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The New Turok: Dinosaurs, and How to Stab Them

Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
edited February 2008 in Games and Technology
So, the new Turok is out. Back in the day, I only played the original and enjoyed it well enough (though I never bought it). Now we have a shiny new Turok which seems to be cutting out the mystical/alternate world aspect of the older games in favor of a futuristic setting. If you want to find out more about the story, well, that's not what I'm interested talking about (plus, I don't want to spoil stuff). I am interested in talking about:
DINOSAURS!!!

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MORE dinosaurs!!!

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GIANT dinosaurs!!!

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And I suppose Turok as well...

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So Turok is of American Indian descent (or Native American, if you want to be politically correct). He (ironically) uses a bow; a bow that Rambo would be quite happy with (it even has grenade arrows). He shoots stuff with guns, of course (this is a first-person shooter, after all). However, as I found out while playing the demo, shooting stuff to kill it is the wrong way to play. What you really need to do is:
STAB EVERYTHING!!!

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(no, this isn't Turok in this shot, but there is some stabbing)
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I'm not joking. Almost all the dinosaurs I kill, I kill by stabbing. Every time I get a chance to stab a soldier, I do it. Even if means getting shot a whole bunch.

Oh yeah, the whole game takes place on what is essentially a jungle planet. Dinosaurs, apparently, love jungles. Jungle is the climate of love of dinosaurs because there are dinosaurs everywhere. On the ground. In the trees. Under trees, which is also known as underground. Everywhere. Roughly 95% of them want to eat you. The other 5% that don't try to eat you are useful because you can use them to distract the you-eating dinosaurs. You can also kill them horribly for staring at you. Or for just being in your way. There are bad guy soldiers too, but they aren't dinosaurs so who cares?

So how about some details about the game?

Good stuff:
-lots of angry, hungry dinosaurs. They look awesome and do a very good job of convincing you that they are, in fact, actual dinosaurs.
-using the knife is devastatingly effective against pretty much everything you can reach. Fun times.
-there aren't ten million guns that do the same stuff. Each gun does something different and all can be pretty useful (such as a chain gun, which is always fun, that sets up as a turret for its secondary fire)
-beautiful jungle environments
-a story which isn't actually too bad. It's not Mass Effect (although that doesn't have dinosaurs), but it's still enough to make you want to kill the bad guys, get revenge, etc.
-switching weapons happens fast. Like half a second. Which is good, because I hate when it takes your character two full seconds of getting shot to switch weapons.
-enemies that are halfway smart. Enemy soldiers flank, attacking dinosaurs will hit and run, etc. Nothing that indicates the presence of Skynet, but a lot better AI than games normally get these days.
-when you're by yourself and just dealing with dinosaurs, the game has an excellent atmosphere. Dripping water, insect noises, animal calls, roars, rustling leaves; they all work to make you feel like there is a slavering monster around every corner. Up until you have to deal with human enemies and then things feel much more generic.
-2-4 player online coop play
-in multiplayer matches, dinosaurs roam the maps and attack you and other players


Bad stuff:
-you can't really customize the control scheme. I hate that. This is 2008, not 1998.
-the allies that end up following you around do virtually zero damage when they shoot anything. About all they're good for is drawing firing and killing one tiny variety of carnivorous dinosaur which has almost no threat value. They're pretty dumb, too.
-there are some seriously annoying and cheap parts of the game. Fighting a T-rex? Awesome. Getting killed by two guys with machine guns before you can even really see them? Stupid.
-the save system sucks. It's all autosave and it saves in 20-30 minute intervals (generally). Combined with some of the cheap parts, this is really, really aggravating. I just quit a play session because after twenty minutes of fighting which had enough breaks for 3-4 autosave points, I got killed in a stupid way and got put all the back at the beginning of the fight. It wasn't the first time it happened, either.
-some minor glitches such as models hopping around erratically, sound syncing in some cutscenes, stuff like that. Nothing gamebreaking, but you'll see them.
-getting shot always messes up your aim, but shooting the bad guys doesn't always mess up their aim. When you're getting shot at from 5 different angles, this is a huge pain.
-the coop mode is completely online. Sure, it's better than no coop at all, but people shouldn't have to buy multiple systems to play coop with a brother or friend that comes over.

