User Reviews
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 Prehistoric In Setting...And Style |  3.8
0 comments |
by GhostbusterGuy
from OH | Nov 4, 2002 |
THE GOOD:
There's a nice and wide variety of weapon, good voice acting, frenzied and fun multiplayer mode, and it's just a heck of a lot of fun to blast off dinosaur heads. THE BAD:
The visuals are...well, prehistoric. SUMMARY:
First off, I must admit, this is the first Turok game that I've ever played, so this review is coming from a non-Turok fan. And now, on with the show...
Turok: Evolution is a pretty decent first person shooter, but really falls apart in mission substance. Basically, all you do is just hope and pray that you get through hordes of enemy airships or shotgun-toting dinosaur commandos. But there's just some guilty pleasure in doing so. It's fun and easy to just hide behind a rock, activate your pistol's sniper scope, and blow off a dino commando's head. The control setup feels right at home on the GameCube controller, with a smart and somewhat ingenious control scheme.
But onto the visuals: They're...well, in a category all by themselves. While at points they're very impressive (the movies and some dinos), at others they're dull, flat, and would look more at home on the old and deceased Nintendo 64. The jungle textures are especially boring and more time could've been put into character models. But if you can get past the graphics, there's some serious fun to be had going through the (repetitive) missions and the awesome multiplayer modes. Enjoyable, but somewhat undercooked. |
| 5 out of 10 people found this review helpful. | Did you find this review helpful? YES NO |
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| TUROK EVOLUTION |  1.5
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by Kenmil
from Melbourne, , Australia | Oct 28, 2002 |
THE GOOD:
Lots of explosive carnage if that's what you want, and the Tek Bow is something to behold on head shots. Unlike others, I found the flying to be relatively intuitive and fun.THE BAD:
Repetition and a lame storyline - if indeed there is one ! SUMMARY:
Climbing down ladders is nearly impossible, and two separate bugs in different chapters (End of the ten snipers section & end of the reactor meltdown section)both prevented me from completing the game and meant I had to start again from the beginning. After the second time I put the game away in disgust and started playing something else.
I always found the original Turok game on the N64 to be absolutely fantastic, but this is sheer crap. |
| 5 out of 13 people found this review helpful. | Did you find this review helpful? YES NO |
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| Best turok yet, but... |  3.6
0 comments |
by  Timber Wolf
from , , U.S. | Oct 18, 2002 |
theres not much to say about turok evolution, you've played one you've played them all...
while the FMV graphics are stunning, the actual gameplay graphics are lacking, to say the least....
lots and lots of killing and destruction attempt to cover up the obvious flaws in the game. such as:
falling damage. tal set must be a cripple, he drops a couple of feet and he takes damage..ugh...
graphics. while they are alright, they are not fully acceptable for a next gen system...
difficulty. the slegs are tough, some of them take an overwhelimg amount of ammo to ground. i couldnt beat the game without the infinite ammo cheat...
story. very crude and lacking. sometimes you wonder why your even doing things. (do the words, "sensless killing" mean anything to you?)
while it has its downsides, evoltuion provides alot of explosive goodness, and plenty of violence to appease even the most hardcore GTA3 fan...
only pick this one up if your a hardcore FPS fan, otherwise, save it for a rental.
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| 7 out of 12 people found this review helpful. | Did you find this review helpful? YES NO |
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| |  4.4
0 comments |
by  killer56
from Small Town., , Que? | Oct 9, 2002 |
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| 6 out of 12 people found this review helpful. | Did you find this review helpful? YES NO |
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| It's not Halo... |  4.0
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by netjak
| Sep 21, 2002 |
Review written by pearl-drum-man for netjak.com
It's not Halo...
…but it's still a very strong game! In fact its one of the best available for the GC. Not being a huge fan of FPS (first person shooters), especially on consoles, this wasn’t a game I would have normally been really excited about, but having played Halo quite a bit in recent weeks certainly wet my appetite for some fast paced carnage on the ‘Cube.
STORYLINE
You are the Indian Warrior Tal’Set, leader of the Saquin Nation. You are going up against arch enemy, and Indian slayer, Captain Buckner. Buckner is a brutal fighter from the American West, and has the blue coat style civil war garb to prove it. As Tal, you’ll have to hack, slash, shoot, burn and blow your way through 15 levels of intense FPS goodness. Lock and load.
