It’s been a long time since I’ve played a Turok game. Honestly, the last Turok I played was on the N64. I fondly remember my experience with my first Turok:
I was in the 6th grade, still yet a young gamer. I remember swimming, picking up guns, killing giant dinosaurs, centipedes, and aliens, and exploring vast worlds of many different varieties. I also remember the insane difficulty, awesome cheats, and no save points.
It has been nine years, and how has Turok changed? We’ll have to wait for the full release apparently, because the demo frickin’ sucks.
I happily ran to my local gaming store to put some smooth cash down on Turok so I could pick up the 360 demo disc. Unfortunately, the demo discs were not available for PS3. My guess is because the cost of Blu-Ray is too high to give those discs out for free.
So I plug in Turok, and decide to my immediate surprise (and Alan’s), that the demo is total lame-sauce.
Let me lay something right on the table: I am no gaming noob. I make quick work of adventure games, platformers, and first person shooters. This demo was impossible.
Turok starts in a cave with one of his partners. It scared the crap out of me when I turned around and saw someone standing there. Apparently Turok’s buddies can’t be killed though…
So you’re in a cave, and your objective? To get out of the cave. Nice. It’s easier said than done, unfortunately. The cave layout looks exactly the same no matter where you go. Run down one path; come to a “y”. Pick one of the routes, come to another “y”. Along the way, Turok mutters stupid comments under his breath. Utterances of genius include, “It’s way too dark in here. I hate the dark.” I get that Turok is a big burly Native American-looking guy with a macho ego, but that doesn’t mean he has to be an idiot.
Also, along the paths lay the fly-munched bodies of….of…. who knows what. It was too dark to see! There are some lights along the way, apparently to mark points of interest where you can retrieve fallen ammo and firearms. The gist of the demo is as follows: run, crouch, run, crouch, explore, crouch, run, jump. Sound exciting? You know I put the game down after ten minutes.
I finally got pissed when I reached a point where Turok jumps along some rocks to get onto a ledge. The jumping was impossible because the camera sucks and isn’t able to be pointed downwards. Neither Alan nor I could get up there. Grrrr.
The graphics are okay for two years ago. Oblivion did caves much better. My partner’s face looked like frickin’ Pierce Brosnan’s in Goldeneye. That’s right, for N64. The music is bad too. Once in awhile, a little crescendo of Psycho-proportion comes along, or Turok says something r-tarded. I was just done…
Apparently Turok will boast some multiplayer and smooth graphics. None of this was evident in the demo. Isn’t a demo supposed to convince someone that they will want to buy the game? It’s not supposed to be a showcase of the most lame, frustrating level.
For Turok’s major comeback, I hope they don’t blow it like Britney Spears.
Title: Turok
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3
Rating: M for Mature
Demo Players: 1
Anticipated Release Date: February 5th, 2008