Long time no see....Turok
THE STORY in Turok is better than any other entry in the series. It actually takes place in the future on a sci-fi outting. Turok and his companions are on a mission to take down the leader of "Wolfpack" who pretty much went awol. Turok is an ex-member of wolfpack and is the key to taking him down. Most of the story is told with flashbacks and whatnot but luckily it is all told very well.
THE GRAPHICS unsurprisingly are pretty nice to look at considering this game is runnng on one of the best engines in the industry...Unreal 3. Everything looks natural and looks as if this truly is a world inhabitated by Dinosaurs. Blood rushes from dinosaurs mouths, and the grass all moves in realtime with the wind or with movement. Now though it does have a very gorgeous locale and character models do look great, it still could have looked better. I mean, this game is running off the same engine as Gears and Bioshock, yet it doesn't stand up next to them graphically. And all the characters look really shiny. But don't get me wrong, Turok is a fine looking game.
THE SOUND is awesome. Voice acting is very well done, the music scores kick in at the right time and the dinosaurs all sound authentic. All the guns sound accurate and the SMG with a silencer on it actually sounds dead on.
THE GAMEPLAY is brutal, hectic, and fun. You have an arsenal of weapons at your disposal such as the SMGS, to the shotguns, to the back to the day bow and arrow, and the best of all; the knife. The game blends the stealth genre with FPS very well and really makes you feel on the edge of your seat at times, take for example when you first encounter the T-Rex and he chases you throughout the valley. All the dinosaurs move with lifelike movements and almost makes you think how Propganda got their movements down so realisticly. The actual fighting in the game never gets old, especially when you are taking down your enemies with your trusty knife. Raptors will pounce on you and you will be subjected to a sequence where you must press the RT repeatedly and start stabbing the raptor in the face like crazy to get him off. And if you run up to someone with your knife and press RT at the right time Turok will perform a sweet sequence. Or you can even use the dinosaurs as a weapon and flare a human enemy and the dinosaur will attack him rather than you. Though it is fun and brutal than ever (the original ain't got nothing on this version) the A.I. sometimes seems to just play stupid once in awile. And it does get downright frustrating at times. But then again, whats a game without challenge, right? It may not be the best FPS created, but its definately better than mere mediocracy.
THE LIFESPAN is actually a fairly long life. It supports roughly an 8 hour campaign, supported with a well done multiplayer. Its not COD4, but it definately adds a nice twist on the genre. While most of the roots remain fairly basic (capture the flag, deathmatch) it adds in the addition of dinosaurs roaming freely in the maps. So while you may be getting shot at, you can flare the guy attacking you and the raptor will lend his aid. Or get in your way. Its a nice little twist that makes it feel kinda unique. Also add in the addition of no radar and the feeling of being hunted has never been such as this.
In the end, Turok is back and better than he's ever been. Turok got a much needed overhaul and I am real glad to see this series back. Much props to Touchstone and Propoganda for this resurrection, and hunting your enemies has never been better. Join the hunt.