Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

""Gargantuan levels + Endless enemies + awesome fun and weapons = Turok 2""

I. - Introduction
This section of the Review is to inform you on what you will be reading in this review. You will be reading about the Graphics, Controls, Sound, Music, Replayability and all other aspects of the game and their sub-units. You will read my opinion on each section and I will give each one a score from 1 to 10: 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. With that said, please read on.

II. - Graphics
In this section of the Review, you will read about the quality and smoothness of the Graphics in Turok 2: Seeds of Evil.

A. The Quality
The quality of the graphics in Turok 2 is outstanding. The vast, vast levels are so incredibly etched with detail it is almost like your playing a virtual reality game! Seriously, the graphics will definitely stun you. The water actually looks like water and it has the best fire graphics I have ever seen. It literally looks like fire in real life. The walls are made of different types of bricks (it's not all just one texture), there's random stuff lying around, and even plants growing from the grass. I think the most graphically enhanced levels are the Death Marshes and The Lair of The Blind Ones. Both levels have outstandingly perfect life-like graphics. There are plants everywhere, and all of them are very, very well-done. There's waterfalls that look great and even bones scattered around. I think the level with the most different amount of graphics is the second level, River of Souls. You start off in a grassy, deserted village, going through many tunnels along the way and then through many buildings with dead people, and even to ancient shrines with golden statues and ancient relics. It is just amazing how life-like and graphically perfect this game is (not only in its entirety, but every seemingly insignificant thing is perfect).

B. The Smoothness
Usually, most games that have outstanding graphics are sort of choppy and the graphics aren't steady and smooth, since they spent so much time on the graphics themselves than the smoothness. Turok 2, however, is a refreshing exception. What makes Turok 2's graphics so great is that they are all very detailed, but very smooth also. The only times the game may slow down a tiny bit is when there is a massive amount of gunfire and activity on the screen at once (but then again, what game doesn't get choppy at some point?). Aside from when their is a bombarding amount of gunfire, the rest of the game is very smooth. You easily swim without and choppiness and you rarely see any screw-ups with the graphics. I think one of the reasons the game is smooth is because the levels are divided into sections via warps. Without the warps, the levels would probably be much more choppy. It really feels like you are in the game when you move around, too. All-in-all, Turok 2 is very smooth (especially smooth considering the perfect graphics).

C. Overall Conclusion
Overall, the graphics for Turok 2 are very good. No, they are more than that, they are 100%, without a doubt, outstanding perfect. I have yet to see a game that has better graphics and is smoother than Turok 2. There may be a game that has better graphics than Turok 2, and maybe even a game that has better smoothness than Turok 2, but I have never seen a game that has both better graphics and better smoothness as Turok 2, and I don't think I ever will for a long time. The graphics will keep you in your seat wondering what can be next? What kind of environment will the next section be? And how life-like will it look? All those questions will be answered as you progress through the game. You'll see spider-webs (of course with there inhabitants), plants, very detailed bodies of water, carcasses, etc. So, conclusively, you will definitely love the graphics for Turok 2 and quite possibly play the game for hours since you will be hooked to its wonderful graphics (you may even want to play a level just to look at its graphics!).

III. - Controls
In this section of the Review topic, you will read the difficulty and time of learning for the controls for Turok 2.

A. The Difficulty
It is not hard at all to learn the controls. They are very easy to learn, memorize and master. I did not use a guide and just found out all of the controls myself. I think it is more fun that way. Instead of reading the manual and wasting fun, you can be playing the game and finding which button does what and gawk in awe at what some of the controls let you do. However, if you are having trouble with the controls, read my topic about them to fully understand what the controls do. Nevertheless I still think that learning the controls for yourself is a definite fun factor. Now, I am not saying that learning the controls by yourself will be easy, because it won't. There are some controls that you probably will not learn until you read a guide (like mine). Actually, there was a couple controls I didn't even know I could do until I read someone's walkthrough on Gamefaqs! So, if you like learning things on your own, try to learn the controls by yourself to have more fun. But if you aren't good at learning controls to a game by yourself, just read my controls topic.

