Just over ten years ago, way back in 1997, life was good. The US economy was riding high, you could fill your tank with gas without taking out a second mortgage, and Bill Clinton was still having his way with interns without fear of impeachment. It was truly a magical time, and to top it all off, '97 was the year we all got to discover how much fun it was to shoot dinosaurs with shotguns thanks to the release of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the N64.

   Now, ten years and several failed sequels later, Turok makes his nex-gen debut. Does this game have what it takes to stand out from the rest of the crowed FPS market? The short answer is "no, not quite."

A Commando Squad Takes on a Ruthless Mercenary. Obviously Everything Will Go According to Plan...

   The story of Turok goes a little something like this. The elite Whiskey Company is sent to a far-off planet in pursuit of war criminal extraordinaire, Roland Kane. Our protagonist is sent along for the assault because he is a former member of Wolf Pack, Kane's top-flight mercenary squad. Through a series of flashbacks we learn that our favorite native American action hero left Wolf Pack due to some "philosophical differences" with the management, (mainly the fact that killing innocent civilians apparently didn't sit well with this honorable mercenary). Obviously, trust runs thin as far the other members of the Whiskey Company are concerned, and Turok's squad mates view him through suspicious eyes, especially considering that his name actually means "Turk" in some Eastern European languages.

   As the team's ship nears the planet's surface it's hit by a missile. You know, because due to all the advanced technology the crew is packing they don't have any room for a missile detection system or at least a reasonably hot chick they could toss overboard to throw off the heat-seeking warheads. At any rate, the ship is downed and the crew scattered, so Turok sets off to try and find the rest of the team and complete the mission. The only problem is, not only is the planet crawling with Kane's soldiers, but for reasons the game never bothers to explain, the land also houses a healthy dinosaur population, and all of them are hungry. A case of global warming gone bad, no doubt.

Purchasing Death? Buy in Bulk and Save!

So Very Many Ways to Die

   In order to give you even a fighting chance against overwhelming odds, the game throws a ton of weapons your way. You will spend most of the game equipped with your knife and bow (the stealth weapons), and then you may also carry up to two other standard firearms (the not-at-all stealth weapons). The firearms vary from pistols and SMGs to pulse rifles and flamethrowers. There's a gun for every situation, and it won't take long for you to pick out your favorites. If you get bored killing enemies the normal way, don't fret! Each weapon has its own secondary fire function (like deploying a mini mine field), allowing for lots of creative kills. Don't worry about running out of ammo either, as clips litter the jungle floor, presumably pooped out by diarrhea-rhidden, commando-eating T-Rexes. If you're used to games that require to you conserve ammo and play defensively then it may take a bit of getting used to.

   When it comes to your knife and bow, the "stealth" aspect is truly hit and miss. In some parts of the game you are tasked with infiltrating an area covertly and taking out the baddies without raising an alarm. Problem is, it's nearly impossible to do so. While you can sneak up behind a foe with your knife for a stealth kill, and even though your bow makes no noise, all it takes is one guard looking in your general direction to blow your cover and bring out the cavalry. While you'll never automatically lose for getting spotted, you will face an even larger enemy force than normal, and making it to the next checkpoint may prove to be next to impossible.

   Taken as a whole, the gameplay of Turok is a simple, potentially fun concept that gets bogged down in overly complex execution. The ramped up difficulty, coupled with the sheer number of shots it takes to bring down foes make some sections a true exercise in frustration. Finally, the game's checkpoint system is utterly awful. There were times I'd hit two or three checkpoints without ever seeing an enemy, while in other sections I'd make it through a huge firefight, move to another section, get wasted by a well-placed enemy turret or an especially voracious dino attack, and then have to do the whole thing over again. Doesn't that sound like lots of fun? It doesn't? Yeah, I guess you're right, it does kinda suck.

What Do You Mean the Game Isn't Breathtaking, We're Using the Unreal Engine?!?!

