'ARK: Survival Evolved' Brings Open-World Survival And Dinosaurs To PC, PS4 And Xbox One

In a time where new IPs are scarce and most new videogame releases tend to be remakes and HD remasters of existing franchises, "ARK: Survival Evolved" comes as a breath of fresh air. The game has been developed by a new independent developer Wildcard. The game can be best described as a love child of "Rust," "DayZ" and "Jurassic Park" served with a large dollop of fantasy elements within an open-world.

PC, Linux and Mac gamers will have the opportunity of sampling this game first thanks to an early work-in-progress version thrown open through Steam's Early Access programme on June 2, according to Gamespot. Console owners will be able to play the full retail version on PS4 and Xbox One at a later unspecified date.

"ARK: Survival Evolved" has already received the first videogame trailer that showcases the expansive open-world setting, an impressive array of prehistoric creatures and survival elements that tie into all this. The open-world FPS game puts players as a survivor on a mysterious island with other players. Polygon notes that the objective is to forage for food and resources and build bases for shelter and protection in co-operation with other players populating the online multiplayer world.

Like bears and wolves from "Rust" and zombies in other survival games such as "H1Z1," "ARK" involves dinosaurs, wooly mammoths, megalodons and other prehistoric creatures that can be either killed for food or tamed to use as mounts. This also includes flight-capable creatures such as pterodactyls, which bring the aerial element into the open-world game. The trailer also showcases what appears to be a fire-breathing dragon that's rushed co-operatively by several players riding smaller velociraptor-sized dinosaurs.

"Ark is a huge game, in terms of geographical space, scope of content, features, technology, and just about every other metric," reads "ARK's" Steam Early Access description. "Hunt, harvest resources, craft items, grow crops, research technologies, and build shelters to withstand the elements, while teaming up with or preying upon hundreds of other players to survive, dominate... and escape!"

The scope of the game seems quite impressive, with wide-open maps designed to accommodate hundreds of concurrent players. The trailer showcases the possible technological progression with players using rudimentary stone tools and bows and arrows followed by advanced weaponry and futuristic structures further down in the video. It seems the game promises to keep players occupied with research and fortress building in addition to the usual staple of fighting creatures and rival players.

"ARK: Survival Evolved" runs on the ubiquitous Unreal Engine 4, with the developer claiming that the trailer showcasing rich foliage, detailed landscape and multiple on-screen dinosaurs has been recorded from live online gameplay. Additionally, the developer Wildcard Studios seem keen on avoiding modding-related drama seen in "H1Z1" and "Skyrim" by supporting mods on the PC version at the outset, according to an official Facebook post.

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ARK: Survival Evolved - Announcement Trailer | PS4 (credit: PlayStation)