Background:The late 90s were an incredible time in gaming! Especially in the realm of FPS games! Goldeneye 64, Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, Mots, and Quake II were on the shelves at the Babbage’s, Wal-Marts, and other retail locations long before GOG.com and Steam existed. At that time I was still in my single digits. I was eight years old when Turok 2: Seeds of Evil hit the shelves. My gaming diet didn’t really include FPS much then. So with this in mind when the opportunity came to play a remastered version on Steam, I took the opportunity. I had no clue Turok 2 was based on a comic book either!

Game: Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (1998)

Developer: Iguana Entertainment/Acclaim Studios

Publisher: Acclaim Studios/Night Dive Studios

Price: $19.99 on Steam

Initial Thoughts: When I had seen this game on Steam for $19.99, I decided to try it out. I’m glad I had taken the plunge. I felt like I was getting a glimpse at a game I never had the chance to play. And this glance was worth the taking. This game is incredibly enjoyable and it is an excellent immersive single player experience. It delivers an immersive experience through its  weapons, and level design. There are some shortcomings though, but nothing too large to make you want to quit within the first thirty minutes. FYI: I didn’t finish this game.

The Weapons: Bows, handguns, lasers, grenade launchers, missile launchers, and large knives are used to eradicate dinosaurs, zombie-like enemies, insect-like alien enemies, militaristic aliens, and orc -like foes. The two bows are highly versatile and Turok can use these with efficiency via the player’s assistance. The shredder is by far my favorite weapon alongside the Tek Bow. The shredder is a laser weapon that fires shotgun shells and explosive shot shells with effectiveness. It dispatches most dinosaurs with a single shot. Larger foes likely require the explosive shells from the shredder.

 

 

The weapons alone make this game worthwhile playing. Earlier during my play time I thought I was playing a cousin to Duke Nukem 3D, however the level design showed me a different story.

 

 

Level Design: All of the levels are connected by a central hub. After the completion of the first level the levels can be completed in any order. I played levels 1, 3, 2, 4, and then 5. I can say that each of the levels were long, and sometimes their length kept me either entertained or bored out of my mind!

I enjoy non-linear levels. Anything resembling Halo 2 I find atrocious! I like my level design to be similar to Dark Forces, Duke Nukem 3D’s first episode, and Quake 2! While Turok 2 has great level design ranging from Greco-Roman like cities to alien space crafts, the levels are lengthy and sometimes too maze-like. It is easy to get lost and frustrated, especially with many branching paths, and numerous respawning enemies and finite supplies of ammunition for effective weapons. This is the game’s largest shortcoming!

Final Analysis: This is an excellent science-fiction game, despite the need for backtracking and the occasional frustrating labyrinths. I want to try its sequels out! Hopefully Night Dive Studio is working on a port for Turok 3!