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"The scent of blood. Yours."
Turok: Evolution tagline

Turok: Evolution is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by Acclaim Entertainment. The game was released simultaneously for the Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Advance in 2002. A port for Microsoft Windows was released in 2003 for the European market.

A prequel of 1997's Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, Turok: Evolution follows protagonist Tal'Set as he fights his way through the Lost Land. This game was the fourth and final installment in Acclaim's Turok continuity.

Upon release, Turok: Evolution was received with mixed reactions. Critics praised the game for its story and writing, but criticized the difficulty level. The PlayStation 2 version received most of the criticism for inferior graphics and a poor frame rate.

The game's mixed success led to the cancellation of Turok: Resurrection, a direct sequel, and the series was eventually rebooted with Propaganda Games' Turok, which released on February 4, 2008.

Announcement[]

E3 2001[]

Turok: Evolution was first announced at E3 2001, on May 18th, 2001.[1] Not much was announced past this, barring some general locations, which includes meadows, forests, and sprawling mountain vistas, as per the article. There was also no reference to the airborne levels at this time, with the only confirmed viewpoint being first person.

E3 2002[]

Turok: Evolution was then detailed in a preshow report[2], in which the storyline and gameplay features were detailed briefly. Environments were stated to be based on prehistoric Earth, with most being modeled on a larger than life scale. Artificial Intelligence was touted at this point as "the best in the industry," with creatures being numbered at a whopping 30 and "tons of multiplayer levels and play modes on top of the single-player experience."

More information was revealed a day later[3], in which features like flying levels were presented, as was a playable build which included a few weapons, such as the War Club, Bow, Pistol, Shotgun, and Grenades. The game's three console versions were compared graphically, with the Xbox version coming out as superior to the GameCube and PS2 versions, which were on the same level. However, GameSpot stated that the game was easier to play on the GameCube due to the gamepad being suited to FPS titles.

Recorded footage reveals that the Minigun was also found in the E3 2002 demo, although it is unknown on what console it was showcased. Mipmapping was also not yet implemented at the time of the show due to time constraints.

Campaign[]

The campaign of Turok: Evolution consists of 15 chapters with 62 levels total. A secret level, "Zoo", is available only through cheat codes.

Image Chapter Levels
Turok Evolution Lv.1 1 Into the Jungle
Jungle Hunter
Hunter's Peril
Turok Evolution Lv.2 2 Airborne
Stretching Your Wings
Dam the Defenses
Ground Assault
Mine Fields
Ancient Ruins
Turok Evolution Lv.3 3 Mountain Ascent
Summit Battle
Descent
Turok Evolution Lv.4 4 Infiltration
Compound Wall
Blockade
Entering the Base
Turok Evolution Lv.5 5 The Sleg Fortress
Sweep the Halls
The Search Continues
The Bowels of the Base
Reactor Core
Meltdown
Interrogation
Rescue the Wise Father
Escape
Turok Evolution Lv.6 6 Shadowed Lands
Ruined City
Sentinels
Death from the Deep
Dinosaur Graveyard
The Bridge
Turok Evolution Lv.7 7 Back to the Skies
Combat Run
Raining Fury
Turok Evolution Lv.8 - 9 - 10 8 Assault
City Breach
Enter the City
Street Combat
Sniper Hunting
Arena
Turok Evolution Lv.8 - 9 - 10 9 Vertigo
Beneath the Streets
Maintenance Tunnels
The Library
Monument
Turok Evolution Lv.8 - 9 - 10 10 Halls of Battle
The Senate Chambers
Perilous Skies
The Great Hall
Sacrifice
Turok Evolution Lv.11 11 Chaos in the Skies
The Shuttle Bay
The City Falls
Escape
The Nick of Time
Turok Evolution Lv.14 12 Juggernaut Approach
Turok Evolution Lv.13 13 The Belly of the Beast
Turok Evolution Lv.12 14 The Final Blow
Canyon Run
Canyon Depths
The Battle for Galyana
Turok Evolution Lv.15 15 Vengeance


Plot[]

The game begins with the seer Tarkeen explaining the history of the Lost Land, which had, for centuries, been fought over by tyrannic warlords.

