ARK Survival Evolved Review - Overwhelming hate-love relationship

Overpopulation in the MMO genre was a fact. ARK, like many other games, was released in a early access status to stay in that phase. Over two years and some nine million unique players later, the MMO finally managed to escape the development stage.

In short, ARK is a special Massively Multiplayer Online game that brings together a heap of different genres into a mix. Portions of action, adventure, survival, combat and role playin g are packaged in an ocean simulator. ARK, developed by Studio Wildcard, is essentially a polished version of Rust. The big difference is that the game has a huge load of dinosaurs and all features are a lot more comprehensive.

Collect all kinds

It has been a good move to use prehistoric creations as a unique feature. Dino's are interesting and speak to the imagination. Studio Wildcard has had hawk eyes in this area. Where the game was released during the release of the early access with only a small crowd of different monsters, the game now has more than 100 different creatures.

The dinosaurs are the part where the game largely takes up and is taken into account. All beings have a very different appearance and other function. Even within a particular kind, there are many variations based on color, level and general statistics. Catch two level 70 Sable Tigers and the odds are zero that they have the same attack values ​​or be as fast as possible.

The wonderful thing about the different beasts is that each being fulfills its own role within society. Some help you collect berries and meat while others provide for building materials or are suitable for sieges. This diversity and role distribution can be praised. And it's mostly the animals that look good in general.

A magnificent picture ... but not for everyone

As overwhelming as the dinosaurs are the different folders on which you can play. The original island map is a true paradise. Both in terms of size and variety, you are amazed at what to see. A variety of ecosystems are present that vary not only aesthetically, but the entire gameplay changes. For example, the snow boom requires a completely different type of lifestyle than the jungle, for example, wearing a warmer dress.

As the striking staircase of The Island, the worlds Scorched Earth, The Center and Ragnarok have emerged. Only the first of these is paid DLC, while the other two are free and just as exciting. With the introduction of these folders, more biomes, unique dinos, objects and materials have been added that make ARK Survival Evolved an incredible amount of content.

Graphically, all of this content looks great, only a large "but" is connected. Fortunately, ARK has already been optimized at the time of release, but it still requires a powerful platform. On the PC you will soon need a GTX 970 or equivalent if you want to run the game a little bit smoothly. If you have an outdated set-up , you will experience significantly less fun at ARK.

For the ARK Survival Evolved review, the game was also tested on the PlayStation 4. Although this platform is running well, a gigantic step has been restored in graphics . It even feels like cheating if you do not have a PS4 Pro, as the standard console definitely can not bring the same immersion. It's very unfortunate and it just shows that ARK is not meant to play on cheaper PCs.

Clear PC oriented

In addition to the graphic aspect, the controller on the PS4 is heavily inferior to the PC version. The general controls feel log, slow and complicated. You soon crave a keyboard that works well with the controls. The large amount of operations simply does not seem suitable for the controller or it takes a lot of time to get used to it.

ARK knows a mountain of different actions and interactions. Delivering orders to your dinos, socializing with other people, building bases and collecting materials are just a small grip. After a little puzzling with your inventory and hotkeys , you've mastered this on the PC. Even riding avid dinosaurs is by learning everyone!

Level up to you can not

This versatility returns to the RPG elements of the game. Your character becomes stronger by going up into levels. After you have leveled up again, you can then divide points over your basic skills such as a higher amount of life or longer, keeping your breath underwater. That's just the beginning of the many choices you have to make.

At each level, you also have access to the creation of new objects that come in different degrees. From simple spears to high-tech lifts, really everything is over. There is only a slope under the grass that comes in the form of a limited number of disposable points to release these blueprints. In addition to the necessary survival tools, you are advised to match the free-to-play items to your teammates.

You do not have fun on your own

The social element plays a big part within the game. Other players can make your experience negative or positive, as ARK is now not particularly friendly to single people. If you log out, your body is unconscious on the ground and can be killed by other players, after which the perpetrators can plunder your equipment. Here you do not have to be logged out, because essentially all players on a server can kill you at all times.

On your own you will never get far, as ARK players usually join in big tribes. Together they form a team and share all their possessions. This also means that these tribes are often in war with each other, so hundreds of hours of work may have been for nothing in a few minutes. Forgiveness is permanently, so that dimmed dinos or buildings simply disappear.

Although this may be discouraging for many players, it also offers the pleasure of your life. The tension that is at risk is enhanced by the tires you build with your own patrons. You work together on certain tasks, tame animals for hours and secretly, ordering other bases is a great pastime. Until you get the wrong and start again from scratch.