B. The Time of Learning
It should not take you long to figure out the controls. Of course, it does matter how much of a memory you have. If you have a good memory, you will memorize the controls easily, if not, you will have to try harder to remember them. I's say that on average, learning the controls for yourself (the basic ones) will probably take around 2 to 5 minutes. If you are reading them from a guide, there is no real average time because it just depends on how much you are payng attention and, as I said before, your memory. It is good to learn the controls quickly, though, because then you won't have problems at certain points in the game. For example, if you are still not sure of the controls, an Endtrail may be headed your way and you probably will be thinking: ''Okay, how do I switch weapons again?'' ''Wait, I didn't want that weapon!'' ''Aaahhh! He's gonna kill me!''. Things like that will not happen if you take close attention the controls and learn them as fast as possible. So, for the safety of you, learn the controls as fast as you can so that you do not wind up being resurrected at Adon's hub.

C. Overall Conclusion
Overall, the controls for Turok 2 can be complicated, yet so simple. It all really depends on if you want to learn them, how much attention you are paying, and how hard you try to memorize them (no matter how good your memory is). Once memorized, they will stick in your mind forever. You will no longer be asking questions to yourself as to how you do a certain thing at a certain point in the game. Still, there is a possibility that you may still get confused, so make sure to read all of my controls topic to make sure that the controls are implanted in your brain and that you know them by heart. So, conclusively, are the controls simple? Yes. Are the controls complicated? Yes. So, how are you supposed to memorize them? Try (seriously, try to memorize them, try to pay attention and try not to forget them).

IV. - Sounds
In this section of the Review topic, you will read about the distinctness of the sounds in Turok 2 and how many there are of them.

A. The Distinctness
All of the the sounds in Turok 2 are very distinct. You can clearly hear all of the slightest noises that things would make in real life if you were in the actual environment that you are in the game. In fact, sometimes the distinctness can scare you! Sometimes, if you are simply walking around, you can hear a soldier in the distance screaming: ''No, please! No! Aaahhhhh!!''. It is rather freaky to hear that. But, the distinctness can also help you. It lets you hear the roars or voices of enemies in the distance so you can expect them to come and you will be prepared. Sometimes you can even hear Turok walking along the ground! A One of the greatest distinctnesses I have listened to was being underwater and when a Leaper is swimming towards you, you can hear his arms and legs kicking through the water, and you can ever hear the air bubbles rising to the surface! Although those are sounds you wouldn't normally expect to hear in a video game, there are many, many other sounds that will keep you glued to the t.v. screen and on the edge of your sit the entire time.

B. The Quantity (How Many Sounds?)
There are many sounds in Turok 2, all of which are exceptionally splendid. There are about 5 different sounds just for each enemy alone. Not to mention that each weapon has its own and (may I seen) very unique sound. The Cerebral Bore has a very gory sound when it does its job on an enemy. The sound will surely make your legs weak. The other weapons have great sound too (The Nuke has awesome sounds, and so does the Firestorm Cannon, and several others). All other aspects of the game have a lot of sounds also. For example: the sound of Turok walking along the ground, the sounds of an enemy running towards you, the sound of Turok implanting a key into a slot, etc. All in all, there are many, many, many sound in Turok 2 which are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

C. Overall Conclusion
Overall, the sounds in Turok 2 will keep you glued to the t.v. for hours. There are so many different sounds to hear in the game that you never get bored. Plus, the distinctiveness in all of the sounds really help bring out their pizzazz and and doesn't let you get bored. I have never gotten bored listening to the sounds in Turok 2. Just the sound of listening to an enemy die and its body twitching around is priceless. Conclusively, all of the sounds in Turok 2 and their distinctiveness will keep you on the edge of your seat, glued to the t.v. and never bored.

V. - Audio (Music)
In this section of the Review topic, you will read how loud the music themes in Turok 2 are and how cool they are.

A. The Loudness
In relation to the sounds in Turok 2, the music themes in Turok 2 are also very distinct and loud. They are not so loud to the point where you have to cuff your hands over your ears. It is just loud enough so you can actually clearly hear each beat and symphony played in the music theme. It is fun, though, to put the volume just a little bit higher if you want to scare yourself. With the volume up, the certain beats and tones in some of the music themes will make you jump. Especially if you are listening to the music at 12:00 at night and an enemy just jumped at you (that will scare you quite a bit). Even while I am playing during the day, certain parts in level 2 scared me because of the enemies jumping out at me and the certain point of the music that has an edge of scariness in it. However, if you do not like getting scared, I would lower the volume, because you will get scared anyway from the monsters popping out from seemingly nowhere. Nevertheless, I would raise the volume just to hear every beat and tone of the music themes, not only to get scared, but to listen to how cool the music is and how distinct it is so it can scare you in a split second.

