Turok is back for another FPS romp, all I can say is, how the heck does this guy keep running into planets with Dinosaurs? How much bad luck can any one person have? It turns out that it’s good luck for us gamers. Turok has always been one of the most popular franchises around. Even with it’s many ups and downs and in betweens. Happily the latest Romp, just simply titled Turok is a gaming treat that stretches across several platforms. The game sports a story line that pulls the player in slowly but surely, and keeps them wanting more. The story line is told in several flash backs as it reveals the motivations behind Turok and why he is so dead set on going after this rogue commander that is part of the story. Let me get a couple of things out of the way that annoyed me about this title, at least for the Xbox 360 version anyway. There were just times when the controls seemed rather sluggish, response time to attacks just are not as crisp as I think they should be. Making it very hard to be able to tell where an attack is coming from before the character is killed. Going into the control settings and tweaking the look sensitivity may be very helpful.

Further the game is almost linier, let me explain, the world looks huge but often times there is only one way to go and that is it. The designers of course have done a particularly excellent job of hiding this though, so in the middle of all the action you almost don’t even notice, which of course is a good thing and a tribute to the game as whole. When you’re done, this game is yet another one of those breath takers that make you feel as if the ride was just too short for the money spent. Let’s hope developers explore doing add ons of one sort or another much like Oblivion did. Too few games take advantage of add ons these days. One last minor gripe, oh my kingdom for the end of check point systems, I understand it’s done because it makes the creation of the game code that much easier at it’s basest form, but I really, really hate check point auto saving systems.

You play as Joseph Turok, a one time member of a rather elite group of soldiers called the Wolf Pack. A group of heavy hitter black ops specialists that on one mission things just went from bad to worse, choices where made and Turok parted ways with the Wolf Pack. Now jump ahead in time and Turok is now attached to Whiskey Company, an elite commando team, whose mission is to capture Roland Kane. Kane is hiding out on some far off planet doing who knows what. Of course this wont be just a simple mission, Kane now an escaped war criminal was once the leader of Wolf Pack and Turok’s former mentor.

Kane is now in command of a paramilitary group that is funded by the Mendel-Gruman Corporation. So of course this guy is not going to come along easily, heck it would not be much of a game if he did. Like a true action movie, things kick off with a bang. With a short introduction to the situation Whiskey Companies ship is blasted from the sky by a missile. After the crash landing, Turok soon finds that the paramilitary group is not the only danger on the planet. Very viscous Dinosaurs stalk the jungles and Turok and Whiskey Company have just become part of the food chain.

Now, the mission is only secondary, because survival is the number one priority, followed by getting of this prehistoric rock!

This FPS is pretty decent when it comes to the AI, both human and animal and insect seem to act accordingly. With Dinosaurs ferociously going for the kill and a meal, and even reacting to flares that the player can fire off. Which is pretty cool because used just right, a well placed flare can get a Dinosaur to attack a human target or even each other! The human AI is fairly well done, the enemy is relentless, and will do it’s best to flank when it can, making it a good idea to keep on your toes.

Sounds while in the multiple environments such as cave systems and jungles are crisp with the sounds of life all around you. More than a few times as the world around you sounds out through a surround sound speaker system, you just about jump out of your skin as something skitters some place just out of site. The feeling of being hunted while you are hunting is very strong in several parts of the game. Voice acting is not bad as voice acting comes, you tend to believe in the characters and in the situations they are in, some of the lines ring true to the events going on around them. The music for the most part does the job, but never actually reaches the height or quality of the rest of the game. It’s satisfying but never really does much to blow me away.

Now while Turok of course is the star of this epic fight for survival, the Dinosaurs come in a close second. Well actually maybe even fighting for first place. Sorry Turok Ol Boy. The cast of characters are diverse, and so are the Dinosaurs I am glad to say.

In the game there are a couple of different type of Raptor Dinosaurs, including what looks like a Deinonychus, at any rate in the game they charge and knock the player over before further attacks. (Research actually points more towards that large curved claw being used to jump on and hang on to prey, and not used like a sword at all. But hey it’s a game) and also the big mean bad boy/girl of them all the T-Rex. Very, very cool. While romping through the game players run into to, herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. So needless to say it makes things very interesting.

As if all the gun blasting, arrow shooting and knife slashing was not enough, the big boss battles are alive and well in this game. You know the good old fashioned kind where you have to find the weakness of the enemy and then exploit it. Well done developers, well done! Turok also supports online multiplayer mayhem that brings a twist with the whole Dinosaur presence, again using tactics that incorporate the animals and the environment works both ways, so there can be some hectic multiplayer battles that take place. The game also supports family settings so concerned parents can make sure little Timmy wont get his freak on seeing too much blood while shooting things or frying things to a crisp with the flame thrower. Starting out the first couple of missions are fairly simple and I was almost disappointed in the game, but as things went further and the story unfolded more, the game got very interesting indeed. Turok can be played on several different platforms, so almost no gamer is left out in the cold. Xbox 360 owners can check out Xbox live for a pretty cool demo.

Have fun, play games
Edwin Millheim