Banished to the bargain bins and almost universally condemned by critics, Turok: Evolution is remembered in the public’s eye as the retarded stepchild of the Turok series. Released in 2002 for the PS2 and GameCube, the Xbox port was eventually canceled for North America after reception of the game reached developers. However, some of us were able to look past the clunky controls, bird brained AI and dated graphics to find the gem hiding beneath the surface. Then just like a gem mined from the dirt, what looks to be a roughly hewn lump of shit can be polished into a shining diamond, all it takes is a little time, care and attention. As a young child picking up this turd for the first time, I had none of the critical views to affect my first impressions; in fact I had never even played a previous Turok game. The game acts as a sort of prologue for the series, following the protagonist as he journeys to a new land and fights his first nemesis, which appears to be an irate Texan. Even as a youth I could tell that Turok: Evolution was a game which did not take itself too seriously, but believe it or not that allowed for it to push the boundaries. Insane weapons are at your disposal from the beginning, ranging from simple poison arrows to homing swarm missiles and almost everything in between. It wasn’t simply the weapons and their destructive potential that fascinated (and warped) my pre-pubescent mind but the enemies dramatic responses to their effects. For example, characters hit by a poison arrow will shortly after double up and start vomiting, slowly increasing in intensity till they drop dead. Explosions will shear limbs off enemies and leave them bleeding out, larger explosions and sniper rounds will explode heads. Of course we mustn’t forget the flamethrower which will leave enemies writhing in pain as they slowly burn to death.

Like most PlayStation games of that era it included multiple cheat codes that could bypass levels, unlock weapons and cause some interesting effects. Simply put the sheer violence of this game is what appealed to my young mind, but with the cheat codes things could quickly become downright sadistic. With the code “ZOO” a bonus level is unlocked with every creature in the game placed in pens for your amusement. Truly it was a pit of horrors for these creatures as you test out every weapon in the game on the unsuspecting dinosaurs. Many hours were whittled away devising new and elaborate methods to dispatch them, like some sort of prehistoric “Saw”. Of course that isn’t all there is to the game as the campaign itself had merits of its own. Some of the levels put you on the back of a heavily armed pterodactyl flying through a densely packed city in 3rd person, delivering hell to the populace. Needless to say this was like a sick fever dream to a 10 year old boy. Even if the clunky controls meant more often than not your pterodactyl would meet its untimely end in a shower of gore, smashed against one of the buildings. When you finally fight your way to the final boss the irate Texan Tobias Bruckner meets you for the last time, subtly mounted on the back of an armored T-Rex firing rockets. Occasionally this epic battle would play out more abruptly than expected. A questionable pathing system and some quick shots to a badly placed tree combined to bring a quick end to the Texans legacy, crushed beneath the falling timber.

All in all this game is as deserving of its place in video game history as any, that’s not just the nostalgia talking. Turok: Evolution had some of the most ambitious weapon effects of any game of that time. More so the plot itself adds closure to the series, tying it all together with a much needed back story. The criticism against it is mostly unwarranted due to misunderstanding. A quick play through will show you that the game simply did not take itself as seriously as the others in the series. For critics that translated to mixed reviews, however the lack of serious concepts meant more time was spent developing a game that was to put it simply, pure fun. To this day I have yet to find a game that allows you to destroy such a wide array of dinosaurs in various twisted and effective ways. Turok is still worth picking up for a blast to the past, or just to show us how far video games have come, as its concepts still live on in the ultra-violent shooters of today. While it’s critical contribution may not shine, for me and many other fans the fun we had with this game is the true legacy.

Jordan Tobin