When you start ARK, keep an eye on the multiplayer not only about you. When you stop for the day, the game just goes on and that's not for everyone. Fortunately, players can choose to live on pv- servers where killing others is not possible. You can also run your own offline folder that you can play side by side on the consoles.

To the bone

As mentioned earlier, ARK is not a fun game to play on your own. In addition to the lack of fun, the lonewolf is very impractical. The game is a survival game in its purest form, which makes you need each other very well. Taking dinosaurs and collecting materials takes a bizarre time.

If you start a new character or contact ARK for the first time, a steep learning curve is waiting for you. The game is not unreasonably difficult, but you're right in the deep. Literally, everything that moves can make you smaller in the beginning. Combined with extreme temperatures, starvation and dehydration, your life must bite through the acidic apple.

As you get stronger and reach one level after another, ARK becomes easier. You are playing better resources to protect your life. If you die unexpectedly, you will have about 15 minutes to recover your body and pick up your stuff. If it does not work out if any other player has gone out of your gear, you can say goodbye to your precious trinkets.

A long way behind the back

Stripping your body is not so difficult yet by a green light beam that shines off and is visible to you only. At a point like this, Studio Wildcard has made significant improvements, as this feature was not present at the beginning of the early access . Over the space of two years, a lot of action has been taken, making the experience much better.

Thousands of bugs have been solved through hundreds of updates, people who are cheating on fakes are being treated hard and a better balance has been added between dinos and items. Studio Wildcard has done its best to put something down where they can be proud of. Certain changes (hello server wipes and transfers ) have not fallen in taste in the community , but it can not be said that the developer does not dare to innovate.

After rain no sunshine

Unfortunately, the game is still shown with bugs and glitches . Objects and dinos can fall through the folder, you can get stuck between objects and the excessive weather system is still a thorn in the eye. For example, when it's raining, it's foggy whether the nocturnal hours begin. You just know you're not going to see a hand in hand.

In addition to these mistakes, there are many other examples of bugs and glitches , but what really crowns are the so-called rollbacks . This eliminates a certain gameplay time, which allows you to perform your actions again. The disastrous is when this data is not returned properly, resulting in the fact that your materials are consumed, but there is no construction or dino left.

Where ARK also creates the necessary frustration, is the creation of servers. These are quite stable on the PS4, but leaked on PC as a shed. Every hour you may be afraid of a server timeout that can properly dope with the dynamics of a dino. Especially if you do not enter the server again because of a very low maximum capacity, it may happen that there are more bad words than the game has different dinosaurs.

ARK Survival Evolved review - Hopefully resist frustration

All in all, Studio Wildcard deserves a lot of praise. The concept is great, the gameplay is expanded and content is unavailable. Comparing the beginning of the early access with the version played for the ARK Survival Evolved review indicates that the promises are held and an incredible amount of love has been given. The MMO survival game is sure to blow away, provided...

...you play with other players, do not get on the normal PS4, you can withstand a bunch of bugs and glitches that ruin the gameplay, and you do not disturb the many server problems. ARK is technically far from perfect and it is occasionally painfully made clear. But oh, those hours of extra overtime compared to the hundreds of hours you can enjoy it, you should take it easy.

The plus and the drawbacks

✔ Dinosaur simulation!
✔ Full of content
✔ Social aspect
✔ Graphically beautiful with good hardware
✖ Lots of bugs and glitches
✖ Servers are usually a mess
✖ Control without keyboard did not go
✖ Many times less fun on your own

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!

Steem's Popularity Is Incredible!

Share the joy by inviting others!

Image Source

Get More Exposure On The Chats!

It is a best way to get more exposure through private messages and in the chat rooms. These are some of the best places to get more exposure & makes Steem friends.

• Official Steemit.chat
• SteemSpeak.com @fyrstikken (24/7 Voice chat)
• Peace, Abundance, Liberty @aggroed @canadian-coconut @ausbitbank @teamsteem and More (Minnow Support Project)

For new & best authors to move forward!

http://curiesteem.com @curie
https://steemvoter.com @steemvoter @thecryptodrive @cryptomancer

My Latest Posts:

• Game Review: Story of Seasons Trio of Towns Review - Almost Touching
• Game Review: South Park The Fractured But Whole Review - Great humor
• Dragons Dogma Dark Arisen Review - Mustard after the meal
• Game Review: Telltale Batman Season 2 Episode 2 Review - The Pact