Turok Evolution Screenshots The Final Say! Gameplay 8.8 Graphics 8.6 Sound 8.9 Value 8.8 Turok Evolution - reviewed by Andrew B Review Date: 24th September 2002 Review Score 8.8/10 Distributed By: Acclaim

The time hascome to cover your face with war paint and to arm your tek bow, for Turok hasarrived on the PlayStation 2. When Turok was released on the Nintendo 64, it wasconsidered the pinnacle of first person shooters and actually helped push the3D card market on the PC. The game was pure eye candy, from its amazing 3Denvironments to stunningly beautiful textured polygon models of dinosaurs andamazing weapon effects, it had it all. From its success, it spawned many different games onvarious console machines but it never matched the original game as it waslacking a soul.  After spendingmany years in the console wilderness, Turok Evolution is a return to theoriginal game with gorgeous 3D environments and beautifully recreated dinosaursusing high polygon counts and amazing skin textures. Turok Evolution is across-platform game by Iguana Entertainment that means it will be ported acrossthe GameCube, PlayStation 2 and the XBox. There isalso a GameBoy Advance edition out but its a side scroller and not a firstperson shooter.  Unfortunatelythe word "cross-platform" rings alarm bells in gamers heads around theworld because it wasn't specifically designed for just one system and is usuallylacking. Fortunately, the PlayStation2 version of Turok Evolution is actually quite good in terms of graphics andgameplay, considering its sibling rivalry with the GameCube and XBox.  TurokEvolution is the story of Tal'Set, a powerful leader of the nation of Saquin.Unfortunately for the people of Saquin, they have been targetted by CaptainBruckner, a brutal and savage soldier who has laid waste to many Indians of thenation of Saquin. Only one man can stand against the forces of Captain Brucknerand his soldiers, and that man is Tal'Set, the current wielder of the legacy ofTurok. Turok Evolutions supports the following new features; New artificial intelligence for extreme realism Aerial missions that allow for surface attacks and dogfights New 3D gaming environments Multiplayer action (2 players) Upgradeable weaponry New authentic dinosaurs & enemies Dolby Pro Logic Graphically,Turok Evolution is very impressive on the PlayStation 2, although a littlewashed out when compared to the Xbox and GameCube versions. The playing environments arehuge and have an excellent draw distance.

Gaming environments contain enough foliage to give the game a realistic jungle feel and the textures on rocks and trees are high detailed. Apart from the awesome gaming environments, the enemies and native creatures look sharp and contain a high number of polygons to give that realistic look, especially the dinosaurs themselves. There are a variety of different weapons that Turok can wield, from his trusty tek bow, to a powerful handgun that can be upgraded to a sniper rifle. The Turok series has always had some great weapon effects and Turok Evolution is no stranger to this. The only downside of the PlayStation 2 version is the occasional popup and fade-in effects that are not nearly as much present on the GameCube or the XBox versions.

The gameplay of Turok Evolution on the PlayStation 2 is perfected by limited button usage that contains the following functions such as jump, duck, fire, change weapons and movement which is done by the left analog stick. Turok also supports a flight mode that lets you fly a Pterosaur and attack both land and airborne creatures. This can be a little tricky with the controller because of how sensitive the analog stick is. The developers have done a great job in keeping the controls down to a minimum and making it extremely easy to master the game. It should be noted that XBox and GameCube versions of the game use the same controller setup as the PlayStation 2.

Turok is one of those rare games that actually supports Dolby Pro Logic II and it sounds phenomenal on the right sound system setup. The soundtrack of Turok Evolution sounds like it's straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster and really helps set the atmosphere of the game. The music changes from heart pacing action to suspense and thriller that helps increase your adrenaline when playing the game. There are dozens of different background sounds to add to the ambience of the game such as various different types of wildlife. Apart from the awesome sound effects, Turok has some really meaty sounding weapon noises that sounds great when you finally hit your target.

Turok offers two varieties of gameplay that include single player mission and multiplayer, unfortunately as with many of the newer games on cross-platform games, the PlayStation 2 version only offers two players. Whereas the XBox and GameCube versions offer up to four players at once. Still, the PlayStation 2 continues to impress, even for such an old console compared to the other two.

Turok Evolution on the PlayStation 2 may not look as sharp and clean as the GameCube and XBox versions but it does manage to stand on its own two feet. The game contains some great graphics and gameplay that is sure to make you an addict of Turok Evolution. Check it out!

- Andrew B