Turok at E3

Pre-E3 2007: Turok Hands-on
We get a face full of dino breath and beg for more.
by Greg Miller

July 3, 2007 - Crouching in a hollowed-out tree, Joseph Turok is having a bad day. His former mentor has gone rogue, the team he's leading to go after the turncoat has crashed on a dinosaur-infested planet, and he's got a Mohawk … okay, it's a really bad day.

Anyway, when two enemy soldiers meander into the clearing sprawled out in front of Turok's hiding spot, it's a foregone conclusion that they're dead men -- however, how Turok is going to snuff out the sad sacks is still up in the air, and he's open to suggestions. At first glance, it seems like a no-brainer. Turok is a first-person shooter, and this genre generally isn't the deepest in the digital world. Run in, blast the tools in their faces and be done with it, right?

That's the kind of thinking that's going to end with your skull in a raptor's small intestine.

The mossy, swaying-in-the-breeze jungle isn't just beautiful in Turok; it's alive. If our black-op commando ran in there and popped the bad guys in the head, the neighboring guards are going to sound the alarm and bring every bad guy in the area to Turok's tree house, and that's not even taking into account the native dinosaurs that are going to come a runnin' at the sound of the dinner bell.

You need to smoke these guys, stay off the proverbial radar and make it to the smoldering helicopter in the distance. Why not whip out the bow and arrow and silently drop'em both in a matter of seconds? Better yet, continue crouching, slink through the tall grass and bury your knife in the enemy's chest before he even knows you're standing behind him? Not in the mood for doing the dirty work? Put the silencer on your machine gun, smash that nest of dinosaur eggs and let the momma run out of her cave and chow down on the first thing she sees -- i.e. the two guys blocking your way.

In the world of HD, Blu-ray and Whoppers, the word "options" can means lots of things -- more disk space, improved sound quality, extra pickles -- but in Turok, your options govern how Turok kills, and with an afternoon under our belts, we can tell you it's beyond sweet.


A decade after Turok burst onto the Nintendo 64, Touchstone and Propaganda Games are almost ready to unleash a new, gruesomely beautiful shooter on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Set on a mysterious planet in the future, Turok and an elite squad of soldiers known as Whiskey Company are charged with apprehending Roland Kane, Turok's former mentor. Kane is holed up on another planet with an army of followers at his disposal. As Whiskey Company approaches the godforsaken rock, Kane's men shoot down the good guys' transport and Turok finds himself and his crew smack-dab in the middle of a dense jungle filled with all sorts of dinosaurs ready to rip them to shreds.

If the man-eating monsters weren't enough trouble, Kane's crew can't be taken lightly either. If they spot Turok or the hunter misses a shot and tips off his position, the men in black aren't just going to rush mindlessly to their certain deaths. You have to expect the soldiers to take cover, call for back up and fan out when the squad is ready. Even if you hole up in the secure tree trunk, expect crews to flank your position and take you down. The enemies are so smart they even scream in horror as the ravenous dinos devour their flesh and comrades. That's intelligent AI.

You'll spend the first half of your game scrounging the lush jungle -- don't be surprised if you find yourself staring at the tall grass dancing in the wind -- learning survival skills (There's no stealth mode. Just learn to stick to the shadows.) and getting a hang of the plethora of weapons you'll have at your disposal.

Well, maybe we should say getting the hang of the weapon tactics. See, every weapon in Turok has a secondary-fire option. It might not be new, but in a game of options, using it correctly is going to lead to some nifty scenes. See a pack of Raptors? Why not fire a sticky grenade onto one of them and wait for the herd to bunch up before blowing your load? What about using your shotgun to fire off some dino-distracting flares to let you get to safety? Dual shotguns anyone?

Once your survival half is done, you'll get back to the mission and focus on kicking Kane's ass. You won't be alone on your quest. As the game progresses you'll come across other members of Whiskey Company and set out on tasks with tank-like Slade overpowering guys on the ground while Reese picks off baddies with his sniper rifle. A multiple-member roster seems like it would lend itself to multiplayer missions, but the powers that be are keeping the details sparse. All we know is that Turok will support 16 players in multiple online modes that feature the deadly dinos.

Touchstone and Propaganda made it clear during their bloody visit that the dinosaurs are the stars of this game, and the bone-breaking beasts get their fair share of close-ups - especially during "Dino Mauling." See, when a prehistoric villain puts Turok's ass on the ground, the reptile can follow up by leaping onto the hero and going to town with its massive jaws. When Dino makes his move, the camera jumps from the first-person mode you've been rocking to a third-person close-up of a pinned Turok desperately trying to keep the hungry, hungry hunter's mouth away from his skull - your part in all of this is to frantically tap the on-screen button command. Succeed, and Turok buries his trusty blade into the dinosaur. Fail, and you take a losing part in the circle of life.

Now, Turok's nobody's bitch. These dinosaurs want to kick a guy while he's down? Turok's going to return the favor. Knock Rex to the ground or distract the leviathan with a flare, and Turok can stealthily move towards the hellhound's head and go to work. Depending on the position Turok's attacking from and the size of the behemoth, you'll be treated to one of a number of animations - again from the third-person perspective. Maybe it'll be Turok expertly applying a headlock that would crush Triple H's noggin or maybe it'll be our resident badass leaping onto the creature's neck. Either way, each triggers the same button-tapping game for you, but this time it ends with Turok stabbing the thing in the brain and watching as torrents of blood gush out of the mammoth.

It's a thing of beauty.

Our visit only showcased a couple of the deadly dinos, but according to Touchstone, there's going to be huge insects and other creatures for Turok to fend off in the retail version. Although the game wasn't finished when we played it - our crosshairs disappeared mid-game and then popped up a few minutes later - Turok is already running on all cylinders and should impress any fan of the first-person shooter genre when it lands in stores.

If you can go comatose on command, set your alarm clock for the first-quarter of 2008.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/801/801296p2.html