Last year was
certainly a stellar one for first-person shooters on the PlayStation 3 thanks to
a number of well-rounded and smashingly entertaining titles such as The Orange
Box, Call of Duty 4 and the decent TimeShift. Entering the first-person shooter
fray is Turok; a game inspired more by the Nintendo 64 original than its
reworked disaster that was the original Xbox update. Now, on the PS3, Turok
finds himself back into a hostile land where dinosaurs roam the savage territory
and revenge is a dish best served with a bow or a big knife. The end result is a
first-person shooter that lacks innovation but is still a fun action game worth
playing.
In the game’s
main Story mode, you assume the role of Joseph Turok – a once member of a black
ops squad known as the Wolf Pack and now a member of an elite commando team
called Whiskey Company. You are tasked with helping Whiskey Company track down
and capture Roland Kane, your old mentor and the leader of the Wolf Pack that
now is in league with a paramilitary force financially aided by the mysterious
Mendel-Gruman Corporation. Suddenly, the ship transporting Whiskey Company is
shot down and after escaping the burning wreckage, you find yourself in a lost
land where the Mendel-Gruman Corporation has somehow altered to land to rapidly
evolve to the point that recognizable dinosaurs now roam the land.
Once again, much
like the original, this is what sets Turok apart from other first-person
shooters. The lush, green environment is teaming with dinosaurs of both the
herbivore and carnivorous kind. You’ll encounter everything from massive
Tyrannosaurus Rex to the vicious pack hunters that are the Raptors. Along the
way you will encounter surviving members of Whiskey Company and together you set
out to complete your mission while revealing the reasons why our Native American
friend is dead set on facing off against the man that taught him survival skills
as well as how to efficiently kill without mercy. On top of the dinosaurs that
stalk you, Turok and the remaining members of Whiskey Company must fight off the
armed mercenaries Kane sets out to investigate the crash site.
While the Lost
Land looks massive enough, there’s very little room for exploration and
you are often forced to move along a single path. Unlike Far Cry Instincts:
Predator for the Xbox 360, you are given very little room to take different
paths in order to launch surprise attacks. When you are given enough space,
however, you are given the opportunity to perform stealth kills thanks to your
Rambo-like combat knife or – better yet – by using your trusty compound bow.
Your bow not only stands if for a silencer but it also allows you to make some
spectacular kills that – depending on how long you hold the bow’s drawstring –
even allows you to pin your enemy to a wall. Aside from these weapons you’ll
also be able to pick up (and duel wield) machine guns, shotguns and even a pulse
gun.
Awesome weapons
aside, there are other cool interactive moments scattered throughout the game.
For example, if a Raptor manages to get the drop on you and attempts a maul
attack, a button icon appears and you must repeatedly and rapidly press it to
slash the Raptor’s neck open. There are other interactive moments in the game
but not nearly as impressive or as inventive as the close range dinosaur
stabbing. Somehow, luring a pack of carnivores to a group of mercenaries using a
flare just doesn’t seem as satisfying as it should have been seeing as we’ve
seen something like this before with the King Kong game. The game certainly
missed more excellent opportunities with the environment itself such as the
creative use of the dino eggs. Stick around the eggs too long and you’ll
naturally be attacked by the dinosaurs’ protective mother be it herbivore or
carnivore.
The problem, of
course, is that the rest of the game doesn’t really push any new and interesting
twists to the genre. It practically feels like the Nintendo 64 game only with
better graphics and the added benefit of displaying a far bigger world and the
cool knife and bow kills. Even the game’s online multiplayer mode doesn’t offer
anything refreshingly new … although the co-op and four other game match types
play out fast and furious while adding dinosaurs for a more challenging
experience.
Graphically,
Turok doesn’t look as stellar as other first-person shooters on the PlayStation
3. In fact, when it comes to the textures, the Xbox 360 provides a slightly
better looking game. Still, the visuals in the PS3 version are nothing to sneeze
at and the characters and dinosaur models look good. The dinosaurs are clearly
the stars of the show and nothing is more impressive than looking up at the
T-Rex that comes within inches of where you are or the way Raptors and other
hunters attempt to maul you. The terrain looks good from afar as well but they
could also have been handled better.
The game’s
sound, on the other hand, is actually better than the game’s graphics. The score
alone makes the game sound epic and it picks up beautifully at all the right
moments so everything like dinosaur mauls feel more dramatic. There are also
some great sound effects that bring the environment to life and the voice acting
is handled well enough.
Turok for the
PlayStation 3 might not change the way we look at first-person shooters but the
bullet-fueled action is still fun enough to give fans of the genre an enjoyable
jaunt into a deadlier territory. Vicious dinosaurs aside, though, the level
design isn’t as inventive as it should have been considering the game’s theme,
impressive arsenal of weapons at your disposal and interesting setting. Still,
there’s fun to be had in this first-person shooter worth a look.
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Gameplay: 7.0
The game
really does not leave much room for exploration of the Lost World and there are
some linear and scripted moments that give the game its dated feel. Thankfully,
the selection of weapons is perfect for the setting and there are some fun
moments scattered throughout the game. Oh, and the interactive knife kills are a
nice touch.
Graphics: 8.0
The Xbox 360
gets the sharper-looking game but the PS3 version is not a slouch in the
character model and cut scene department either. I rather fancy the lush
backgrounds but they lack a sharpness the Xbox 360 version handles more nicely.
Still, it’s not a bad-looking game.
Sound: 8.5
The game’s
music is delightfully dramatic and gives the game it’s action movie feel and the
sound effects come through nicely if you turn up the volume or play the game
with a good sound system. The highlight, of course, is the sounds that come from
the environment and the dinosaurs themselves.
Difficulty:
Medium
The human
enemies don’t pose much of a threat and many of them can actually hit their
intended target even if they have to get a lot closer to do it. The real stars
of the game are the raptors that will stalk you and attack in packs while the
tyrannosaurus remains to be one formidable opponent.
Concept: 7.5
It’s Turok and
it’s on the PlayStation 3 only the game still feels like the original despite
the newly updated graphics and a few new gameplay elements. The story is a juicy
tale of revenge and it unfolds perfectly but it’s all about the dinosaurs and
battling them is still enjoyable. Online multiplayer somehow outshines the
single-player game.
Multiplayer:
8.0
There’s online
co-op mode and it plays out well enough thanks to the decent missions and the
other deathmatch games mixes things up with computer-controlled dinosaurs
released out into the multiplayer map. The game allows up to 16 players on
screen at once without any framerate stutter.
Overall: 7.5
Turok isn’t an
innovative first-person shooter but it is a more than decent action-packed game
that does a good job of pushing the franchise forward on a new platform. While
the game really doesn’t introduce anything we haven’t already seen in a shooter,
the dinosaur-filled world and the intriguing story of revenge are enough to keep
this game from being a bore.
