Developer
Acclaim Studios Austin

Released: August 31, 2002
Genre: FPS/Action
Players: 4
ESRB: Mature

7
8
8
8
7.5

Supported Features:

Evolution is the fifth game to bear the Turok name since Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was released for the N64. While I have had very little exposure to the previous Turok titles I jumped at the opportunity to review this game, as I am a first person shooter (FPS) freak. Evolution is a very good FPS with a great story line and very nice graphics that immerse you in the tale.

The game is quite large and features both walking and flying levels. The story revolves around the main character Tal’Set, a Saquin warrior, who is transported to the Lost World through a freak accident. Tal’Set must reluctantly help the oppressed people of the Lost World. In the Lost World Tal’Set is the only hope for the people against the Evil Lord Tyrannus and his minions, the Slegs.

Turok has these exciting features:

• A storyline that follows the original conflict in the Lost Lands
• A large 15-chapter single-player quest
• Dozens of different types of prehistoric and indigenous life
• Destructible objects and environments: knock down trees or create rock slides to kill enemies
• Turok can run, jump, climb, swim, fly, and sneak throughout the game
• Exciting flight sequences let Turok take the battle to the skies
• Squad-based AI creates for realistic enemy behavior and battles
• Many new weapons including Variable Payload Cruise Missiles, Gravity Disrupter Beams, and the Swarm Bore each with unique traits and damage
• Weapons can be upgraded for advanced features, such as adding a scope to your pistol
• Scripted events propel the story and keep things exciting
• Unique multiplayer mode developed by a dedicated team of designers, programmers and artists
• Graphics engine offers up lush, living jungle environments and realistic interior levels
• Amazing sound effects, offered up in Dolby Pro Logic II
• Incredible music sets the mood for this fantastic world

Using both the C Stick and the Control Stick controls Tal’Set. The use of both sticks allows for a great range of movement and the ability to change aim while on the move. If only they worked well. I can’t tell you how many times I had problems interacting with the environment. The controls are slow to react and slightly hard to master. When there is a large enemy force that needs to be destroyed you can become confused with your sticks and end up dead. Give me the option to use one stick or two.

Not only is the aiming and moving difficult, the climbing and jumping are annoying. You have to move to the correct spot and then look up to climb and look down to jump. The big problem with this is that your view is either focused on the ground or sky and it is hard to tell what is going on around you. I wish I had a dollar for every time I fell while trying to climb up or down.

The controls are equally difficult during the flying portions of the saga. During these missions you climb on the back of a quetzalcoatlus and battle the Slegs in the air and on the ground. The concept is great but the quetzalcoatlus is not. These prehistoric birds have the same responsiveness as the Wright brothers’ plane had. They go down real well but it is hell trying to get them up or turn them. They act like a kite in a windstorm. I know that prehistoric birds can’t handle like a fighter plane but for the sake of gameplay they could turn a little better.

Probably the saving grace of the gameplay is the weaponry. This game has an impressive collection of weapons. I couldn’t do this article without telling you about some of my favorite tools of destruction. I really can’t decide which is truly my favorite way of dispensing with the enemy because I have a tie for first. The Rocket Launcher with the Swarm-Bore attachment and the Tek Bow with the poison arrows have got to be the best weapons ever conceived.

The Swarm-Bore is an evil attachment to the rocket launcher that sends out five screw bits that home in on the target and slowly tear it to pieces. To watch your enemy being ripped to shreds is a sight. The poison arrows also lead to a gruesome end for their target. Shortly after an enemy is hit with one of these he will fall to his knees and, I’ll be nice here, repeatedly expel the contents of his stomach onto the ground. I know it is sadistic but it’s only a game and the label warns you of the violence.

The rest of the weapons are good but they don’t compare to the aforementioned for those of you that like your gore. The Antigrav beam deserves an honorable mention because of the sheer fun of the weapon. When you aim the Antigrav gun at an enemy you trap him in a tractor beam and then you can toss him around until you have finished him off. I have to admit it is fun to grab an enemy with this and then swing him around so that he bounces off of walls and knocks over his compatriots. The rest of the weapons are your basic clubs, guns and grenades.

Now that I have discussed the controls and weapons let’s get into the gameplay options. Turok has both single and multiplayer modes. The single player mode is the epic adventure I have been discussing. The fun comes in when you add players and jump into the multiplayer modes. The many multiplayer modes are a blast and very self-explanatory which is why I will quote the manual for their brief descriptions.

• Deathmatch: Battle to the death. Highest score wins.
• Team Deathmatch: Team up to fight each other to the death.
• Hunter: Score points by killing as the hunter. Kill the hunter to become one.
• Capture the Flag: Steal the other team’s fire and return it to your own base. Highest score wins.
• One Flag: Teams battle for the single torch to light their team’s fire.
• Last Man: Battle to be the last alive in each round of death.
• Monkey Tag: Hold on to the monkey. Person who holds it the longest, wins.
• Turok fight: Battle to the death with warclub and bows only.
• Team Turok fight: Team up using bows and the warclub.
• Warrior Rage: Making multiple kills without dying increases your power.
• Blood Bath: Players start with all the weapons.
• Beginner Deathmatch: Auto balancing the good and the weak.
• Sniper Match: Sniper pistol and bows. Only headshots count.
• Flight: Fight to the death on the back of Quetzalcoatluses.

I absolutely love the interaction that you have with the surroundings in this game. As you walk through the dense foliage it moves and sways as you brush by it. Trees can be used as weapons if you can shoot them from the correct angle and cause them to crush your enemies. I have to admit that I pulled a Jesse “The Body” Ventura in Predator more than once by leveling a forest with a hail of machine gun fire. The only thing that bothers me about the ability to destroy trees is the fact that it won’t work on those pesky giant ferns that always seem to be blocking my vision. A little napalm or Agent Orange would be a welcome addition to my weaponry to clear some forest.

In addition to the greenery, the shading and water effects help add to the overall quality of the environments. Some of the streams and rivers are beautifully done and the lighting near these is spectacular. To add to these surreal scenes you can add the indigenous life forms. It is quite a sight to walk up to a river and see the giant Brachiosaurs wading in the cool water or see the Stegosauruses grazing near the edge of a watering hole.

While the dinosaurs add to the scenery they need a little work. The graphics of some of the dinosaurs are a little boxy. If some lines were smoothed out the realism would be improved greatly. I’m not saying that they are bad. I am just saying that the Gamecube can produce better quality than that.

Overall, the graphics are very good and with very little improvement they could be great. It is completely understandable in a game of this size that not everything is going to be perfect. The good thing is that they are close. When the next Turok installment comes out it should be a definite winner.

If the music were taken out then I probably would have given a score of ten for the sounds. The expulsion of stomach contents, the whirring of the homing drill bits, the explosions and general sounds of mayhem are exceptional. The first time I heard the effects of the poison arrows I almost got sick myself and nothing can beat the sound of drill bits grinding through flesh and bone.

The ambient dinosaur sounds add immensely to the realism of the game. If it could be possible to travel back in time I am sure the sounds you hear in this game would be present all around you. The snarls, grunts, screeches, groans and wails are excellent. I had to hit mute several times while playing so I could check outside for wild animals. All of the sounds are exceptionally well done and sound incredible with the Dolby Surround mix.

The massive amount of multiplayer modes will keep the game fresh for months. The addition of the unpredictable human element in the multiplayer modes is refreshing and fun. Turok: Evolution will be one of those games that you keep around for some good killing action with a group of friends.