This isn't a mega-blockbuster game, but it's still a major departure (in terms of the environment, anyway) from a lot of the sci-fi FPS games that are out there. It has some issues, but it has some great high points, too. My personal favorite with the game right now is sneaking through the extremely well-done grass and, of course, stabbing an enemy that's wandered away from his buddies. Jumping on a velociraptor's back and cutting its throat is also fun.

If there are people who want to put together a list of people with the game (for the multiplayer portion, which I haven't tried yet), I suppose this would be the thread to do that in (I noticed the previous Turok thread got shut down because there really wasn't anything about the game).

Anyway, discuss the game at your leisure. That's why the thread is here, isn't it? Oh, sorry about the H-scroll raping pictures; I don't have a image editing program to fix them up properly.

In conclusion:
EVEN MORE DINOSAURS!!!

turok-20071105104731577.jpg

Ninja Snarl P on
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Posts

  • JebralJebral The guy nobody pays attention to Down South in the land of free thinkingRegistered User regular
    edited February 2008
    So, I wonder: Does this game have the ridiculously over the top end game weapons like the other Turoks? I mean, it would be kind of a waste to call the game Turok if not.

    Is there even a Cerebral Bore? A totally awesome flamethrower? Anything? Or just plain old stupid guns.

    Jebral on
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  • Bill CosbyBill Cosby Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Man I played the demo and it seemed like an incredibly average shooter. It sucks so much since I loved Turok 1 & 2.

    Bill Cosby on
  • Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I have one tiny question for the op.

    By chance do you like dinosaurs?

    (Incidentally, I do too. I -must- get around to trying this demo).

    Mr_Grinch on
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  • MegaDoomerMegaDoomer Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Jebral wrote: »
    So, I wonder: Does this game have the ridiculously over the top end game weapons like the other Turoks? I mean, it would be kind of a waste to call the game Turok if not.

    Is there even a Cerebral Bore? A totally awesome flamethrower? Anything? Or just plain old stupid guns.

    if you try the game then you will notice that the knife is almost all you need...

    MegaDoomer on
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  • AiranAiran Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    The cerebral bore was amazing. It whizzes around erratically towards your target, before finally landing and drilling right into the skull, violently shaking the victim while streams of blood and brainy bits erupt from the cranial hole. Then it explodes.

    Shame it's not in this version. The demo wasn't half bad (knifing enemies was cool), but what you said about save points is so so true. I went far ahead of a section, only to get killed, and start again from 20 minutes ago.

    Airan on
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  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Jebral wrote: »
    So, I wonder: Does this game have the ridiculously over the top end game weapons like the other Turoks? I mean, it would be kind of a waste to call the game Turok if not.

    Is there even a Cerebral Bore? A totally awesome flamethrower? Anything? Or just plain old stupid guns.

    I always liked the basic weapons the best in Turok, they let you view the insane violence more clearly.

    DisruptorX2 on
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  • ginguskahnginguskahn Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I played the 360 demo and its a average fps in a sea of average fps (I played at least 2 other demos last week that where yawn-worthy fps), as much as I always want to like Turok games, they never live up to the promise.

    ginguskahn on
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  • DisruptorX2DisruptorX2 Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    ginguskahn wrote: »
    I played the 360 demo and its a average fps in a sea of average fps (I played at least 2 other demos last week that where yawn-worthy fps), as much as I always want to like Turok games, they never live up to the promise.

    Turok 2 was amazing for an n64 game, especially with the expansion slot.

    DisruptorX2 on
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  • ginguskahnginguskahn Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    ginguskahn wrote: »
    I played the 360 demo and its a average fps in a sea of average fps (I played at least 2 other demos last week that where yawn-worthy fps), as much as I always want to like Turok games, they never live up to the promise.

    Turok 2 was amazing for an n64 game, especially with the expansion slot.

    I didn't really enjoy it, to much fog :P I seem to recall my younger brother enjoying it (but he was running around with an all weapons cheat on).

    ginguskahn on
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  • leafleaf Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    So is this as godawful as the older turok games?

    leaf on
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  • Dublo7Dublo7 Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Sif you could sneak up on a fucking raptor.

