By Drew Wilson
The first Turok game was quite a hit. Now, we take a look at the sequel to this game and it goes by the name of Turok 2 – Seeds of Evil.
Turok 2 – Seeds of Evil is the sequel to the original Turok – Dinosaur Hunter released on the same console. This particular game was released in 1998.
The story continues with Joshua Fireseed. Adon summons Turok due to an impending threat from the Primagen. Turok is then sent to the Port of Adia where the dinosoid army is wreaking havoc in the port town. That is where the game begins.
Generally speaking, the game retains a lot of what made the original Turok game stand out from the rest. It has 8 levels where you collect various level keys to be used in a “hub” area. There is also a large arsenal of weapons that the player gradually picks up as the game progresses. The weapons are initially weak with a mere bow and arrow a flare gun and a pistol. Later on in the game, the player will have weapons like a Shredder, Tek Bow, Firestorm Cannon and one of the most unique, yet quite disgusting, weapons ever created in a first person shooter game – the Cerebral Bore.
Another similarity is the use of a super weapon that has to be assembled. Each piece is located in a separate level.
One way that the game departs from other the original prequel is that there is an addition of mission objectives. Whether its sealing thermal vents, rescuing prisoners of war or destroying a master computer, all of these objectives have to be met or else running through the exit will send you straight to the beginning again.
Another new feature is the use of eagle feathers that allows Turok to explore new areas in a level that are otherwise cut off through impassible gaps or lakes of lava to name two obstacles. The player is forced to re-enter previously beaten levels just to collect some of the items that are otherwise inaccessible – though thankfully there are usually fewer enemies to defeat on the next go around.
In addition to all of this are the levels themselves. If you’ve played the original Turok, you’ll think that you could easily do the same in this game and blow through the whole game in a day or so. Not so. You’ll keep progressing through the first level and progress and progress and progress and realize that the levels in this game are absolutely massive. Try beating the first three levels and not noticing this aspect of the game. It will take more than an hour or so to beat this game – or more than likely a couple of days to be more accurate. While this may be a pitfall for some games, for Turok 2, it’s a strength in that it’s more like there’s more game to experience.
The only downside I ever saw in this game is that if you accidentally miss a key somewhere along the line (which is quite easy to do actually), then you’ll spend hours retracing your steps and re-looking at every wall and nook and cranny just trying to find where it was tucked away. While you have most of the non-respawning monsters killed off on the second attempt, it’s still a major pain to try and re-examine a level for the one important item you missed.
A strange aspect that is neither good or bad is the “extra” mission you get at the end of the game. When you beat the game, you’ll re-teleport to the entrance of the Final level with nothing but a flare gun, bow and arrow and a talon. You have all your items removed from you, but all the items and monsters are reset – allowing you to play through the whole game again starting wit the last level instead of the first level. You have to use the warp cheat to beat the game the second time around and the river of souls aren’t purified even though you did purify the water in the last level again. I thought this part of the game could have been better conceived, but since it’s after you beat the game, few people would even bother re-beating such a huge game.
Some people apparently disliked the music. I thought the music was really well done. Probably my favourite song in the game was the theme for the River of Souls because it evolves so effectively. The music, overall, isn’t your standard 3 minute song you get in other games. Some songs go for as long as 13 minutes. Ideal for a game that has such huge levels to begin with. Most games have a 2 minute loop and some of those games are very long. This makes the music get tiring after a while, but the longer music in Turok 2 doesn’t get tiring at all to me. So I thought that was very well done. The sound effects were generally well done as well. I found nothing to complain about in that area.
The graphics were quite impressive. The sculptures you see through the game as well as the different monsters were nicely done. Probably the only complaint about the graphics was the fact that the Lair of the Blind Ones were kind of plain with the exception of the nicely done crystal rooms. The sound effects were also very nicely done. Between the subtle tingling sound of the crystals, the distant fighting and the buzzing laser lined floors, I thought the effects were al well done.
Overall, this game will take a while to fully experience. That is not a bad thing because this game is enjoyable all the way through. It sometimes get’s a little gory, but if you don’t mind a little blood splatter, then this game is great. I would recommend playing this especially if you are into first person shooters.
Overall
General gameplay: 22/25
Replay value: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Audio: 5/5
Overall rating: 88%
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85
