ARK: Survival Evolved (Xbox One) Preview

After players create their character, ARK: Survival Evolved deposits them into the game world. Awakening on a beach, and after a brief cut-scene from their perspective, the player may take control and begin walking around. One of the first goals is to scrounge up enough wood, fibre, and stone to make a crude pickaxe.

A big part of the gameplay comes from "Engrams." Essentially character abilities, Engrams allow players to construct weapons, armour, and buildings with raw materials they find in the world. Players start off with just a single Engram (for a stone pickaxe), but as they advance in character level, they can spend earned Engram Points to unlock more recipes for use.

The player is by far not the only denizen of the island; in fact, the place is crawling with an abundance of extinct species. One of the first creatures that may be encountered is the harmless dodo bird, but bigger and meaner beasties can be found in the areas beyond your starting point. This point is further driven home if deciding to play on a multiplayer server, where players can interact in a variety of ways.

Unfortunately, ARK suffers from a slew of issues that rather hamper how much enjoyment can be gotten out of it. The game is not well optimised; as a whole, it looks simply amazing, but the framerate suffers for it, especially when exploring the dense jungles of the island. In multiplayer games, it is all too likely for more unscrupulous players to come in while you're logged off, salvage your dwelling for materials, and steal your precious food, leaving you with nothing. This complaint is not exclusive to the Xbox One port: griefing is an issue across all platforms.

The Scorched Earth DLC mixes things up a little by introducing post-apocalyptic desert environments and new creatures to encounter and tame. Scorched Earth is a refreshing change of pace… when it's not brutalising you with its vicious indigenous wildlife, searing heat that causes heatstroke and thirst, sandstorms that fatigue you and limit visibility, and magnetic storms that short out your electronic devices.