Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Publisher: Buena Vista
Developer: Propaganda Games
ETA: 2007
Related:

Review: Turok: Evolution (GC)

Review: TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (GC)

Review: Doom 3 (XB)

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For those unfamiliar with the Turok license, it began with a comic book.  Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was spun out into a number of games, the last one, Turok: Evolution, released not too long before publisher Acclaim went belly-up, to average reviews.

Jump forward to E3 2005, where a new Turok game is announced.  I had a meeting with the head honchos at Propaganda Games, a newly formed development company with lots of previous experience located in Vancouver , BC , with big plans but little in the way of concrete information. (We spent a lot of time nodding and exchanging serious-looking glances as I asked questions about a game that only existed on paper.)  Skip to E3 2006 at a behind-closed doors demo.  Now Turok is up and running using the Unreal Engine 3 and I’m slightly relieved to find that game actually exists.  And even better, it’s not looking so bad.  In fact, it looks pretty darn good.

Turok throws you into the role of “Joseph Turok, a former Black Ops commando, now part of an elite Special Forces squad on a mission to take down a war criminal on a genetically-altered planet.  After the ship is shot down while approaching the planet, Joseph Turok must use his instincts and elite military training to elude an army of well-trained soldiers, and the ravenous, unpredictable creatures that populate the dangerous environment.”  Thin story?  It must be a first-person shooter with an emphasis on action and

just staying alive.  However, what story elements are included will be played out in the manner of Half-Life 2 – no cutscenes, everything happens from your point-of-view (though your view may be locked for dramatic effect).

The official information is careful to avoid any mention of dinosaurs – predictably trying to distance the game from Acclaim’s titles – but that’s exactly what the demo showcased.  The dinosaurs, though slightly on the shiny side, were very impressive thanks to the Unreal Engine 3.  I was also impressed by the audio – this game is going to roar – and it never hurts to have Ron Perlman lending his voice to the project.

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While the demo was too short to form any kind of opinion on the AI, the demo included a setup which involved a rampaging T-Rex that could be “encouraged” to attack enemy soldiers by hitting it in the flank to get it to turn.  But “harnessing” the power of the dinosaurs can’t be relied upon.

While there isn’t a full and final list of available weapons, the ones included in the demo don’t appear to break any new ground (though the explosions are sweet), but the bow and knife make a “return” of sorts to allow for stealth kills when a frontal assault needs to be avoided.  I didn’t see any of them but there’s also the promise of “high-tech military vehicles.”  At this point there’s only speculation on what kinds of vehicles will be included but I’m slightly hopeful there may be some sort of dino riding.  All these elements will no doubt combine in the multiplayer arena.  Turok is shooting for “robust online multiplayer modes” but what that looks like is anyone’s guess at this point.

The official release date is 2007, but I’ll make my own guess and narrow it down a little.  Expect Turok to thunder back to retail Q4 2007 – more than a year and a half away – for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.  More coverage as we unearth it.

- Omni

(June 20, 2006)