   While Turok's graphics won't make your eyes bleed in horror, it's still not an overly impressive game. Enemies look great (the dinos are very impressive, and the soldiers look surprisingly like the Hellghast from Killzone), but that's really the only high point. Your teammates often seem to be surrounded by a heavenly aura, and while this would undoubtedly score them points at Sunday Bible Study, given the language they use, I am pretty these guys ain't angels. When it comes to environments, things really take a dive. The jungles don't exactly look lush and lovely, and the interiors of the mercenary bases are about as visually exciting as an average high school cafeteria. I was hoping that I'd get lost in a beautiful, yet dangerous world; instead I was simply running past texture loads and jaggies on my way to the next objective.

   To further exacerbate the graphical issues, the game suffers from quite a few frame rate drops and screen tears. When the action heats up, the screen slows down, killing a lot of the dramatic tension. It never gets so bad as to be catastrophic, but it is noticeable and irritating.

   So what have we learned? The Unreal Engine is no panacea, and thorough effort is still required to make a truly beautiful game. While the visuals do technically qualify for the next-gen moniker, you won't be telling your friends about how pretty this one looks.

You Talking to Me? I Hope So, Because You Sure Got Quite a Pretty Voice.

   While I've been quite hard on the game, one area in which I have no complaints is the music and voice acting. The actors nail "gruff tough guys with suppressed daddy issues" perfectly, and the lines are delivered with just the right amount of sass. Perhaps the biggest "get" in the acting department is the inclusion of Ron Perlman as Slade, and Donnie Wahlberg as Shepard, two of your teammates. That's right kids, you get the guy from Hellboy and one of the Saw dudes all in the same place. Epic win! Couple this with an orchestral score that really gets your adrenaline pumping when the action picks up, and ominous dino growls and screeches and you'll definitely want to crank up the volume.

What Are You Shooting at? No, No, the Rocks Aren't the Ones Attacking Me.

   While Turok's controls are functional, you'll still face a lot of trouble when trying to hone in on enemies. You must line up your shots almost perfectly in order to hit your target, and it seems like no matter how you adjust the control sensitivity, things are still pretty jerky. Further complicating aiming is the fact that guns kick like the world's most pissed off kangaroo. Also, getting shot by a soldier or mauled by a dino throws your aim off, and by the time you recover your foe has invariably moved, causing you to start the whole dance all over again.

   While aiming is hard, even worse is getting knocked off your feet. Whenever a creature attacks and knocks you down you'll get spun in a different direction, and it will take you a few seconds to get up, re-orient yourself, and start firing. Of course, all the while you're being attacked from all sides, so you'll likely end up as a tasty treat. Bite-sized human chunks, yum! Bet you can't eat just one!

   Now to be fair, the observant gamer will undoubtedly appreciate Turok's deliberate and careful attempt to be consistent with the 1997 original, and in fact, the challenging difficulty, the "ultra-real" controls, and even some of the spazmatic enemy AI can be attributed to efforts to re-create the spirit of the original Turok game. Unfortunately, some of these attempts are misguided for the simple fact that while many of these gameplay elements happened to be innovative and even revolutionary for 1997 gaming (3D was still the new kid on the block then!), today they are simply dated. While these touches do recreate the classic Turok style to a degree, it's difficult to ignore the progress made by the game industry in the last 10 years, and much of what was innovative in 1997 can come across as just plain frustrating in 2008.

Well, You DO Get to Kill Dinosaurs, So That's Something

   While Turok isn't a groundbreaking game, it's not awful either. The game's story and script are actually quite good, and the gameplay is definitely fun at times. One area that holds a lot of potential is the online multiplayer. Since the game hasn't launched yet, obviously the pickings are currently slim, but if Turok manages to build up a fair fan base then this might just become the game for all of those tired of certain Spartan-flavored flair. With six different online modes (including co-op), and support for up to 16 players, there is considerable opportunity for some fun fragging.

   FPS fans who have played the current crop of games will find a fair amount of fun with Turok. It harkens back to the most simple of games with linear maps and simple kill-or-be-killed gameplay. However, there's nothing here to provide this title with the crossover appeal of a game like Bioshock, or the rabid fanbase of Halo. In the end, Turok is best described as a middle of the road FPS with a little 1997 nostalgia thrown in on the side.

       ... Brad