It seems as if 2007 was the year of First Person Shooters. Tons of great shooter games came out (Halo 3, COD4, BioShock to name a few). With all of these great titles coming out...a question arose. "Would Turok be able to start 2008 off right, or would it be another dud?" The gaming public was desperate to know if Turok would be able to live up it's name. Unfortunately, the answer is simply...no.

Sticky situation...

With its release being in early 2008, it disappointed many. It was greatly anticipated and hyped due to its earlier titles on the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation2/GameCube/Xbox. The N64 versions are considered classic, due to their phenomenal gameplay, graphics and overall feel. To continue the experience, a new Turok was made (multiplat). This one not as good as the original, but it was still considered one of the better games for its time. From all of this, it's no wonder that Turok had built up such a big fan base, who was undoubtedly excited to play a brand new Turok game (in HD).

You are Joseph Turok (think of him as a Native American Rambo), a brand new member of Whiskey Company. You learn that you were a member of Wolf Pack. Wolf Pack members were trained and specialized in black ops. Your mission is to find "General" Kane, your old mentor and teacher from Wolf Pack, and bring him back to Earth. Supposedly, Kane had disappeared for years, but it was said that he had surfaced on a world under the rule of the M-G Corporation. Previously, when Turok was with Wolf Pack, he had fled from a battle. In that battle, Slade's (a member from Whiskey Company) brother had died. Slade had no respect for Turok, which led to his irrational name calling and shunning by the crew. They thought of him as an inexperienced fighter, untrustworthy (backstabbing), and a liability.

As the Whiskey Company is approaching their target, they are shot down from the sky and crash into the terrestrial diverse land. Turok quickly analyzes the situation and discovers that there are more then just Kane's men located in this "harsh and unforgiving," landscape. The hostile world is full of dinosaurs and Kane's soldiers. In the crash, Turok was separated from the other marines. In the search for other survivors, Turok has to take on these creatures by himself. With the luck of finding Slade and other Whiskey Company members, will they be able to find Kane and escape from this hell hole?

Burning dino's? That's my sort of job.

Turok brings nothing new to the table with controls, but it does do a good job of combining mechanics and controls that you have come to love. It has the usual controls like: firing, alternate fire, crouch, move, turn, d-pad, weapon select, etc. However, there is no running.

In Turok, the main threat appears to be Kane's soldiers. They always are outnumbering the player which greatly increases the difficulty of Turok. This is why the dinosaur A.I. can be very helpful. The dinosaurs act as a neutral force as in they are not limited by only attacking you, but can attack anyone. With the shotgun you can shoot a flare that will attract the dinosaurs. If you shoot a flare at an enemy soldier, another dinosaur, or even your own teammate, then dinosaurs will charge at them and rip them to shreds! So when your backed up or outnumbered by dinosaurs and soldiers, fire a flare and watch the bloodshed.

Another useful feature in Turok is the stealth mechanic. Turok is regularly equipped with a knife and bow. With the bow, you can shoot an enemy from a distance and not be heard, or even attract attention from other enemies (unless a soldier sees a bow sticking out from one of his fellow comrades. But even then they may not notice.). Since Turok mostly takes place in a jungle environment, with the bow you can silently eliminate enemies of your choosing and then slip by unnoticed.

Big...Guns...

Another new feature is Silent Kill. This is when you draw out your knife and attack a soldier or unaware dinosaur from behind. It’s an instant kill, so you won’t have to worry about them getting back up again. The thing that is particularly “awesome,” is at how gory it is. Wether you are attacking a soldier or dino, sticking the knife in it and ripping it out causes blood to fly everywhere. When you get close to an enemy (with your knife out)regardless, a button pops up on the screen and if you press that button, then it will go into a “in-game,” movie where you watch Turok slit the dinosaurs throat.
The ability to use the knife is optional, but it is very useful (and incredibly powerful towards dinosaurs).

The different species of dinosaurs you will see is very slim. There are about 6 total different kinds of dinosaurs. There is the: Velociraptor – The most commonly seen dinosaur on the planet. They are encountered in most multiplayer maps. Several different types of Velociraptor are seen in the game: "spitters" that are grey in color, and white versions of the Velociraptor called "albino raptors.” Mini-Raptors, which are a roguery because it takes one shot to kill them, but their are so many of them. There is also the: Dilophosaurus which is a large carnivore, Lurkers which are very fast and resemble almost a giant cat or cheetah, Soldier Bugs which are one of the toughest dinosaurs you will come encounter with, and the T-Rex which is the mother of all of the dinosaurs.

T-Rex, in action

Like the dinosaurs, their isn’t a huge selection of weapons. There are thirteen different weapons. There is the: ORO P23 COMBAT KNIFE which is very effective, ORO C9 PERFORATOR COMPOUND BOW, ORO HOG 9MM HANDGUN, ORO FP9 SMG, ORO ENFORCER SHOTGUN, ORO L66 PULSE RIFLE, TRIGLAV 92 STALKER (T92) SNIPER RIFLE, ORO FG8 GRENADE, ESUS BLACKFLY STICKY BOMB GUN, ESUS FIREBLADE FLAMETHROWER, ORO WAR HORSE MINI-GUN, ORO REDFIST RPG, and FREE-STANDING TURRETS. The weapons are not customizable.

Boss fights in Turok are epic. Epic as in...epic hard. The boss fights are very frustrating and consume much of your precious time as y