LEVEL DESIGN
There is some variety in this game, which is nice when compared to old school FPS like Doom, where you’re essentially in a maze of hallways and Dungeons. Here’s what you have:
JUNGLE. This is where the game starts, and you’ll find yourself coming back throughout. It features a definite prehistoric flavor, and there are plenty of dinosaurs to view, kill, or be killed by. Generally, the herbivores pay you no mind, however anything that eats meat will definitely take a quick liking to your presence. Veloceraptors almost always attack in packs, and can be tough foe. Of course what dino excursion would be complete without the mighty T-Rex. He’s here, and he’s hungry. You’ll also run into other things like mini-raptors and alligators, I even had a Triceratops try to mow me down. Of course you’ll also have your hordes of Sleg troops of differing types, see below for details on them. Aside from the combatants, the jungle environments are lush and impressive. This is also where you’ll do most of your swimming. Underwater environments are kinda dull and slow, but you’ll need to use them. I found the Jungle to be the most difficult to navigate, but this is more of a control issue.
Indoor. Here’s where you get into what is the more traditional FPS environments. Initially, you’ll encounter maze-like dungeons and hallways, with a plain gray block appearance. Fortunately as you progress to later levels (like the city), the environments get much more complex, colorful, and multi-leveled. Navigating the indoor levels is cake, and really lets you enjoy the speed of FPS play. There are however some areas where you must be careful not to fall off of small bridges and ledges, as it will mean certain death. Throughout these levels you’ll be looking for switches and control stations, which will allow you to open doors and progress. Of course with each door you open, you release new fleets of Sleg troops, so be ready!
Ariel. A few levels in the game are strictly in the air. You take the helm of a Quetzalcoatlus (basically, a Pteraldactyl) and do battle. You’re equipped with machine guns and a rocket launcher, though there are some power-ups and variations. Throughout the levels you’ll have to take out other flyers, tanks, guns, and occasionally an entire enemy camp! These missions definitely change things up, but they don’t compare to the true FPS levels, and I basically trudged through them to move on.
ENEMIES
There aren’t a lot of different types, but they do upgrade their hardware throughout the game so they definitely increase in difficulty. Raptors, Sleg Troops, and Snipers make up the volume of the targets. In small numbers they can be handled with relative ease, but a bunch of them (from all angles) and you gotta be on your game. Dinosoids are basically bigger and badder versions of the Slegs, watch out for ‘em! Purrlin are the biggest and baddest of them all, keep your distance when you unload on these guys. Of course you’ll have to deal with Buckner, but I won’t ruin that battle for you.
WEAPONS
Turok: Evolution doesn’t lack for hardware. There are a lot of weapons, and they offer a wide range of killing goodness (or maybe badness is more appropriate) I won’t list everything, but will highlight my favorites.
The first firearm you pick up is a pistol, and it is handy early on. The only reason I mention it is because of the Sniper Scope upgrade. This allows you to eliminate enemies from long range (especially other snipers). I love it, and head shots are very enjoyable. What shooting/adventure game would not be complete without a shotgun. It’s powerful in close range, and can lay down a solid rate of fire. The Flechette Gun flat out rules! It’s the only projectile weapon that can be used underwater, and when you find the Minigun Barrels you’ll be blazing away in Gatlin gun style! The Flamethrower, Rocket Launcher, and Plasma Cannon are all very powerful and essential in the later stages, be sure to save them for the right enemies!
The Spider Mine is an important and diverse little tool, which why it gets it’s own paragraph. You’ll actually have to perform stealth missions, which means you can’t be seen or the entire area is locked down and basically you’re done. You can pitch the Spider Mine out and then take control of it. It allows you to survey areas and identify enemies. The cool thing is you can also use it to take them out. Sneak up on an enemy and release deadly gas and they’re done. You can also close in on enemies and the mine will speak, which will lure enemies away from certain areas, or get them in better position for attack. Lastly, you can use the Spider Mine as a portable bomb. Just walk it up and fire, turns baddies inside out! Definitely a cool option to give the game a little extra kick.