On Earth, the Saquin Nation has been devastated, and a Saquin warrior named Tal'Set faces off against his enemy, Captain Tobias Bruckner. He succeeds in knocking Bruckner off a steep cliff, but they are both pulled into a wormhole. Tal'Set is badly injured, but he is discovered by the inhabitants of the River Village, who call upon Tarkeen to heal him. The seer commands them to bring Tal'Set to him. Tal'Set is sent into the jungle, where he battles lizard-like humanoids known as the Sleg. Tal'Set meets up with Genn, a pilot, who guides him to the seer. Along the way, he uses an armed Quetzalcoatlus to evict the Slegs from the jungle and destroy their airship.

Tal'Set reaches Tarkeen's sanctum, where the seer explains that it was he who originally summoned Tal'Set into the Lost Land. Tarkeen explains that Tal'Set's destiny is to accept the mantle of Turok, thereby releasing the seer from a curse. When Tal'Set refuses, Tarkeen reveals that the Slegs have already mounted an assault on the River Village. This enrages Tal'Set, and he sets off to rescue those who have been captured. His journey takes him through the mountains to reach the Sleg outpost where they are holding the villagers and their leader, the Wise Father, prisoner. At nightfall, he infiltrates the outpost, releasing the prisoners, and then enters the Sleg fortress proper.

During his infiltration, Tal'Set learns that it was a "human general" who ordered the attack on the jungle and that the Slegs he fought were only a diversion. Deeper in the base, Tal'Set is ordered to retrieve the enemy war plans, which he does by destroying their reactor and causing a meltdown. With the reactor causing much chaos, he is able to retrieve the plans, reach the prison cells, kill the guards, and rescue the Wise Father along with his comrades. They escape the fortress, but outside they are confronted by an army of Slegs. A still-alive Bruckner reveals himself as the general who allied with the Slegs, but before Bruckner can kill either Tal'Set or the Wise Father, Djunn, another villager, rescues them in his airship.

The war plans reveal that the Slegs are planning an assault on the city of Galyanna, but for the army to reach it, they must cross the Great Chasm. Tal'Set enters the Dark Jungle and makes his way through a series of ruins to an old bridge, which is destroyed by the Slegs as he attempts to cross. He is rescued from falling to his death by a pterosaur, and proceeds to destroy a Sleg stronghold with Genn.

After the stronghold is destroyed, Tal'Set's pterosaur crash lands near the location that the Slegs are trying to cross: the Suspended City. Tal'Set enters the city via a bridge and cleanses the streets with his comrades, surviving the first wave of Sleg paratroopers entering the city. He clears snipers from the rooftops and proceeds into the city square. From there, he enters the sewer system.

The sewers lead into the maintenance tunnels under the Great Library, which Tal'Set enters so he can reach the Senate Chambers behind the Statue of the God of Justice. He reaches the Senate and saves the senators, who tell him that the only way to stop the Slegs from conquering the city is to destroy it. However, they need the other Senator's approval, and he is currently missing. Tal'Set is sent to find the other Senator in the Great Hall, which he succeeds in doing, and uses his clearance to release the tethers that are connecting the city to the chasm walls. Tal'Set barely escapes on another pterosaur, as the city collapses into the Great Chasm.

The city is successfully destroyed, but the Sleg leader, Lord Tyrannus, has one more tactic to use: he unleashes the Juggernaut, a massive mechanized beast, to level Galyanna. Tal'Set infiltrates the Juggernaut via pterosaur and destroys its cannons, crippling it. Before escaping, he encounters Lord Tyrannus, but their confrontation is interrupted by Tarkeen. Tal'Set escapes on his pterosaur and rushes towards Galyanna, where he prevents the Brachiosaurus artillery from destroying Galyanna's walls.