    Dublo7 on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • RotamRotam Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    leaf wrote: »
    So is this as godawful as the older turok games?

    I could barely see the gun in the first one.

    So foggy.

    Rotam on
  • xWonderboyxxWonderboyx Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I loved the way the enemy soldiers would scream in the first once when you blew them up and they flew through the air all akimbo with blood everywhere.

    They need to put that shit on Wii VC NOW!

    xWonderboyx on
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  • CherrnCherrn Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Man, for a dinosaur-fighting shooter, it's so fucking generic. Space marines, tacked on squad combat, linear as a fucking ruler etc.

    Just making it more open-ended would have made a huge difference. It doesn't feel like you're stuck on a hugely forested world, but a series of corridors surrounded by trees. Exploration would have been awesome in a setting like this; running into strange dinosaurs, landmarks, avoiding predators, and so forth.

    Cherrn on
    All creature will die and all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai.
  • xWonderboyxxWonderboyx Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Cherrn wrote: »
    Man, for a dinosaur-fighting shooter, it's so fucking generic. Space marines, tacked on squad combat, linear as a fucking ruler etc.

    Just making it more open-ended would have made a huge difference. It doesn't feel like you're stuck on a hugely forested world, but a series of corridors surrounded by trees. Exploration would have been awesome in a setting like this; running into strange dinosaurs, landmarks, avoiding predators, and so forth.

    Even if it was just in the style of a game such as FarCry. Something like that can't be too hard to accomplish.

    xWonderboyx on
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    XBL - Follow Freeman
  • darleysamdarleysam On my way to UKRegistered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Yeah, I really wasn't impressed by the demo. Ron Perlman (assuming that was him, I know he's in the game) just didn't sound interested, getting knocked on my ass by raptors repeatedly just wasn't fun (then they decide you're not worth eating, hey), clicking the left stick to view my objectives.. what??
    Then the whole "how Joe Turok learned to use a knife and got a scar on his face!" scene was dire.

    It did, however, let me say "clever girl.." on more than one occasion, which is a worthwhile point.

    darleysam on
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  • KorKor Known to detonate from time to time Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I will always be a sucker for Turok, I can't help it.

    I am a little disapointed from the lack of a Sci-Fi arsenal, but as of right now, the Bow is definitely keeping my attention.

    A quick glance at the instructino book shows some kind of pulse rifle and flamethrower, so that'll be nice.

    I dunno, the Jungle is great and all, but for some reason, I just miss the Port of Adia (the south american style temples in the first level of Turok 2).

    Kor on
    DS Code: 3050-7671-2707
    Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
  • TrevorTrevor Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Probably a little bit of a silly question in a game where you can butcher and gib dinosaurs, but did they just take violence against humans out of the demo or do all the humans you kill still spark for no reason in the full game? Maybe I'm a sadist, but I was confused as to why my knifing a guy in the armpit made sparks in the demo.

    Trevor on
  • The WolfmanThe Wolfman Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I was actually interested when I saw the commercial on TV. The first 2 games were fun in their own way. If they could just get back to the basics and get back to the dinosaurs, then I would be willing to give this a try.

    I wasn't really paying attention to what was being said, but I picked up on a few specific words.

    "blahblah... on an unknown planet... blahblah"

    Never had my interest plummeted so fast. Planet? Turok in space? Space dinosaurs? They're trying to distance themselves from the hilariously revolting cyborg cowboy riding a robo-dinosaur from the last game with space dinosaurs?

    Guess it really doesn't matter if I'm off or wrong. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and they just made it with that commercial.

    ...heh, space dinos...

    The Wolfman on
    "The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
  • KorKor Known to detonate from time to time Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    It sucks... Honestly, I really miss the Dinoids (dinosaur-humanoids). Something about shooting them in the leg and watching their whole leg fall off.

    Twas glorious.

    Kor on
    DS Code: 3050-7671-2707
    Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
  • Mustachio JonesMustachio Jones jerseyRegistered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Yes, that all is great, but do you have to defend the energy totems at all costs?

    If not, bah. These people don't know what they're doing with John Turok.