OPTIONS
Turok offers some options, which will allow the game to be customized based on your skill level. Auto Aim can be turned on or off, as can the targeting Crosshair. The HUD (heads Up Display) can also be toggled on/off. You have an option for Violence, turning it off tones down the graphic nature of the game, I recommend it on! You can turn the rumble on/off, but its good to have on in order to know you're being hit, sometimes in all the crossfire you can't tell. You can adjust the speed at which the camera moves. You have settings for both vertical and horizontal. Default is 5, on a scale of 1-10. There are a few other things, especially in multiplayer, but as you can see the game offers alot!
CONTROL/GAMEPLAY (7)
The controls are quite good. You have some minor options, but basically you use the Main Stick to move forward and back, and left and right will allow you to strafe. The Left shoulder button allows you to fire rockets in ariel missions, and allows you to duck when in FPS mode. The Yellow Control Stick is used to look and aim. Essentially you use both control sticks at the same time to move and target simultaneously, which is important if you plan to survive. Stopping = dying! Since both thumbs will be constantly in use, you’ll be using the Right should button to fire. Though not as quick and positive as the Green A button, it gets the job done. Speaking of big Green, it is only used to jump. The Red B button and the Y button simply scroll through your weapons, from either direction. The X button will let you change to different options on some weapons. The purple Z button is used to activate your sniper scope, when equipped. The D-pad is unused for gameplay, but can be used to scroll through menus. All in all it gets the job done, and was comfortable after about a half-hour of play. The only criticism is it would have been nice to have a button for a map.
The Gameplay is very solid overall, but has a few issues. First the good, when in open environments it moves smooth and fast. Most of the time the gameplay is just a joy, offering seamless control. Now the bad. You’ll find yourself getting hung up when in complex terrain (which means the Jungle). Within 5 minutes of starting the game, Tal got stuck in front of a door and wouldn’t move, I have to restart the level. Jumping is another thing that will give headaches. Some jumps take multiple tries to complete, and you’ll need several attempts to get down the technique necessary. There are also times when you need to jump while ducking to get between a box and the ceiling to activate a switch, this is a real pain. Flying can get tough, cause you’re always moving forward at the same speed, and you’ll have to navigate some very tight areas, if you crash you’re dead. In open areas, the ariel controls are also very smooth. Fortunately the good far outweighs the bad, just be prepared for some occasional glitches.
This game supports up to 4 players for some fragging action. I’ve only been able to do 2 player so far, but it’s a blast, literally. They even provide several additional weapons and options for the multiplayer, which definitely adds to the excitement. While the single player adventure is great, this is where the game will become a must for the FPS fan.
GRAPHICS (8)
Acclaim really harnessed the power of the GC. Good, colorful models, combined with lush, vast environments make for visual splendor. Aliasing and Slowdown are virtually nonexistent, and the game runs smooth as silk. Details like blood splatter on walls are very cool. Aim for the knees, and you’ll quickly see your target hopping on one leg, as blood spurts from his new stump. Head shots are great fun, and I highly recommend them! The primary characters are clean and sharp looking, however there are a few instances where it appears corners were cut. In the cut scene with the Senate, their modeling is very bland and blocky (they have square heads for God’s sake), and their mouths don’t move when speaking. While this only represents a brief encounter, it’s still noticeable. In the Jungle, the plant boundaries are very 2D in appearance, but if you stay where you’re supposed to its not a major issue. Overall, very nice. While not blown away, I got what I expect from the GC.
SOUND (8)
This game runs in Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, and it’s awesome. All of the effects are crisp, powerful, and varied. The Pro Logic does a great job of expanding the sound field, especially when you’re in open battle environments and there’s a lot of action. Hopefully Nintendo keeps pushing this in future games. I would rate a 10 for execution, however the sound effects (while very good) were not amazing, hence the 8.
REPLAY (9)
The single player adventure is vast and intense, and would certainly be worthy of replay as time passes. Multiplayer is where the real replay value exists, and it will never get old with this game.
OVERALL (8)
It’s not perfect, but it does everything it’s supposed to. While not having “game-of-the-year” potential like Halo, it still delivers. Don’t bother renting, just buy it! |
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3.46/5.0
