Turok

Circle-Strafe and Slice

That might be when you discover the game’s big saving grace — multiplayer. We could see a lot of you getting pulled off Halo 3 for a vacation in Turok’s deathmatch, team deathmatch, and CTF bouts. Here, too, the game feels old-school enough to give you flashbacks, especially when you catch on to retro tricks like switching to your knife to run more quickly. So, yes, much of it will feel familiar, but Turok uses two of its single-player highlights to separate itself from the herd: the knife and the dinos. You’ll end up in a lot of confrontations where guns are for sissies and it’s all about who can circle most effectively and connect for the instant knife kill from behind. That is, unless the dinos find you. Scattered across the maps, the game’s beasts act as neutral death-dealers: they don’t care which side you’re on, they just think you’re yummy. Nothing beats coming upon an enemy getting worked by a dino, nabbing a quick kill while they’re distracted, and moving right along.

The map design also plays a big role here. Propaganda did a great job with the game’s complement of seven maps, building in lots of high, exposed routes that are mixed with down-to-the earth paths that have more cover…and more dinos. Our favorite maps were Spire and Power Struggle, which both nail that combo of choices.

Turok also has four-player co-op over Xbox Live, and while it’s a blast, it’s short. Working as a unit to rampage through three harrowing maps (they resemble some of the single-player missions, but only loosely) and mow down troops and dinos makes for really fun teamwork, but it’s an evening’s entertainment at best. Downloadable content, anyone?

Fossil or Find?

At its core, Turok is a hardcore, old-school shooter. It many ways, it feels like the Ninja Gaiden of shooters, so if that sounds appealing to you, you’ll probably love it more than we did. But if you’re looking for a more modern experience, something from the current crop of shooter stars like BioShock and Call of Duty 4, the frustrating bosses and save system will seem positively prehistoric.

PREV12345