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By Contributing Writer Jimmy Payne Rating: Average After you get past the initial wow factor of Evolution's graphics, there's nothing to compel you to keep playing, making this game a weekend rental at best. One thing Evolution has going for it is great graphics. All of the characters look nice, and each one of them has a number of facial expressions that are used frequently during conversation. The towns look great, too, with lots of color and detail. Unfortunately, the developers of Evolution slacked off when it came time to create graphics for the dungeons. All the dungeon pathways are tiled, and it can get pretty boring looking at the same thing over and over again while wandering around huge dungeons. The music is probably the only thing better than the graphics. I found that the music was often the only thing that kept me awake, and sometimes I would just stop and listen. This soundtrack isn't far from the level of Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series in my opinion. Evolution's battle system is quick and easy, and it's nice that you can see enemies before you fight them (as you can in Lunar and Chrono Trigger). However, it's unfair that some enemies can go through three turns before you get one. Also, Evolution is sorely missing an escape option in combat. If you're out-numbered and dangerously low on health, you don't have much of a choice but to stand there and get slaughtered. This is made all the more frustrating by the fact there are no save points in dungeons other than on the tenth level (the boss level), so you have to start all the way over at the beginning of the dungeon when you die. There is a temporary save feature when you get to each staircase, but it isn't reliable (my temporary save has been erased many times for no apparent reason). Evolution's so-called "story line" is one of the worst I've ever seen in an RPG. Basically, all you do is fly to randomly-generated dungeons, collect treasure, and fight bosses in order to pay off your father's debt. Compared to any decent RPG, Evolution has no turning points, no small mysteries to solve, no enemies that you actually know about before fighting them, no flow to the story, and no heart-pounding climax. The developers clearly focused on the battle system a lot more than the story line, but the battle system isn't good enough to carry the game on its own. The idea of randomly-generated dungeons seemed like a good idea at first due to the added replay value, but I started to hate it over time. This is mainly because the dungeons have no personality whatsoever. The only thing that differentiates one dungeon from another is the wallpaper. It doesn't take long to get tired of mindlessly running across rooms, only to collect treasure and then move to the next floor. There's very little mystery and excitement involved in this ancient gameplay formula. Evolution's graphics and music may pull you in at first, but its weak story line and the repetitive nature of its gameplay will push you away even further. Evolution might make for a good weekend rental if you're just looking for shiny graphics, but check out PlayStation RPGs like Lunar, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 8, or Wild Arms if you're looking for some real substance. Send your thoughts on this review to jimmy@mastergamer.com
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