Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Turok Preview for PlayStation 3

Turok Preview for PlayStation 3

Bury me at Turok Hill

August 2, 2007 – For those of you who don’t know, Turok is an Acclaim Entertainment comic turned video game which was developed for the Nintendo 64. It has received several iterations since then, but only recently has it been revealed that Turok is coming to the new generation consoles. Every Turok game is different but holds foundational similarities, the biggest being dinosaurs.

Turok screenshot

This iteration of Turok puts you in the first person perspective of Joseph Turok, a special ops agent who has to hunt down his former mentor, Kane, who has now turned rebel and escaped to another planet. It is up to Joseph and his crew to chase and capture Kane. Problems arise though when Joseph’s ship crash lands on a genetically altered planet lurking with horrifying predators. Joseph Turok has to not only take down enemy soldiers and find Kane, but avoid becoming lunch for roaming dinosaurs.

Crash landing on an alien planet would spell certain doom for most of us at CheatCC. Joseph Turok, on the other hand, is courageous and ambitious with everything to prove. Joseph won’t just sit around and die either. With the use of an array of creative weaponry coined by the series, stealth tactics, and the manipulation of enemy A.I., our protagonist just may stand a chance. Turok is a first person shooter, but certain actions trigger brief third person cutscenes. For instance, walking behind an enemy with your knife and pressing the right trigger will cause Joseph to kick the legs from beneath his enemy and stab him. No, this game is not making Nintendo Wii’s top list. What I really like is how simple and quick switching weapons can be. By pressing the directional pad, you can instantly change from your combat knife to your crossbow or double wielding pistols. Judging by the trailer, there will be plenty of futuristic weapons to use. From pistols to shot guns, knives, crossbows, and unique weapons yet to be named, the options are plentiful. A specific unique mechanic is the use of the crossbow. How long you draw back your arrow determines the strength of impact. For instance, shooting arrows rapidly will cause weak impact that some enemies can even pull out of them, while holding the arrow for too long will cause your arms to shake and disturb your aim.

The environments looks large, ominous, and unforgiving. You will never know what is lurking behind the tall windy grass fields, and it is not unusual for beast of any size to leap out at you. In the event you are caught off guard by a dinosaur, it triggers a third person perspective showing what situation you are in and you must hectically mash the right trigger button to toss the beast off you. Succeeding in doing this will toss the beast off you, while failing, well, we don’t want to discuss that part. Adding more to the game is the beautiful and ironically terrifying graphics. You will definitely want to stop and marvel at the massive world filled with lush fields, never ending skies, and suddenly you are facing a giant T-rex. The light and particle effects are great, even down to the small metal sections on Joseph’s gloves which reflect light naturally. The texture mapping on the dinosaurs is very well layered giving the illusion of real reptilian skin. As you walk through the tall grassy fields, the wind blows tossing the grass to and fro with a very natural feel. The grass seems to move independently and naturally, often misleading you as to whether or not a dinosaur is lurking just in front of you.

Turok screenshot

What is really awesome about Turok is the enemy A.I. You have the enemy soldiers, who are obviously after you and the dinosaurs who are neutral. This makes for some interesting combinations while on the field. The dinosaurs are neutral meaning they hunt and prowl the area naturally without a specific enemy. This means you can intentionally use the dinosaurs to your advantage. Should you want to take the path of the stealthy killer, you can observe your enemies from the distance. Should you see a dinosaur to your left and a soldier to your right, all it takes is a simple flare toss or shot at the dino and it will violently attack the nearest enemy. Don’t think they’ll stop there though, afterwards they will look for more prey, namely you! The dinosaurs in Turok are subjective to noise, flares, combat, bullets, and chaos so you can imagine the pros and cons of certain strategies. Developer Propaganda Games doesn’t force you to be either stealthy or aggressive. It is completely up to you; there are no predetermined penalties for such choices. Be warned though, if you go Rambo on an enemy camp with guns blazing you may wake a school of predators within range and they too will join the foray. If you’ve watched Jurassic Park you should know, dinosaurs are never your friend. Turok is shaping along well and looks to be a great iteration to the series. I’m looking forward to slaying dinos with the best of them 1st quarter next year.

Turok screenshot

Features:

  • Be stealthy or be aggressive; the option is yours.
  • Use the environment to your advantage and trick the dinos into hunting your enemies.
  • Using your knife triggers awesome third person cutscenes
  • Enhanced enemy A.I. bring a realistic challenge to the game.
  • Innovative unique Turok weapons used in game
  • Play Turok as you’ve never seen it before on the new gen-systems.
  • Dinosaurs act freely as a neutral threat

  • The Turok series has become a bit of a dinosaur, so Propaganda & Buena Vista are hoping to bring it into the modern age

    July 4, 2006 – Back in the prior generation, the N64 launched with only two titles but was soon followed by the classic Turok, giving players of the new Nintendo system a mature title even before Goldeneye hit the scene. Although sequels were released and the series eventually hit the current gen consoles, it never grabbed the attention of the timeless original.

    Turok screenshot

    Originally an Acclaim property, Turok has found a new home with Buena Vista Games. Now taking place on a uncharted planet in the future, the protagonist will be searching for a war criminal named Kane and his pack of hooligans. These fugitives aren’t the only danger on this planet, of course, as dinosaurs quickly make a scene during the combat and complicate the situation awfully quickly.

    The constant barrage of gunfire and giant lizards is alleviated slightly by the supporting commando squadron that accompanies you throughout the game, but the pure action of previous run-and-guns has been carried into this title. E3’s preview showing provided some insight into just how much on-screen action will take place, what with the enemy trying to defend themselves, squad-mates supporting with independent AI, and dinosaurs popping in uninvited. Of course, going along with the current trend, all the different vegetation and make-shift buildings will be fully destructible.

    As this is a Turok title, the dinosaurs will take center stage in many aspects of the game. Creatures of the uncharted jungle, these lizards act independently of the battlefield looking for a meal. Early in the game, encountering a raptor or bigger will not be a winnable battle. In these situations, the independent AI will usually attack indiscriminately, meaning you can try to hide and hope your enemies attract more attention. If that T-rex that has just crashed the shootout sees the enemy before you, waiting for it to smash up their position would be the best bet for survival.

    Turok screenshot

    Twitch-reaction gameplay and run-and-gun strategy will be the order of the day when Turok releases. While the bow-and-arrow and knife will allow for silent kills, the only stealth action is centered on speed and line-of-sight. Handguns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and the other typical weapons of FPSs will be here, along with some new “futuristic” weapons that will offer plenty of new strategy to deal with the human threat and to defend yourself from the giant lizard trying to eat you. While the details are short as of yet, the release date is far enough from now that things could be changed by shipping date. As of now, Turok is set to ship sometime next year.

    To top