Re-inventing or re-imagining seems to be the latest trend in entertainment, such as the casting of Daniel Craig as a blonde James Bond, Rob Zombie’s version of Halloween, and the new Star Trek movie that’s in the works. This trend seems to have been spilled over into the world of video games, because Touchstone and Propaganda Games have taken the same route to unleash a new version of the classic Turok title for the next generation of consoles. Should Turok have stayed in our Nintendo 64 memories where he was safe, or has this dinosaur hunter found a whole new way to kick ass?

gameplay

Turok makes his comeback on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 with guns and arrows blazing. Joseph Turok sticks to his Native American roots, but this time instead of dwelling in a village, he’s a buffed bad-ass soldier who must team up with a group of outcast mercs calling themselves the Whiskey Company, on a mission to hunt down the man who trained him, who has turned traitor and is hiding on a planet that is roaming with prehistoric creatures.

Turok is a first person shooter, so those of you coming off of Call of Duty 4 will be able to jump right in with ease. All the basic FPS weapons are on hand, ranging from the side arm, shotgun, sniper rifle and machine gun, all of which can be duel-wielded. But to highlight Turok’s heritage there are two other weapons he masters; one is a hunting knife and the other a high-powered crossbow. Being that I just recently saw the new Rambo film, this was exactly the kind of action I was looking for.

One of the coolest features about Turok is that you can move through the jungle stealth-style and sneak up on your enemy to slice his throat, or ram your knife through his chest armor. Maybe I’m just demented, but this never gets old because the attacks are so brutal that you keep wanting to show someone. The planet is infested with all kinds of stone-aged beasts, so your knife will also come in handy when you go up against smaller dinos, like raptors. If you get to them first you can slice them in half quietly, but if they attack you, an icon will flash on the screen prompting you to tap either one or both of the trigger buttons on your PS3 or Xbox 360 controller. Doing the correct action will allow you to send the beast to meet it’s maker in a brutal cut scene.


For scenarios where you’re enemy is in the distance, or you just want to show off and take someone out quietly, Turok’s crossbow comes in real handy. I’m a huge fan of bows so any game that allows you to use one (ala Gears of War) gets placed higher on my plateau. Credit goes to the designers for making the crossbow easy to use, allowing you to load up arrows, aim, and release with very little effort. These guys have got to make a Rambo game.

But of course the highlight of a Turok game is killing dinosaurs, and here you can do that until they’re extinct again. You can blow them away with your shotgun or pulse rifle, dissect them with your blade, or pick up a raptor, and snap its spine across your knee. Then when a T-Rex makes an appearance, and you’re running around firing at it with everything you’ve got in your arsenal, it is a complete adrenaline rush.

The weakest link comes from the enemy soldiers who suffer from bad AI, and don’t put up much of a challenge. They’re just there for target practice. The developers obviously put all their attention on the dino creatures, particularly the bosses, which take a lot of firepower to bring down. The most frustrating thing about the boss battles is trying to figure out how to kill the creature, which isn’t clearly indicated, but once you’ve go through the trial and error and discover what needs to be done, it is very satisfying to see a big dino topple.

Turok is in no way revolutionary, but it does add a spark to a franchise that was close to extinction. It makes good use of the Unreal engine and offers plenty of good run and gun moments. Its biggest drawback is that it is another FPS that will fall under the shadow of COD4, which is the current sheriff in town. But if you give the game a chance there is enough to keep the hardcore gamer satisfied, particularly in the multi-player mode. It’s safe to say that Joseph Turok will be sharpening his knife and stringing his crossbow for another adventure in the future.

graphics

Turok goes for the look of a graphic novel, with dark colors and skin tones; even during the daylight jungle scenes, the sky is gray and murky, allowing most of the action to blend into the shadows. Both versions look good, but the Xbox 360 just has that extra gleam that makes its graphics sharper in places, but at other times you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. The framerate does stutter on the PS3 when the action heats up, and of course the lack of rumble kills moments such as when an angry T-Rex is charging at you. However, for those of you are waiting for the PS3 to rumble, there is an option already built into Turok ready to rock whenever the new dual shock controller is released. As for the actual visuals, the Unreal engine is not pushed to its limit, but it is used well, delivering a fast paced gaming experience.

sound

In a game with so much shooting, explosions, and raging dinosaurs, it was important for the sound team to highlight the audio elements, and here they succeeded. Even the voice work is well done with actors Donnie Wahlberg, Ron Pearlman, and Gregory Cruz lending their vocal talents. The sound work for the dino creatures is the main focus, and when you hear that T-Rex howling in the distance, you know it’s time to get out of the way. The music should also be complimented, selling the popcorn Hollywood movie inspirations for the game.

replay value

Depending on how long it takes you to get through the boss battles, you can knock out the single player campaign of the game in about 8-10 hours. Hoping online with Xbox Live or the PSN, there are the basic deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag modes, which are fun if you get to play with the right crowd. One of the coolest features in the online mode is the ability to let loose a pack of dinosaurs to attack your enemies. Think of it as a living smart bomb when you’re completely surrounded. There’s also a very good online co-op mode where up to 4 players can work together to fight through select missions. This is a good feature, but there are only three maps available to play in the co-op mode, though if the demand calls for it, there may be more available as downloadable content.

bottom line

Turok may not end up on any top ten lists at the end of the year, but it offers solid gameplay, and the best knife kills in town. It’s not on the level of Halo 3 or COD4, but it will make you forget some of the past awful Turok games from last generation’s consoles. After watching a Jurassic Park or Rambo flick, this is the game to play.

Check out our PlayStation 3 review of Turok.

Review by: Johnny McNair
Posted: 03/18/2008

Gameplay:	8.0
Graphics:	7.5
Sound:	7.5
Replay Value:	7.5
Bottom Line:	7.5