WHAT IS IT?
“Crowd Evolution” is a highly-advertised “action” game where you defeat enemies while going through “windows” that either weaken or strengthen your group by carrying them backwards or forwards through time.
At least, that’s the best explanation you’re going to get within the confines of a single sentence.
UI
I’ve bemoaned many mobile games for having a confusing user interface. They seem to want to pack in as many different game modes and features as possible, that the experience of merely navigating around can be somewhat exhausting.
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| The main screen, showing all you this game has to "offer". |
For the most part, “Crowd Evolution” is not such a game.
Settings can be adjusted by tapping on the gear icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. There are other options, such as a “spin wheel” or “challenge levels”, that can be explored, but aren’t necessary. These require the viewing of an ad to attempt.
Since there’s only one main game mode, the main screen also functions as the start of the level. You’ll get offers to upgrade your “year” or “manpower” by either using cash or watching a promo, right from the outset. There might be a pop-up urging you to view one in order to play a “bonus level”. To ignore these and start playing, just tap on the bottom of the screen and your “army” starts moving.
It’s pretty much as straightforward as it gets.
GRAPHICS
In a word, the graphics are “abysmal”. There is nothing visually pleasing about any facet of it. The “good guys” are just blue blobs that vaguely resemble humans; the bad guys are similarly-shaped red blobs. They also happen to be naked more often than not. It seems the further into the future we go, the more and more clothing becomes optional and/or irrelevant. The backgrounds are basic and suffer from a severe lack of detail. They always look the same no matter how far you progress.
The “costumes” for all of the different time periods are also incredibly lame. For example, year 5000 A.D. - or thereabouts - is the “Hero Age”. This is expressed through people who wear pink tops, have pink mohawks, and shoot pink stars out of their hands. Or guns. Or something. And how is the year 2000 the “ninja age”? I mean, that’s the era we’re in right now, and I don’t see gobs of people throwing Chinese stars. The time periods are utterly laughable.
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| Look at these stunning graphics. |
I guess the plus side to all this, if there is one, is that this game will probably run smoothly on any Android device made since 2010.
GAME MODES
Beyond the base game, “Crowd Evolution” does offer up some “Challenge Levels”. These cost a set amount of in-game currency to play, and, on average, pay less than double the entry fee if completed. These levels are generally more difficult; the enemy count is increased, and more of them are armed. Of course, the player can view an ad upon completion to further multiply their earnings.
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| "Challenge levels" are the same as regular levels, only slightly harder. |
There are also “bonus levels”. These seem to offer more cash than normal, but also require viewing an ad just to attempt. Once again, core mechanics are exactly the same on these.
CONTROLS
The controls are pretty responsive, and represent the pinnacle of what this game has to offer. Then again, they’re also severely limited. Your characters are automatically pushed forward on every level. Firing weapons is also automatic, and controlled by the game. There are no ways to stop or move backwards. The only movements the player can control is sliding the characters left and right, to avoid obstacles and to activate the “effect panels” as I call them.
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| If you can slide your finger from side to side, you'll have no problems. |
They move where you want them to. That’s all there is to say about that.
AUDIO
One thing that probably separates me from other mobile gamers - even casual ones - is tha I typically play games muted. I don’t know why. Part of it is because I tend to play violent games with other family members around, and don’t want them to hear the ensuing carnage. Or sometimes to even know that I’m playing a game at all.
Sometimes, when turning up the audio, I learn that I’ve been missing out on an aspect that makes the game more immersive. I find that the sounds in the game are actually an important part of what makes the game fun, or exciting.
“Crowd Evolution” is not such a game. There is no music at all, even on the main menu. The only sound effects are the constant “swoosh” of weapons being thrown/fired. Hitting an enemy results in a dull “thud”. And that’s about the extent of the sound bank. It seems as if the game was made to be played on “mute”, as the effects add nothing to the experience.
GAMEPLAY
Gameplay is “Crowd Evolution” is as simple as it gets, though somewhat hard to explain. You navigate through short levels by controlling an army of blue “good guys”. The number of characters you start with can be increased by using in-game currency, or by watching ads. Your characters start off as cavemen in the “stone age”, throwing rocks at enemies to dispatch them; their starting “era” can also be upgraded through in-game money and ads.
“Effects panels” are scattered throughout the levels, their effect on the game clearly marked in the panel itself. For example, passing through one marked “+400 Years” will take your characters 400 years into the future. This changes their weaponry accordingly; cavemen throwing stones will then be shooting arrows.
They can also have negative effects. For example, walking through one marked “-3 People” will take 3 players away from your “army”. Walking through one marked “-200 years” will set your group’s time period back accordingly. It’s all pretty obvious how each one will affect your team.
