Evolution: Battle for Utopia stakes a claim on iOS

Are you familiar with My.com? It’s a subsidiary of the Mail.Ru Group that publishes apps like myChat and myCamera for mobile devices. Most interestingly (to me), My.com also makes games for PC and mobile.

Their latest game Evolution: Battle for Utopia launched exclusively on iOS at the beginning of April, quickly becoming a top game in over 125 countries. Evolution combines third-person shooter gameplay, base building, strategy, and Player-versus-Player battles in a very slick package. If you’re looking for an iPhone and iPad game with impressive graphics and a variety of gameplay styles, look no further.

Paradise Lost

The premise of the game revolves around a colony world called Utopia. After losing contact with its colony, Earth sends a team of space marines to investigate. Players arrive on the planet to find it overrun with aliens and ne’er-do-wells. You’ll have to establish a base and complete a variety of missions as you investigate the colony’s fate and try to reestablish order.

There is some story to Evolution, with various NPC interactions and planetary lore to unlock. That’s all very perfunctory though, serving mostly as an excuse to get players out into the field and completing missions. Luckily the gameplay proves more interesting.

Combat

Evolution’s stand-out feature is its third-person shooting segments. During missions, your marine will take to the field and take on waves of attacking soldiers and monsters. You’ll also have a sidekick for support. The first is a cute robot dog, but a variety of human characters will eventually come along for the ride.

Knowing that shooter controls can be unwieldy on touch screen devices, the developer has crafted a simplified and intuitive control scheme for Evolution’s shooting. Your soldier stands in place and fires automatically, giving the game a shooting gallery feel. But players can perform a variety of moves such as swiping to activate a shield or take cover, tapping enemies to shoot faster, catching grenades thrown by enemies, and throwing grenades of your own.

Restoring Utopia

In-between missions, you’ll want to grow and manage your base. These parts play like a mild city-builder. New buildings cost resources, take time to build, and generate resources of their own. The ammo and items created at your base will keep you supplied during combat. The base can also come under attack, so building good defenses is a must.

Evolution is heavier on In-App Purchases than some free to play games, so you might have to spend some money to remain competitive in PvP. You’ll also need the patience to check back in throughout the day as you wait for process to finish and resources to recharge. But that sort of gameplay works well on phones and tablets. Hop in, do a few missions, and hop out as needed.

With lots of things to do (and shoot), action and strategy fans won’t want to miss Evolution: Battle for Utopia.