Escalate is an action/stealth role playing game set in the not-too distant future, where the player must retrieve and destroy a set of secret documents hidden in a military storage facility on mars, that describe the newly elected 'earth government's' plans for mass control.
This is a grand task for the player however, as he begins the game playing as no more than a regular civilian. The key path to completing the story is to repeatedly steal vehicles of increasing capability before reaching a spacecraft at the opposite side of the earth. This would take the player to the moon, where they are required to follow the same progression before flying to mars. In order to take control of these vehicles, the player will at various points need to infiltrate military compounds using the game's stealth mechanics or stealth vehicles.
A key mechanic of the game used when entering these compounds is evasive maneuvers that can (and often must) be performed by the player as the military and government tries to stop them. These are unique between different types of vehicles and when the player is not in a vehicle at all. To fit the backstory of the player, these mechanics are developed over the course of the game through a skill tree.
As as game very focused around vehicles, of course these are highly graphically developed and sometimes based on existing brands, such that vehicle enthusiasts would be drawn in. Driving mechanics and control must therefore be excellent.
Upon completion of the game, after having destroyed the documents, the player is able to continue playing in an open world setting, to collect all the vehicles he has missed, or complete races that unlock over the course of the game.
