| System: X360, PS3, PC | Review Rating Legend | |
| Dev: Propaganda | 1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid | 4.0 - 4.4 = Great |
| Pub: Touchstone | 2.0 - 2.4 = Poor | 4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy |
| Release: April 22, 2008 | 2.5 - 2.9 = Average | 5.0 = The Best |
| Players: 1 | 3.0 - 3.4 = Fair | |
| ESRB Rating: Mature | 3.5 - 3.9 = Good | |
by Cole Smith
Turok for the PC is a fun romp that shouldn't be taken too seriously. It can easily be torn apart or shot full of holes from various standpoints, but as a mindless arcade shooter, it fits the bill nicely. As you can well imagine I find it a refreshing change from strategy sims.
Big Joe Turok, with bow in hand, stalks and defends himself against human, dinosaur, and various mutated species just to find his way back home. He's definitely not in Kansas anymore, but he doesn't have the luxury of being able to click the heels of his red slippers to magically take him home. He's got to do things the hard way, and that's where the fun comes in.
Joe, or let's call him Turok since that sounds more dangerous, was once part of a ruthless mercenary component known as the Wolfpack. After his conscience got the better of him, Turok joined Whiskey Co. and decided to use his talents for less nefarious purposes. Having forsaken his former gang, there is no love lost between them. His old comrades are now his new enemy, and he's on the hunt for his former mentor, Kane. The chase leads to a mysterious planet where Turok and his mates find themselves at the mercy of deadly life forms, which include dinosaurs and other strange, wondrous, and murderous beasts. And that's about it for the storyline, folks.
Capturing Kane is all but abandoned by Turok and his team in favor of making it off the planet alive. There are many things to contend with including enemy Wolfpack soldiers, but they are typically relegated to guarding armory compounds. These bases are a great source of weapons, and that's what you're going to need in order to mow a path through the dense jungles of death.
There's more to Turok than just shooting, but let's not overlook the ability to wield dual machineguns. There are also elements of stealth in which the bow and arrow and the dagger play very prominent roles. I'll get back to the blazing pistols soon enough, but the melee weapons, because of the required stealth strategy, give the gameplay a degree of sophistication. Albeit a very small degree. This isn't Splinter Cell, but it has more depth than the average first-person shooter. At the same time, it doesn't sacrifice action for depth.
The bow and arrow, as well as the dagger, are both silent killers and come in handy when you want to knock off a guard or two without alerting the others. They also come in handy when you run out of ammo, which happens from time to time. Bases on the planet that belong to Wolfpack typically have a good arsenal of weapons and ammo. These bases can be used somewhat like checkpoints, in that you can use them to help you advance to the next one where more goodies await thee. Get past the guards, and you'll get your hands on some really fun dino-eradicators such as machineguns, chainguns, shotguns, bombs, and other explosives, projectile launchers, and incendiary devices.
