GC'07: Turok Preview

Very much a dormant brand since the demise of Acclaim Entertainment in 2004, Turok began to stir once more at E3 2006, when the then 'Buena Vista Games' unveiled a fresh start for the franchise on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3. Back in the Los Angeles heat of May 2006, the game looked very much what it was - a Work in Progress - but at Game Convention 2007, the developers are ready to show how far along the return of Joseph Turok has come. Armed with a trusty bow and arrow (not to mention some plasma rifles to boot), TVG met up with the development team - Propaganda Games - at Disney Interactive Studios' booth to get a quick hands on with what the publisher hopes will become a revitalised series.

Powered by what has recently become a 'slightly' controversial Unreal Engine 3, the Game Convention demo threw us straight into deepest jungle, surrounded by dinosaurs and armed units that had a rather nasty habit of being air-dropped by helicopters. Taking in just two of the mission objectives from the final game (each from a different chapter) provided a brief insight into what gamers can expect from the shooter when it launches in 2008. First up, Turok was sent in to infiltrate a small jungle base, taking out as many enemies along the way. Moving through the long grass surrounding the base provided a level of cover, with Turok's stealthy approach to his well-armed foes compounded by his trademark bow and arrow for long-ranged attack, and a rather useful knife for closer encounters. But whilst taking down enemies with a single arrow for now created a fairly weak experience (something that will hopefully get tightened up between now and release), the increased danger of killing a soldier with a blade was all the more rewarding. Getting within a certain distance of a 'victim' with the knife prompted a response on screen, which when activated brings players out of the first person view, and into a more cinematic perspective just in time to see Turok slice and dice the unfortunate individual.

But Turok isn't just limited to relatively primitive weapons, of course. Being a futuristic anti-hero means that suitable looking arsenal is required, something that the developers have been working hard to deliver. Whilst the promise that several such weapons will feature secondary firepower, for instance the Pulse Rifle can also shoot out Plasma Grenades, everything in the demo seemed to be fairly standard sci-fi material. In addition, independent duel-wielding of streamlined sub-machineguns (almost something of a requirement in today's shooter) also featured, though they certainly seemed to be quite balanced to use, with enough of a recoil to feel like they had some grunt. At least it was good to see the shockwaves from the grenades shake the grass within a certain blast area - the studio is aiming for Turok to be as immersive as possible.

Turok himself also seemed like a hardy character, taking such a tirade of bullets at one point that we were surprised he'd even lived to tell the tale! The now standard health recovery system of taking cover for a few seconds was also on display, with the rocky outcrops and the occasional wide tree trunk providing ideal points to take that life-saving breath. Coming up against some of the Raptors, which certainly seemed to display all of the viciousness of a Jurassic Park extra, also allowed another opportunity for the camera to pull out of the action, the HUD prompting us to pull the controller's triggers as fast as we could in order to stop the powerful jaws from clamping down on Turok.

The dinosaurs in the two levels were restricted to the fast hunters, though with a couple of slow-moving plant-eaters stomping away into the distance during one cut scene, expect some variety to emerge in the completed title. The interaction wasn't just limited to Turok and either the dinos or the soldiers - the two also fought against each other, with enemy militia spraying the Raptors with bullets (reducing the number of adversaries that we had to face), and the meat-eating dinos happily snapping away at the humans. With the addition of Raptor nests throughout the jungle, hopefully this will open players up to a further level of strategy where gamers could disrupt the nests, bringing the full-sized adults to the area, resulting in a distraction to enemies - and an impromptu flanking opportunity to arise.

Whilst the action in the jungle largely centred on Turok, as players first of all routed part of an enemy base before proceeding to eliminate further soldiers gathered around the remains of an aircraft, it wasn't a one man army...though for the most part it certainly felt like it. Desperately seeking to be Dom to Turok's Marcus Fenix was a comrade of the dinosaur hunter, who seemed to largely stay out of the action despite making the occasional flanking manoeuvre. Unlike that most renowned of Unreal Engine 3 titles however, players will not be able to use even the most rudimentary squad commands - this guy is totally at the mercy of his AI.

For now, the team aren't willing to spill the beans on what multiplayer gameplay will hold (other than that'll have game-types for up to 16-players per lobby). It was confirmed however that whilst there'll be co-operative gameplay in part of the multiplayer, Turok will not be following in the footsteps of Gears of War, Army of Two, or even Eidos' 2008 shooter Conflict: Denied Ops, and offer a co-op Campaign. But aside from what might end up being the Turok equivalent of GRAW's co-op strategy, don't be surprised if the regular assortment of team and solo-based action will be packaged.