Review: It's Official: Turok Rocks!
The Turok series has definitely seen more than its fair share of ups and downs. While the first two installments were worthwhile, the later games, especially the horrifically bad Turok: Evoloution, left the series toiling in the gutter.
This is when an industrial sized tin of Altoids would really come in handy.
The bad news is that the latest installment, Turok, isn't good enough to single handedly repair the franchise's tarnished reputation but it is good enough that you'll want to forgive some of its ancestors' sins.
Dino Crisis
The story begins with our hero and a team of mercenaries traveling to a distant planet to capture rogue war criminal Roland Kane who, unbeknownst to Turok and Co., has been performing genetic experiments bringing prehistoric life back to life. What is it with criminals and their kooky plans, anyway?
Story aside, the action is decent enough. There are plenty of thrills to be had as you wander around lush jungles and dank caves looking for things to put bullets into.
We tried killing these things with a can of RAID but we quickly realized the flamethrower was the way to go
Peanuts For Brains?
I was also impressed by the AI that was controlling the for the dinosaurs; it was actually good enough to offer up some strategic possibilities. For instance, you can use them as weapons by shooting nearby enemies and bringing them to the dino's attention. There is also a great variety to the dinosaur designs and their animations are impressive.
The odd part is that the same can't be said for your human foes. Maybe I'm just tired of fighting humoid soldiers but the battles against the humans proved to be far less memorable than the fights against the dinos.
Jungle Rot
The game's overall visual presentation was also a little lacking. While the game's graphics are awesome, there just isn't enough variety to the various areas that you'll traverse. The paths from one objective to the next is also really linear, leading you to feel like a rat who's running a preconstructed maze.
But it's not all bad with Turok. The game controls wonderfully and the framerate never falters. There's no sign of fog shrouding distances in the background and the load times are mercifully short, save for when you're actually loading up the game. Turok is a solid enough shooter that won't wow you the way triple-A titles like Call of Duty 4 or Bioshock will. But if you're looking for some solid action, Turok more than fits the bill.
PROS: Dinosaurs are engaging, storyline and gameplay are solid
CONS: Lack of environment variety, linear objectives, some AI is lacking
This is why you never bring a knife to a gun fight.
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