Other “good guys” are also randomly scattered throughout the levels. They can be “saved” by walking over them, at which point they are added to your army. They cannot be killed by either enemy or “friendly” fire, making things rather easy. And if you fail to save one…well, once again, there are no penalties.
This setup could make for a rather interesting game mechanic. Unfortunately, the execution is laughably bad. For starters, all the “bad effects” are marked in red, while the “good” ones are in green. This makes it easy to pick the “right” choice at a glance. The only “real” decision making comes when two side-by-side effect panels are of the same color. There might be one marked “+300 months” next to one that’s “+300 years”, forcing you to decide on the fly which one is better. Gee, that’s hard.
Further hindering the game is that the upgrades barely seem to matter. The bad guys all take one hit to kill regardless of the weapon being used. This essentially means using guns isn’t any more effective than throwing stones. And that means the game is incredibly easy. I made it through 150 “normal” levels and a couple “challenge” rounds, before I finally died. (I fell through a hole in the map, effectively killing my whole team in one fell swoop.) That says something, because I tend to suck on everything mobile.
Most of the enemies are either stationary, or run toward your characters unarmed. In later levels, a few enemies are armed and fire back. But these enemies are few and far between, and still don’t amount to much of a challenge. Unless you only have two or three characters remaining.
At the end of each level, your army is dwindled down to a single character, who automatically fires at a series of pillars. Each pillar displays the amount of damage required to destroy it, and increases the further you go. There are about twenty pillars in a row. This is one area where stats might make a slight difference; the higher your damage and firing rate, the farther you’re likely to go. But once again, the weapons don’t add much, if anything. So whether you’re an alien firing lasers, or a guy throwing ninja stars, you’re likely to go about the same distance.
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| The end of the level is as long as the main part. |
If you fail to destroy all the pillars, it’s not a big deal: You continue on to the next level, with more chances to upgrade your “stats” through in-game currency or ad watching. If you do destroy them all, you “unlock” a new area on your map, which has no effect on gameplay. The map serves no purpose, outside of functioning as a visual display of your “progress”. The more levels you beat, the bigger and more colorful it becomes. That’s it.
There are no rewards for this. You do not receive extra cash, or receive an ad-free upgrade of any stats. Your only “prize” is to continue on to the next level in exactly the same fashion as if you failed. You’re still inundated with offers to upgrade your army through in-game currency or ads, for the same price as before.
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| An upgraded map, which earns you, well...nothing. |
The most aggravating part is that this ending section takes about as long - if not longer than - the level itself. With no incentive for its completion, I’ve found the best thing to do is intentionally walk into a pillar as early into this section as possible. This immediately ends the level and moves you on to the next one, saving precious minutes over a short period of time.
ADS/GREED
It shouldn’t come as a shock that a game that’s abundantly advertised in other games would feature abundant advertisements in their own product. “Crowd Evolution” plays more like an ad with a game in it, rather than vice versa.
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| Bonus levels require an ad view to play. |
Completing a level results in a skippable ad; money earned from the level can be multiplied by watching an unskippable advert. In-game upgrades use in-game currency; once that’s used up, players are invited to upgrade for “free” by watching an unskippable 30-second promo. There are “bonus levels” that occasionally pop up; these also require the viewing of a full ad to play.
For $2.99, the player can go “ad-free”, which sounds like an enticing deal. However, that only removes the short, skippable ads at the end of each level. The game still constantly hammers you with requests to watch full ones for “free upgrades”. Clearly, paying for the ad-free version just isn’t worth it, something that makes it feel extra scammy.
Outside of the option to go “ad-free”, I must confess there really aren’t any other “paid” upgrades. Everything else in the game can be acquired by viewing promos. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on the person, but I personally find it to be slightly more acceptable than the games that hit you with a dozen pop-ups for $50 guns or bulk “diamond” purchases upon startup.
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| Get used to seeing these offers. |
Sure, the constant offers are annoying, but at least they’re mostly voluntary. And since the upgrades do very little, they’re not the least bit necessary.
FUN
Quite simply put, “Crowd Evolution” fails to provide much in the way of fun. It’s the type of game you can play once, and quite literally experience all that it has to offer. The levels look redundant, and the gameplay mechanics are the same across the board, no matter what type of “game mode” you’re playing. The “choices” you make are clearly labeled (“green” for “good” outcomes; “red” for bad), eliminating the potential for stressful, on-the-fly decisions.
It’s the same thing, every single time. There is nothing promoting long-term replayability here in the slightest.
IN CONCLUSION
There’s probably the outline of a fun game in here somewhere, but it’s buried deep under the tedious gameplay and heavy ad load. If you’re not being force-fed an ad after every action, you’re being “requested” to watch one for the sake of providing mostly unnecessary upgrades for your group.
Unless you’re the type of person that keeps their cable TV subscription solely for the ads, “Crowd Evolution” has absolutely nothing to offer.
OVERALL: 1/10.
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