Although Galyanna has been saved, Bruckner still lives, and Tal'Set seeks vengeance for what the man did to his people. He finds Bruckner riding an armored T. rex mounted with various weapons, which he kills. Bruckner is crushed by the dying beast and is left to die by Tal'Set, who says that he does not deserve "a warrior's death." Bruckner is then eaten alive by a pack of Compsognathus. Afterward, Tal'Set tells Tarkeen that he accepts the mantle of Turok. Elsewhere, Lord Tyrannus mourns his defeat.

Gameplay[]

Turok: Evolution features altered gameplay in comparison to its predecessors. The game focuses on general survival in multiple environments, ranging from massive swampy jungles to city skylines, while dealing with dinosaur threats or newer threats based around the new "Sleg" foe, a major addition to the franchise.

Dinosaurs act much like they do in previous installments, attacking the player upon sight, and Sleg troops act dynamically within the environment, reacting to threats such as dinosaur incursions or taking cover to avoid the player's shots. Sleg soldiers will also attempt to mobilize and gang up on the player, using both numbers and firepower to try to take the player down while utilizing map-based weaponry such as turrets.

Dinosaurs, while acting similarly to their predecessors, can also be utilized by the player as an easy way to root out, weaken, and kill more powerful enemies without taking a risk themselves, as the Slegs will actively fight dinosaurs upon contact with them.

Vehicular combat is also explored in the game, with the Slegs being able to utilize multiple variants of warships and land vehicles in order to kill the player. There are also instances in which dinosaurs are mounted with weaponry, which the player must attack and bring down. Most of these vehicles are explored in flying segments of the game, which are also new to the franchise.

Flying segments are sprinkled throughout the campaign, and they involve the player soaring on the back of a Quetzalcoatlus, raining fire down upon enemy encampments, vehicles, and other locations or objects. Most of these missions are massive, giving the player an enormous airspace to fly around in, while some interactive elements are present, such as rock slides that can be triggered by the player firing rockets at them.

These interactive elements carry over to the campaign in the same manner, but they can also be more versatile and range from buttons that release Utahraptors onto their former captors, to rock slides and traps on a smaller scale. Traps include objects that can crush enemies and other players quickly, which are also present on multiplayer maps, such as "Palace of Lamia".

In gameplay, there is also a lot of background detail present, with effects like water ripples being present when the player fires a bullet-based weapon at them. Weapon discharges sound different at certain ranges, and depending on the surface it detonates on, a grenade's audio can be altered dramatically. Destructible environments also play a part in the game, and the players are even pushed to utilize them on the fly, as both a means to find extra supplies, such as ammo and health, and to even stun or kill enemies.

Compared to past games, which featured a massive arsenal of weaponry, Turok: Evolution features a smaller arsenal, with weapon attachments and upgrades being introduced which can sometimes alter a weapon's functionality entirely. The player can alter their Pistol to become a Sniper Rifle by adding a Sniper Scope to it, and they can transform a Rocket Launcher into a nuclear device, which can then be used to devastate foes.

List of appearances[]

By type
Show/Hide
Characters Enemies Bosses Harmless wildlife Weapons
Items Locations Organizations and groups Vehicles Miscellanea

Characters

  • Anep (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Balrock (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Brok (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Tobias Bruckner (First appearance)
  • Cowlishank (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Crust (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Djunn (First appearance)
  • Duncun (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Elyk (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Gamblane (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Gawranik (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Genn (First appearance)
  • Gerbur (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Grey Bear (First appearance)
  • Ny Gulkuk (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Hueyon (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Jaz (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Jrog (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Lang (First appearance)
  • Lizzar (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Malk (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Mayana (First appearance)
  • Meakrous (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Metalhead (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Nehpets (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Regnereb (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Retsnom (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Silvac (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Smythe (First mentioned) (Multiplayer only)
  • Stone (First mentioned)
  • Tal'Set
  • Tarkeen (First appearance)
  • Lord Tyrannus (First appearance)
  • Venom (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Wise Father (First appearance)
  • Xon (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Yoran (First appearance)
  • Zrannis (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)

