Turok: Evolution

after 3 great N64 Turok games, the developers decided to take on the PS2. Most failures of games are down to the developers thinking that they can improve/change an already great game, (take for example Medal of Honor: European A-bloody-ssault.)

The intro for the game is dull, and you are left to play the game and wonder why the hell you are actually in this random human-dinosaur world. Well, if you can call them humans, especially when they have no mouth.

Also, at the start of the intro, you are introduced to a cow-boy who, whilst you are trying to make your way through these dinosaur world without being eaten, has suddenly amassed a huge dino-human army in a matter of seconds. So, to put it simply, the whole point of the game is to kill this cow-boy. But you don't know why you have to, as the dialogue is SO unclear and muffled.

Weapons. You start off with an axe, which looks more like a conch shell stuck on a broomstick. When you sweep it, it makes it an unrealistic sound (example; A huge SWOOOOOSHHHHHHHHH sound.) The bow and arrow are mildly entertaining, specially the arrow which blows up the enemy. Then, you get the pistol. (Or a chunky-remote control wrapped round with duck-tape), which fires pitifull shots. The other weapons are un-unforgettable.

Graphics. The developers really did push the PS2 to its limits. Ever so much so, that the N64 looked like garbage infested garbage. Please note my sense of sarcasm.

When those little compsognathus dinosaurs (munch-kin t-rex's) bite, the inside of the mouth is a bright-florescent red colour that makes you wince. When you manage to decapitate a dino-human, blood spurts out of the joint, mildly entertaining, but after a while gets dull.

Gameplay. What game-play?

Map layout. Okay, one mission you have to go undercover into a dino-compound, with this blasted dinosaur-speaker yelling out muffled orders which just gets on your nerves.

Difficulty. Easy mode? More like extreme, after waisting 10 hours of my life sitting in front of the TV, playing Turok, I accomplished failing the first level numerous amounts of time and smashing the disk into tiny fragments.

Conclusion. I then threw the disk into my fire-place. Even the bin didn't deserve to consume it. I had to clean my play-station after playing it, as it was scarred with the horrors of the disgusting game. The only good thing about playing it was being able to understand what makes a bad game. Turok is a disgusting game that doesn't deserve to be put onto the sad disk it is engraved on.

Have a nice Turok-free day.

One of my early childhood games I became obsessed with. I remember sometime in 4th grade I befriended someone just because we both played and loved this game. This was before I could just hop on the internet to look anything up, so he was the only one I was able to get cheat codes from, some in particular I was fond of was infinite ammo, weapon unlocks, and one where they made everyone's head big. Cheats aside, I don't really remember much of a story with this game except your some kind of warrior, but my child-like brain did not care at all. The blood and gore in this really interested me seeing this in a video game; a crazy experience for me at this point in my life. Before this, the most violent game I played was a game called I Ninja (which is only green blood and rated T for teen so you be the judge on how "violent" that game actually was). All of the brutal, gruesome killing in this was amazing in my eyes, and maybe sometimes alarming in how much I enjoyed it, but I think most young boys get a kick out of their first violent video game. This one definitely filled a void in my life, for sure. Flying the pterodactyl was probably my least favorite part of the game, but I still enjoyed it, as it didn't seem to take up much of the game. Anything to do with the dinosaurs were probably my favorite aspect also, mostly because I loved dinosaurs ( I think that's the main reason my mom bought me this game) especially the T-rex's. The humanoid people were fun to kill too, especially with this side attachment on the rocket launcher which made their arms, legs, and eventually their head to explode in bloody gore. Yeah, I was just a sick little kid apparently, but I still will proclaim how great of a game this was/is. I'll probably eventually come back to this game for a retrospective opinion in the near future.

Being a big Turok fan growing up, this was a major letdown for me. Just renting this game once from Blockbuster was enough for me to realize this entry couldn't hold a candle to the original entries in the franchise.

Apparently, this was meant to be a prequel explaining how Tal Set from the first game entered the lost land and became Turok, as well as a return to the jungle trotting adventures the series started with in Dinosaur Hunter. While a good idea on paper, it just wasn't handled properly and nothing very new or innovative was introduced to the franchise. If anything, it felt like a step backwards.