    Mustachio Jones on
  • Ginger MijangoGinger Mijango Don't you open that Trap Door!Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I was actually interested when I saw the commercial on TV. The first 2 games were fun in their own way. If they could just get back to the basics and get back to the dinosaurs, then I would be willing to give this a try.

    I wasn't really paying attention to what was being said, but I picked up on a few specific words.

    "blahblah... on an unknown planet... blahblah"

    Never had my interest plummeted so fast. Planet? Turok in space? Space dinosaurs? They're trying to distance themselves from the hilariously revolting cyborg cowboy riding a robo-dinosaur from the last game with space dinosaurs?

    Guess it really doesn't matter if I'm off or wrong. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and they just made it with that commercial.

    ...heh, space dinos...

    What? They're on a planet, thus not in space, not space dinosaurs, planet dinosaurs. By your logic everything in the Universe is a Space Something.

    007 the Space Secret Agent, Lara Croft the Space Tomb Raider, Prince of Space Persia etc.

    Ginger Mijango on
  • KorKor Known to detonate from time to time Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I was actually interested when I saw the commercial on TV. The first 2 games were fun in their own way. If they could just get back to the basics and get back to the dinosaurs, then I would be willing to give this a try.

    I wasn't really paying attention to what was being said, but I picked up on a few specific words.

    "blahblah... on an unknown planet... blahblah"

    Never had my interest plummeted so fast. Planet? Turok in space? Space dinosaurs? They're trying to distance themselves from the hilariously revolting cyborg cowboy riding a robo-dinosaur from the last game with space dinosaurs?

    Guess it really doesn't matter if I'm off or wrong. You only get one chance to make a first impression, and they just made it with that commercial.

    ...heh, space dinos...

    What? They're on a planet, thus not in space, not space dinosaurs, planet dinosaurs. By your logic everything in the Universe is a Space Something.

    007 the Space Secret Agent, Lara Croft the Space Tomb Raider, Prince of Space Persia etc.

    I'll admit it was a bad conclusion, however

    15 minutes in:
    they make a pretty clear reference to earth, and the fact that you aren't on it

    Kor on
    DS Code: 3050-7671-2707
    Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
  • PemulisPemulis Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Does anybody know if the demo disc is the same thing that you download from Live? They were just handing them out at Bestbuy. Is it for people without internet or something?

    Pemulis on
  • spigotspigot Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    The demo was wretched. Fumbling around in the dark while idiotic raptors keep bumping you to the ground. Sounds like the last date I went on. Pass.

    spigot on
  • KorKor Known to detonate from time to time Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    spigot wrote: »
    The demo was wretched. Fumbling around in the dark while idiotic raptors keep bumping you to the ground. Sounds like the last date I went on. Pass.

    I'm not sure about anyone else, but for some reason, my demo was so dark I couldn't see shit. I was walking blind the whole time.

    The actual game isn't that dark, just the demo for some reason.

    Kor on
    DS Code: 3050-7671-2707
    Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
  • CyberJackalCyberJackal Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    They really shouldn't have had the demo start in that cave... The outside portion is a lot better (though that's not saying much).

    I think the funniest part for me was the fact that I was playing the demo off the OXM disc (bought for the Rock Band extras), and they kept playing the trailer for Turok. I laughed my ass off over the whole overly dramatic "It was supposed to be an easy mission...", typical trailer narration. So fucking generic.

    CyberJackal on
  • powersurgepowersurge Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    spigot wrote: »
    The demo was wretched. Fumbling around in the dark while idiotic raptors keep bumping you to the ground. Sounds like the last date I went on. Pass.

    Exactly the same reaction I had when I played the demo on my 360. Didn't even finish it. Darker than Doom with no flash light wtf. Maybe I'll download the PS3 version later and see if I can actually see the game then.:|

    powersurge on
  • StraythStrayth Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    My friend that rented it back in the day on the 64 stabbed everything too. He insisted on it. I don't remember whether it was 1 or 2 (I think it was 1) but I was not impressed with the game; too foggy and I didn't care for the controls.

    It was really fun to see him stab dinosaurs from the fog though.

    Strayth on
    That's right.
  • KorKor Known to detonate from time to time Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Turok 2 was glorious.

    A N64 FPS, that had about 20 weapons, all with either an alt fire or 2-3 types of ammo.

