- "The universe is mine!"
- —The Campaigner[1]
The Campaigner is an evil, tyrannical cyborg that serves as the main antagonist in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.
He planned to enslave the Lost Land and the universe with the power of the Chronoscepter, but was ultimately defeated by Tal'Set.
In the Turok comic series by Acclaim Comics, the Campaigner is also known as The Hollow One.
History
Background
The Campaigner is a hostile cyborg who wishes to rule the universe. To do so, he must defeat Turok and break the balance between the Lost Land and Earth.
To accomplish his goals, the Campaigner gained knowledge (by unknown means) of the ancient artifact known as the Chronoscepter. With this weapon, the Campaigner could use its destructive power to shred the fabric of space and time and, in doing so, rule the entire universe.
Invasion of the Lost Land
The Campaigner decides to enter the Lost Land and acquire all eight pieces of the shattered artifact and assemble them. When fully assembled, he could use this weapon to destroy Turok and his plans would commence. Of course, the cyborg is not invading alone; the Campaigner brings with him his entire army of soldiers and cyborgs.
With his army, weapons, and strength, the Campaigner's plot was set in motion. This was only be the beginning of the battle, however, as Tal'Set, the current Turok, sets out to pursue the cyborg and assemble the Chronoscepter.
Battle With Turok
Tal'Set bravely journeys through the Lost Land and slays many of the Campaigner's soldiers. Eventually the warrior locates and assembles all pieces of the Chronoscepter. The warrior infiltrates the Campaigner's Fortress, defeats the tyrannical leader's cyborg T.rex, and the two meet face-to-face.
The warrior and the cyborg then commence their battle on the top of the fortress. The Campaigner, while fighting alone, still has a lot of weapons at his disposal. Ranging from his four-bladed club, to the plasma cannons on the walls. Unfortunately for him, Tal'Set is still able to withstand the attacks and uses the legendary Chronoscepter against the cyborg.
The warrior charges up the weapon and releases its powerful blue energy beam on the Campaigner. The devastating explosion weakens the cyborg, and he attempts to bring himself up again to fight. The Campaigner begins to flicker with sparks of electricity and is able to stand upright, but he is crushed by the falling debris of the fortress shortly after.
Soon, the entire fortress begins to collapse, and Tal'Set races out of the building to escape. The warrior is propelled to safety by the blast and lands in a pool of water below the fortress. The warrior then surfaces from the water and witnesses the tower's destruction, declaring victory, for the time being.
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
The Campaigner makes a minor appearance in this sequel to Dinosaur Hunter. For the first time, the cyborg is now a playable character, albeit in multiplayer. His appearance is that of his original design.
As a playable character, the Campaigner has a few unique traits, such as starting with 120 health. While he has great strength, the Campaigner is slower than some characters.
This appearance is treated as a cameo and is considered non-canon.
Turok: Rage Wars
- Main article: Campaigner (Rage Wars).
The evil cyborg-overlord returns once more as a multiplayer character in this Turok title. As such, his appearance remains the same as before, the only difference being that his human exterior is tattered and his cybernetic interior is partially exposed.
Competing In the Rage Wars
The Campaigner battled Tal'Set in the Rage Wars and, after nearly winning, was struck by a devastating blow, causing the Campaigner to be completely cybernized. Having apparently survived the explosion, the Campaigner hears about the Rage Wars and that the Light Burden is up for grabs.
The cyborg enters the Rage Wars to seek revenge against the Turok lineage for foiling his plot. By winning the tournament, the Campaigner could obtain the Light Burden, and chaos would commence.
Gameplay Significance
Using the Campaigner in single-player mode to beat the levels "Wicked Dance" and "Crossroads" unlocks the Emaciator and the secondary function of the Tek Crossbow, respectively. Beating the entire single-player mission with the Campaigner unlocks the Fireborn.
Gameplay
The Campaigner, despite utilizing his army to do the fighting for most of the game, is quite a skilled and agile fighter himself. He can prove to be quite the battle for beginners and relies mostly on strong, explosive attacks.
When the player first transports to the fortress rooftop, they are immediately greeted with the Campaigner, who lets out a cry of laughter. Afterwards, he will immediately charge the player. If the player is not careful, they will instantly be struck by the cyborg's club. If the player was able to assemble the Chronoscepter, the start of the battle represents a good opportunity to blast the Campaigner with it. Make sure to back off a few steps, however, otherwise the backwash from the explosion will likely kill Tal'Set as well.
The boss is armed with a club and a shield at first, with which he will charge the player and strike them, if close enough. If the player is too far away to be hit with his club, the Campaigner casts large blue energy blasts at the player.
If the player happens to charge the cyborg in an attempt to attack, the Campaigner will quickly evade and backflip a far distance from the player. The player can manage to hit the Campaigner from a distance with explosives or the Minigun. Tek arrows work just as well as any explosive, too; the player will just have to maintain a safe distance from the boss. Eventually, this will cause his shield to break, and he will only have his club. He will still have his ranged attacks, though.
Despite every weapon in the game being given in the corridor leading up to the battle, the player should resist the temptation to use the Quad Rocket Launcher, Particle Accelerator or Fusion Cannon on the Campaigner. Doing so will not only cause the Campaigner to use a device which removes the weapon from the player's arsenal, but cause him to unleash his most powerful attack, which can knock off over half the player's health in one go.
Once the Campaigner has taken enough damage, he will retreat to a higher floor, where he will proceed to bombard the player with plasma cells; these cause a lot of damage and must be avoided. He will occasionally release a rain of small explosives upon the player, which can be evaded with enough distance.
Lastly, to take fewer hits from the Campaigner, the player must be constantly moving. Remaining stationary will only put themselves in danger, as the Campaigner takes any opportunity to strike.
Trivia
- The Campaigner would have more appearances in the Acclaim Turok comic series. His death at the hands of Tal'Set is eventually recounted in the comic's online web exclusive installment.
- The Campaigner's legacy was created in the Turok comic series and expanded upon in the junior novels. When a Campaigner is defeated, the next in line of his commanders would take his place, assuming complete control of the army, troops, and arena.
- The Campaigner is one of the few final bosses in the original Turok series to be of human scale and not a large creature.
List of appearances
Video Games
- Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (First appearance)
- Turok: Battle of the Bionosaurs
- Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
- Turok: Rage Wars
Comics
- Turok: The Way of the Warrior
- Turok: Spring Break in the Lost Land (Mentioned only)
- Turok Online Exclusive Webcomic (Appears in flashback)
- Turok 2: Seeds of Evil comic adaptation (Appears in flashback)
Notes and references
- ↑ Turok: Dinosaur Hunter — Upon dying during the final boss fight
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