Enemies

Bosses

Harmless wildlife

Weapons

Items

  • Cloaking Belt (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Death Helm (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Empathy Chest Plate (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Idol (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
    • Damage Idol (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
    • Health Idol (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
    • Regeneration Idol (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
    • Speed Idol (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Jump Boots (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Medkit (First appearance)
  • Overdrive (First appearance)
  • Shield Belt (First appearance) (Multiplayer only)
  • Tarkeen Key (First appearance)

Locations

Organizations and groups

Vehicles

  • Juggernaut (First appearance)
  • Sleg Anti Air Tank (First appearance)
  • Sleg Assault Tank (First appearance)
  • Sleg Jeep (First appearance)
  • Sleg Tank (First appearance)
  • Sleg Zeppelin (First appearance)

Cut content[]

Creatures[]

Multiplayer[]

Main article: Turok: Evolution multiplayer.

Turok: Evolution has a multiplayer mode that is playable with up to four players in a split-screen mode and features a variety of characters to choose from, including Tal'Set, the Sleg soldiers, and even Utahraptors. There are many modes to choose from and a wealth of maps to select from. The Xbox version was not Xbox Live compatible.

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Turok: Evolution: Original Soundtrack.

The soundtrack for Evolution featured 41 tracks of music, each being played on their own map and/or campaign mission. It was composed by Nelson Everhart.

Retail editions[]

Features PC/Microsoft Windows Xbox PlayStation 2 Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance
Image of contents Turok.Evolution TurokEvolutionXboxBoxArt TurokEvolutionPS2Box TurokEvolutionGCBoxArt TurokEvolutionGBABox
Game disc / cartridge Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Instruction manual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes


Critical reception[]

Evolution received mixed to positive reviews upon its release. The review aggregator Metacritic scored the Xbox version a 6.8 out of 10, the GameCube version a 7.0, the Game Boy Advance version a 7.2, and the PlayStation 2 version a 6.1.

Publications such as Play magazine and Yahoo! Games praised its "fierce energy" and "general violence and mayhem." Common complaints focused on what was called a weak storyline and unimpressive AI. The PS2 version was more heavily criticized than the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, and PC versions due to poor framerates and inferior graphics.

The game's villain, Tobias Bruckner, lived on through Electronic Gaming Monthly's annual Tobias Bruckner Memorial Awards, which "honored" what they perceived to be the worst in video games, with categories specific to the games released in that year.

Sequel[]

Main article: Turok: Resurrection.

After Evolution was released, a small Acclaim team was tasked with making a sequel internally known as Turok 5, or more formally, Turok: Resurrection. Concept art was drawn, with a basic pitch document written and pushed, before the project was cancelled. This game would have been a direct sequel, filling in the gap between Turok: Evolution and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, with Tal'Set finally killing Tyrannus, before combating a new threat dubbed the "Soulless." The project was never picked up due to Acclaim having other projects.

Notes and references[]

  1. Ahmed, Shahed (May 18, 2001). "E3 2001: Acclaim announces Turok Evolution". GameSpot. Accessed August 17, 2016.
  2. Lopez, Miguel (May 22, 2002). "E3 2002: Turok Evolution preshow report". GameSpot. Accessed August 17, 2016.
  3. Shoemaker, Brad (May 23, 2002). "E3 2002: Turok Evolution impressions". GameSpot. Accessed August 17, 2016.
List of Turok Games
Acclaim Entertainment
Iguana Entertainment / Acclaim Studios Austin Turok: Dinosaur HunterTurok 2: Seeds of EvilTurok: Rage WarsTurok 3: Shadow of OblivionTurok: Evolution
Bit Managers Turok: Battle of the BionosaursTurok 2: Seeds of EvilTurok: Rage WarsTurok 3: Shadow of Oblivion
RFX Interactive Turok: Evolution
Playmates Electronix Turok (LCD handheld)
Cancelled Titles Turok: ResurrectionUntitled Turok Game Boy Advance gameUntitled Turok Game.com game
Disney Interactive Studios / Touchstone Games
Propaganda Games Turok
Living Mobile Turok
Cancelled Titles Turok 2
Universal Studios Interactive Entertainment
Pillow Pig Games Turok: Escape from Lost Valley
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