    6 giant levels, that would tally the game up to around 20 hours of play time, ATLEAST.

    Not to mention a decent multiplayer that had an interested character selectin process. Characters had stats. Like Turok had 100 health, but Adon had 80 with regeneration. Of course, lets not forget the option to play as a Raptor in Multi as well.

    So who do we write to get this on the VC?

    Kor on
    DS Code: 3050-7671-2707
    Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
  • WykedWyked Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    people are saying the game is a lot better than the demo.. anyone here try the full version yet?

    Wyked on
  • KorKor Known to detonate from time to time Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I own the full version and can say its much better than the demo.

    Some would say that "that isn't saying much" and they might be right.

    Just, understand that I tend to have very awkward taste in FPS. :P

    Kor on
    DS Code: 3050-7671-2707
    Pokemon Safari - Sneasel, Pawniard, ????
  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Yeah, I just finished the full version and there's probably about 1/2 of a really good game buried in it. About the only weapon I didn't really find useful was the stickybomb gun and that's because it just doesn't have much ammo. Hacking through a pack of raptors with the knife always feels awesome, but as the game progresses you end up in buildings more and more.

    The problem with that is that the game gets very generic whenever you get into any of the buildings and start dealing exclusively with human opponents. There are also some very, very, very frustrating parts due mainly to either the dinosaurs being far, far too difficult to kill (raptors can take 20-30 rounds before going down on normal and that's just stupid) or enemies having near-perfect accuracy. So the good parts are good, but they always get dragged down by having to deal with some very stupid crap.

    Oh, and this is a minor issue, but most of the achievements are tied to playing multiplayer. I hate when devs do that.

    In regards to people having the demo be too dark, I would bet that your TV settings are the issue and not the game. The demo and the full game look identical to me and I never had any problems in the underground areas.

    Ninja Snarl P on
  • JastJast Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Multiplayer, what's it like? I thought this game had coop too.

    Jast on
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  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Oh yeah, there's coop, too. Unfortunately, it's LIVE only, but it's 2-4 players. I haven't given either the coop or the multiplayer a shot since I was pretty much just interested in the campaign, but I could see the multiplayer getting intense. Apparently, the MP maps have random dinosaurs in them that will attack you and the other players, which is pretty slick.

    Ninja Snarl P on
  • UltimanecatUltimanecat Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Turok was always a series I loved to hate. I bought both 1 and 2 for the N64 and couldn't stand their gameplay - the first was foggy and required awkward jumping way too much, while the second had far better graphics (Ram Expansion FTW!) but the objectives blew since they seemed less focused than the ones in Goldeneye they were trying to emulate. Still, I played that first city level over and over from the beginning because the act of shooting dinosaurs and dinosaur-human love-children was pretty fun, especially with the all guns cheat on (the guns were awesome, even by today's standards).

    It seems that this is still the best dinosaur murder simulator to date:
    screenshot_178722.jpg

    And yes, I played and loved that game, so honestly, what the fuck do I know?!

    Ultimanecat on
    SteamID : same as my PA forum name
  • hoodie13hoodie13 punch bro Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    I dont think this has been answered yet.

    Are there awesome fucking weapons that do more than just shoot a variety of lead bullets? Do some turn people to stone? Do they disintegrate everything? I mean, stabbing sure, but I want some devastation.

    hoodie13 on
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  • StraythStrayth Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Kor said that there is apparently a lack of a sci-fi arsenal, so it seems like no, Hoodie. But there's still time~

    Strayth on
    That's right.
  • WykedWyked Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    Sticky bomb to dino

    flare to enemy

    dino to flare

    explode sicky bomb

    win

    Wyked on
  • FireWeaselFireWeasel Registered User regular
    edited February 2008
    hoodie13 wrote: »
    I dont think this has been answered yet.

    Are there awesome fucking weapons that do more than just shoot a variety of lead bullets? Do some turn people to stone? Do they disintegrate everything? I mean, stabbing sure, but I want some devastation.

    Nah, the devs were saying they wanted to get away from the over-the-top craziness of the Turok series.

    FireWeasel on
    AC:CL Wii -- 3824-2125-9336 City: Felinito Me: Nick
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