While locked in combat, Texas Native American Tal'Set and Confederate Captain Tobias Bruckner both fall into a strange portal. They both are transported to the Lost Land, where the evil reptilian despot Tyrannus and his army of Slegs are trying to achieve world domination. Now, Tal'Set must take up the mantle of the Son of Stone and help the human resistance defeat Tyrannus.

First of all, the story was about as clear as mud and tough to follow. The characters were boring, forgettable, and did little if anything to help you.

The enemies were more mundane and limited compared to those from the last game, consisting mostly of dinosaurs and other prehistoric wildlife. Other than that, you constantly encounter reptilian humanoids called Slegs and sometimes recycled Purlinn. Nothing new and there are few supernatural elements involved, unlike the previous games. There weren't even any bosses except the final one.

The weapons were more basic and lacked the unique style from the previous games and tended to have flawed aiming, like the pistol with its sniper mode. The levels were more straightforward, lacking the labyrinthian design of past Turok levels; there were no secondary objectives or key collecting. At least the conventional, platforming levels had solid gameplay and were playable for the most part. What I absolutely hated were the new and excessive Pteranodon riding levels that took up half the game with your mount flying too fast and having tons of obstacles to dodge.

The game was very unpolished and had muddy, poorly textured levels and sloppy graphics. They didn't look any better than those in Turok 3. Even worse, there were lots of bugs and glitches, like weapons disappearing from your inventory and long loading screens. Even the AI of the enemies and your allies is a step-down from previous games.

But, for all of the game's faults, there's no denying that the music is amazing. Did a great job creating an intense soundtrack with powerful and intense sounding percussion, woodwind, and brass that fit the series perfectly and captured the Turok spirit.

No question, this was the lowest point of the Turok franchise.

I have this game for the PS2, and have played it for the Gamecube. For starters, one shouldn't believe the claptrap that one version is better than another. That just isn't true - the GC graphics are EXACTLY the same as the PS2 one. Between gorgeous outdoor graphics of plants, wildlife and full interaction with them, cool enemies, and the BEST guns you've ever seen in a FPS, this is a title to not miss for any FPS fan. So definitely get it. Unlike most FPS, there are no maze-like structures, which is a good thing, and most levels can be understood with enough patience. For the odd level that you can't make your way out of, I'm sure there are some walkthroughs online that will be glad to help:) Not to say that it's perfect - the dead monsters disappear after a few seconds, unlike PS1's Quake 2, and there aren't as many dinosaurs to kill as there should be. Plus, 27 out of 30 levels are beautifully designed, with backgrounds and environments that will blow one's eyes away, but 3 of them (the sewers and inside the juggernaut) are annoying. But overall, it's 9.5 out of 10. Just too bad this game wasn't successful enough to warrant a sequel. But that just means it's cheaper now to be bought.

So what are you waiting for?

During my years of gaming I have played two of the Turok games. This one and the first one. This one was the easier of the two and I was able to figure out where to go and what to do as the game was a bit less free roaming than the first game. However, I give them the same score as that one was something different when it came out and this one being so much later on the newest consoles should of blown that one out of the water which it does not. Also, while it is not as difficult as the first game, it still has a difficult portion of the game in the flying stages which is what finally made me give up playing this game along with the fact I was not exactly enjoying the first person levels all that much to endure trying to fly on a Pterodactyl's back. This is a prequel to the first game, because for some reason prequels became all the rage so instead of furthering a plot we regress. Thanks George Lucas! The game play is about the same as it was before during the regular stages where you are not forced to fly and crash repeatedly. You run around killing dinosaurs and facing other obstacles. I believe you also have to rescue some people here and that is a nice change of pace. So while it is not a grand adventure it is easier to navigate as you do not have to know to go underwater and find an opening into a cave to find a piece of something you need. Still, considering it was on a next generation platform it should of been better, much better than what we got. It had not evolved at all!