Is it good, does it suck, is it full of fail, does it have any redeeming qualities whatsoever? Turok has come a long way from where it started off in the Nintendo 64 console. After countless sequels (4 console and at least two hand helds, ok so maybe it isn't countless), the game is back with a new studio and new blood, no pun intended?







Trailer:


Platform(s): Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Publisher/Developer: Propaganda Games/Touchstone Studios
Players: 1 (Story Mode), 2-4 (Co-Op), 2-12 (Public/Ranked Matches), 2-16 (Private Matches)
Price: $59.99


Plot: You are Joseph Turok, a Native American thrust into Whiskey Company to track down your former mentor Kane on a different planet. Your space ship gets shot down and you crash land on a planet that has dinosaurs because of terraforming. Now your mission is to stay alive, find a new way off the planet, and find Kane. Will your skills as a deadly warrior pay off?


My Review: Last week I put up a first impression of the Turok game, It actualy came really close to embodying the experience of single player so I will keep this talk to a minimum.

The levels are straight forward and linear. There are some areas that open up and give you the illusion to free-roaming but that sense is quickly taken away. The game does manage to give players the option of different ways to attack the situation with tall grass, ledges, and open fields. But the guns a-blazin' is not always the best ideas since your character does not have the greatest amount of health. In actuality, you have very little health and it heals much like other FPS out there.

Again, much like other shooters, the weapons are basic. While playing through the game and expecting some super future-tech weapon to fall in your hands, you will only be left disappointed. The game falls back on only 12 weapons which is a major disappointment in the eyes of Turok fans when the original two titles contained around 15 and 26 weapons. On top of that, the weapons are pretty average and found in other games except for the flamethrower and the Blast Gun/StickyGun/Mine Shooter, which is inheritingly sweet in its own right.

Despite the lack of (quality in?) guns, you still have the classic Turok weapons. First, the bow, which quickly becomes the ultimate silent killer and the most dangerous quick use weapon at the same time with its two types of arrows. No warrior should be without it. The other, most known and used weapon, is the combat knife. During single player, it can be a little too easy to run through and kill everything insight but bringing it into multiplayer is another story.



The single player is short with the sum of its parts adding up to about 8 hours, that is how long it took me to beat it. The AI has its moments but much better can be found in other games. It is their sheer numbers and tenacity that get syou. As much of a Turok fan I am, I am not 100% dying to play through the single player again as I craved with other games. But that could be because I have a craving for some multiplayer action.

Multiplayer is a different story. The menu's can be awkward to navigate but once you figure it out and get into the game it is a blast. And even if it doesn't have as many levels to pick from as other games, it offers a variety of ways to play. The types of gameplay to expect are Co-Op, Small Free-For-All (FFA), Small Teams, Large FFA, Large Teams, and Warzone (which is essentially a team game). All levels but one contains dinosaurs, but for the most part, you have to "call them out" in one way or another.



Team games include Capture the Flag (CTF), Assault CTF, and Warzone. CTF is pretty much what it sounds like but Assault CTF is a little different. In this mode, one team tries to capture the flag while the other defends. Both versions of the game have the features that makes flag bearers move slower than normal to add in some challenge. As for Warzone, it has been compared to Counterstrike. It is objective based; go type on this computer, take this bomb to this door, protect bomb, etc.

CTF modes seem to be the most played, not by choice though with their system, so it is good to figure out some ways to get the task done. Helpful tip when playing CTF, look out for the glowing yellow dots on the floor! Your team member might have mined the flag and you just increased their respawn time.

Respawn time, that is a refreshing part of the game coming from a Team Fortress 2 background. They are quick unless you kill teammates on accident or on purpose. The more friendlys you kill, your respawn goes up expotentially. They do add up and you will be kicking yourself (or the stupidity of your teammates for walking over your mines) when you have a 1 minute respawn time.



Back to my original Multiplayer Menu point, it is one of the strangest beasts out there. If you don't sit down and try to play, you could be discouraged in no time at all. How it works is it just randomly searches for a game to play in quick play and player matches. The only difference is that in player match mode, you can team up with people and pick which game type to search and play in. I suggest you find someone who likes the game/knows what they are doing and team up with them. You are on their team from then on out, but at least you get to play. I spent all saturday night with a beast of the team, mowing everyone down. Oh, the benefits of good players and teaming up!

Teaming/buddying up in this game requires you to join their session from the XBL menu. You can only team up and search for games with a party of six (6). If you have more than six, you will have to just play and not search for a game. And make sure you have buddies that press Start, so the game can happen. People forget sometimes.

The game modes cannot be tweaked unless you are playing private matches. That is the only time you truly have a specific host as well as the only time you can play 8 vs. 8 (16) matches. If it lags during a player match, that is just cause people are leaving the game or the "host" can't handle the load.



The last mode laying around is Co-Op, one of the most promising modes. You and up to three friends take on one of three levels. These are brand new levels that have you try to accomplish objectives. Depending on how many players there are, you have a certain amount of lives to beat it. After every objective accomplished, you recover any lives that you have lost but you have a max number of lives. The levels can be menacing, but when you have a group of of people working together that know what they are doing, you can overcome. Helpful tip: watch out for the rockets.

This mode just screams for Downloadable Content. And I feel they hint at it with the title screen having an option to check for DLC. I beg you Propaganda, make more Co-Ops level and I will buy them in a heartbeat.



Lastly, knife battles. You are sure to hear something about this when playing online, whether they are loving it or complaining. The best way to describe this was said online this weekend. "Everyonce in awhile, turn around and you might be surprised by how many people are following you." Words have never been so true. At points, the game turns into a big knife fight online. People are running around with knifes, trying to skank each other. It isn't uncommon to see a train of five people running. One false move and you are slit open. But becareful with the animations, you can level yourself open to gunfire and/or someone waiting to skank you after it is done.

Please note, it is HARDER to knife attack in multiplayer than single player. Try to keep them in the middle of your screen. It is a lot easier to skank them if you are looking at their back though. I am ok at it, but I prefer using my SMG to mow you all down.


Conclusion: If you are a single player venturer, this is a weekend rental. you will be able to beat it and maybe get a Co-Op level in. But if you like to dabble online with friends or stangers, this game might have more for you to chew on. The multiplayer has me hooked. I love Team Fotress 2, but while I played that briefly this weekend I couldn't but crave for some knife battles and dinosaur fights. I think this says something, at least to me.

There are some hiccups here and there with tails of dinos and animations like killing someone during knife animations, but it is still a pretty good shooter with what can feel like a robust multiplayer experience. It is a game that requires skill since it doesn't aim the gun for you. And if you are still getting knocked down "every 30 seconds" in the game, you just suck at it.


My Rating: 8.5 - It's not Turok but dinosaur blasting is back and gives a new reason to be scared of Knives, pun intended?