up Crystals. The movement of your character can get as sluggish as a melting glacier, especially when you haven't developed your fins yet.

The Theory of Convolution

The graphics in EVO have not progressed as far as the inhabitants of the game. The squashed, cartoony character sprites don't take up much screen space, and the backgrounds within the different stages are suspiciously similar. The bosses are not very large either, although they are very tough to beat.

Musically speaking, EVO doesn't venture very far past the primitive. There is some soothing intro music, but it immediately turns annoying. You'll wish for undeveloped ears in no time.

EVO Better Than the Real Thing

Although the evolution of the planet probably took less time than finishing this game, you glean some valuable facts about the history of life on Earth, like how long the Fish Age lasted. Not all of them are accurate, of course, but then again this is not National Gameographics. If you have fun watching things evolve, maybe you'll like EVO. Otherwise, it's a great way to look like you're doing your homework.

We all know the theory of evolution. Enix has taken that age-old idea and created a unique action game that puts you in charge of helping a little critter get through life's toughest adventures via adaptation and evolving!

You start out as a fish, and slowly work your way up the evolutionary scale. It's hard work, and you can't show any mercy upon the ecosystem. Food comes in varied forms. You can eat local plants and smaller animals. Or go for the big ones and get some massive points! The game is based on how many Evo points you get during your journey. As you collect them, you can buy traits along the way and develop your speed and attack power. But don't forget, you can't have all the powers at once! Some will limit abilities: heavy armor decreases speed.

Their are five types of animals to evolve into: a fish, a salamander, a large reptile, an avian (or bird), and other mammals! So put on your thinking cap and check this out!

Let's take a trip back to the beginning of time. The game begins on a desolate planet, without any life-forms. Based on the theory of evolution, Enix's new game starts you off as a lowly fish and you must survive the perils of the ocean.

Evo is the cross between an action/shooter and role-playing game. The shooter aspect comes in when your 'fish' attacks other creatures in order to collect Evo Points which help your character evolve. The action scenes take place on land after you evolve into an amphibian.

You must continually strive to evolve, taking on new challenges in the ever-changing world.

E.V.O.: Search for Eden is a video game developed by Almanic for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This game was published by Enix about a character whose goal is to evolve into the dominant life form on Earth and live in Eden where Gaia (a goddess personification of Earth) lives. The game is composed of a series of stages, in which the sea organism slowly evolves into an amphibian, and later a land-only creature. The gameplay is not completely linear, which means that certain choices of paths and stages will affect the player's success.