Interplay stopped by the GameSpot offices earlier this week with the latest build of Evolva in tow. The game is a simple quest-based action game designed using a very impressive graphics engine.

　　Evolva's storyline is very similar to Starship Troopers'. A race of alien spider-like creatures are infesting planets throughout the universe, and you're called on to stop their progress before they reach your home planet (presumably Earth, although there's no such distinction made in the game). You control a team of four Genohunters, which are humanoid creatures who can extract the DNA of their enemies and mutate their body parts accordingly. Different mutations can lead to increased strength, better weapons, or a higher jumping ability, for example. The total number of mutations that can occur are in the "billions," according to Interplay producer Steve Baldoni; so no two players will have the same team of Genohunters.

　　The game has been in development for 18 months by Computer Artworks, the company that is responsible for the special effects in the movie Hackers . Evolva will go into beta stage next week, and it should be ready for mass production sometime this spring. We'll be following up with more coverage later on.