Turok

The Good:
- knife kills feel appropriately violent
- dinosaurs die in sprays of blood and gore
- combat is very satisfying and difficult at times
- pretty solid campaign length, particularly on the harder difficulties

The Bad:
- multiplayer lags, sometimes
- almost impossible to collect all the multiplayer-related achievements
- textures can take awhile to load

If you've done some research you'll know that Turok (2008) is a complete revamp of the popular series. In fact, the only thing this game has in common with the previous installments is a Native American protagonist. You play as Joseph Turok, formerly a member of the merciless black ops squad Wolf Pack, who now finds himself at Whiskey Company - a team of commandos en-route to a distant planet with the objective of detaining  war criminal Roland Kane. But after the ship is shot down, crash landing on the planet, Turok is separated from his squad mates. The mission soon turns to survival as Turok must make his way through the environment, battling ferocious dinosaurs and enemy soldiers, in order to reunite with his squad.

The story is very simplistic, but this is an action game. Sure, you'll spend the first half of the game re-uniting with your squad, but the gameplay makes this journey fun. The campaign is split into 15 chapters. Along the way you'll battle some bosses, each with relatively easy strategies, but it's the execution that can be the problem. As well as this, soaring musical scores will track your progress and effectively heighten the tension, while Unreal Engine 3's graphics will detail the lush environments acceptably.

Of course, many people are drawn to Turok because of the dinosaurs, and these certainly do not disappoint. You have two methods of disposing these reptilians - knife and gun. While both are fun, the knife will initially draw your attention. To activate a knife kill the player simply needs to stand close to a dinosaur and tap the R2 button. Depending on where you're standing there are several knife kill animations, and some look better than others. The animations also vary upon which dinosaur you're facing. Thankfully there's quite a bit of variety throughout the game, including a developer-creation known as the Lurker. These beasts are a mix of dinosaur and jungle cat, and are vicious in their attack. As well as this you'll kill Raptors, Compsognathus', Parasaurolophus', Dilophosaurus' and the hulking T-Rex.

The other enemies you'll face are Mendel-Grumen soldiers. These guys are pretty tough and attack in numbers. There are variations, from snipers to typical machine gunners and then the large mini-gun wielders. At numerous points in the game continuing further will rely on your ability to quickly pop out from cover and retreat. On the harder difficulties this can become, well, difficult. This is certainly the case with the occasional long checkpoint, which can mean replaying sections over and over before getting past them. Most notable is the battle before entering the final facility in the game. Thankfully, you'll be given a wide variety of weapons to use. Perhaps the best of them all is the Pulse Rifle, which shoots uranium "pellets" into enemies. It just feels and sounds great. To top it off, every weapon comes with a handy secondary function. You'll even be able to shoot sticky bombs onto dinos and watch them blow into bloody chunks.

The multiplayer is perhaps the title's only weak point. While it is fun to knife kill people online, it can be difficult to find a game. And even if you do, there's lag to deal with from time to time. So if you're attempting to collect all the game's achievements, you may struggle with the online-related content. Two positives of the multiplayer are certainly the co-op, which offers three new levels for up to four players. As an added bonus, the dinosaurs will appear on every map and in every mode, so you won't just have to watch out for other players in a death match.

There are quite a few "average" reviews across the web of Turok. Personally, I can't understand why. The gameplay is actually very solid, and the harder difficulties provide a rewarding challenge. You won't be able to run and gun your way through the game, yet at the same time you can't take cover like Gears of War. There's a definite equilibrium between these two playing styles, and it works well. Killing dinosaurs is easily the highlight, and they all go down in bloody messes. While the story and multiplayer are nothing special, there's still an epic feeling to the game, certainly towards the end. It's worth a buy, and definitely a rent.