Turok [PC]

Beyond AI and controls, what's going to be a sticking point for lots of folks is that the visuals just aren't up to snuff. The graphics in Turok are by no means bad, but you're going to walk up to ledges and trees that have really sharp edges and boring texture patterns -- seeing the seams takes you out of the experience. Beyond things at a standstill looking ho-hum, there are troubles in motion as well. Characters in cutscenes occasionally have an aura of shine around them -- they all look like the light of the Lord is being emitted from their bodies

For the most part, Turok will be a walk in the park for anyone who enlisted in the '07 crop of first-person shooters. You'll head out from a given point, press a button to get an arrow that points at your objective, battle the beasts that appear on the horizon and then accomplish the object to enact the cut scene. However, there are points in Turok that are so frustrating that I found myself cursing the screen and prepared to hurl my precious controller. At one point I was pinned down by a dude rocking an RPG that seemed to have a constant read on me, another stall had me trying to figure out a way past a ginourmous spider tank that didn't end with me going boom, and another time I spent the ten or so continues trying to bring down a pissed off T-Rex.

Now, I don't raise these as complaints because I hate being challenged -- I raise these issues because I like being challenged intelligently. Let me ruin the spider tank part for you. This huge tank with arachnid-like limbs lumbers onto the scene, and I stopped moving to see where it would go. Eventually the thing perches itself on a mountain and begins scanning the area. There are a few hollowed out logs and half-walls separating me from RPG ammo, and I figure I need to keep to the shadows. I no sooner step out, this thing's got a read on me, and I'm dead. The game loads, I let it sit, I jump in the log and it starts firing. I wait for a reloading pause or some kind of break, but it never comes. Finally, I make a break for it and end up getting blown up.

This trial and error stuff went on for awhile before I figured out that if I just booked as soon as the tank showed up, I could make it to the ammo, slide back and forth from behind cover, and bring the cool tank down in the most anticlimactic way.

Here's my problem with this battle -- it's the definition of linear. Turok's given me all this freedom as to what I can do with my weapons, but in this one instance, I have to run at a specific time and shoot with a specific gun. In real life, my first reaction to seeing this beast wouldn't be to run out and let it see me, but thinking logically derails the experience and left me stalled.

Speaking of linear, remember that Contra comparison I made a second ago? Sure, that applies to the fun of blasting the bad guys but it also references how straightforward Turok's levels are. As you cross the plains, you'll find plenty of opposition but not one environment that interacts with you. You're just running across set pieces.

Although multiplayer wasn't amazing on the consoles, it's actually even less impressive on the PC. There are seven maps, the weapons from the single-player campaign, dinosaurs, the multiplayer staples such as deathmatch and capture the flag, but there's no way to customize your game unless you host a LAN party. If you choose the quick match option, you'll just get thrown into whatever game is ready to go. If you choose the custom match option, you only get to choose what type of match -- small free for all, large free for all, small team game, large team game, or one of three co-op missions -- you want to go to. You can't choose weapons or maps, which you can do on the console versions of Turok.

Oh, and on a love it or hate it note, when you get attacked by a dino or knocked down by a grenade, you'll see your feet get knocked up in the air. When you climb back to your feet, you'll find yourself facing a different direction than before. On one hand, it's a neat drawback to getting hurt, but on the other, it sucks if you're on your last legs and it's suddenly that much harder to speed walk to safety.

Closing Comments
There's no doubt that Turok can be fun, but ultimately, the feeling of satisfaction that comes with slitting a raptor's throat or pulling off a headshot with your bow is lost in the shuffle of swarming enemies, less than stellar visuals and a story that disappears. Do I recommend Turok for folks just looking for a game to run through with two shotguns in hand? Yes, but I wouldn't expect to walk away from playing with your mind blown.

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