B. The Coolness
Somewhat in relation to the loudness, the coolness of the music themes partially comes from the fear factor (when you raise the volume and turn the lights off at 12:00 at night). However, simply the music themse alone are very, very cool. It seems like each music theme somehow plays to the calmness of the environment around you. For example: if you are in a place with beautiful buildings, some waterfalls and no enemies, the music theme will be soft, slow, gentle and soothing. But, if you are wandering through the underground chambers of the River of Sould and have spiders running after you and deadmen rising from their grave, the music theme will be just a little bit more freaky and make you more squirmish.

C. Overall Conlusion
All in all, the fact that the combination of the loudness and coolness of both the sounds and the music themes will keep you on the edge of your seat is inevitable. Added to the fact that the music theme keeps you comfortably scared, certain sounds will make you jump out of your seat as well. For example: you may wandering down a dark and murky path and the music theme has a constant *thump* *thump* *thump* noise. That music theme will keep you a little shaky, but then all of a sudden, a Raptor might pop out and take a bite out of you. Conclusively, the music and sounds for Turok 2 will keep you entertained, surprised, scared, and on the edge of your seat.

VI. - Replayability
In this section of the Review topic, you will read whether or not Turok 2 has any replayability, and how much of it it has, if it does have replayability.

A. Does It Have Replayability?
To say that a wonderful and extravagant video game like Turok 2 doesn't have replayability would be a tremendous lie. Put more simply: yes, Turok 2 does have replayability. In fact, it is so fun that I probably didn't even need to ask that question, but for the people who think Turok 2 may not be fun, here's why it is and why it has replayability: you have a wide variety of weapons (several with upgrades) and you travel through 6 tremendously gargantuan levels (I am not kidding, each level is huge). Each level is split into different sections via warps, which makes it less confusing and complicated. In each level, you will be given additional mission objectives aside from your ultimate main objective which is to save the Energy Totem in the first 5 levels. Along the way, many, many, many monsters will try to stop you dead in your tracks (and they will many times, believe me). Throughout each level, you must find keys to gain access to other levels and you must also find hidden items that you must find in order to find all of the Primagen keys to gain access to the sixth level. Well, if you still think that Turok 2 doesn't have replayability after reading that, then I suggest making your own video game because Turok 2 is as fun as they get.

B. How Much Replayability?
Turok 2 has much replayability. Actually, it needs replayability to bring you back just to try to beat the first couple of levels! Each level is very, very, VERY large and is just as difficult. Each level gains more difficulty as they each increase in enemy population, and newer and tougher enemies await. Plus, there will be less power-ups and ammunition as you go through the higher levels. Turok 2 is not your average 'go through every level killing the same enemies and doing the same stuff over and over again' game ( like Nightmare Creatures), but it is an adventure game in which each room or specific area in each level (which there are probably over 100 of in each level) there may be a puzzle you must solve or something you must do in the form of an intelligence puzzle to try to get out of the room. It is a very good mixture of action, adventure and puzzlement (although the puzzles are not like mazes or anything, they are cool puzzles, but rare, too). So, on a scale of 1 through 10, Turok 2 would have to have a score of 11 when it comes to replayability. It just keeps on coming and coming and you never want to stop playing, unless you type a guide for it, like me.

C. Overall Conclusion
Overall, the replayability in Turok 2 is infinite. Seriously, you might not even let yourself let got of the controller once you get halfway through the first level. And for more replayability, turn the difficulty up to hard and then play some levels and see how good you do then. If you don't like extremely fun action/adventure/puzzle games, than don't play this. I would still give it a try, though. The only possible drawback is that the save points are pretty far apart, but an experienced player should not have any problem with that. Just make sure to run full speed into that save portal when you reach it and save as fast as you can, because those precious seconds you take while running to the save portal could cost you your last life. Conclusively, I hope you like Turok 2, I know I do, and I hope you think it is just as fun as I think it is.

VII. - Buy or Rent?
In this section of the Review topic you will read whether I think you should buy or rent Turok 2.

A. My Recommendation
Ultimately, I think that you should buy Turok 2. The accumulation of the wonderful aspects and characteristics of the graphics, controls, sound, music themes, etc. for Turok 2 is more than enough to convince you to buy Turok 2. However, if you feel that you want to 'test-drive' it first, go ahead and rent it, although I think it would be best to just buy it anyway so that you don't have to waste money on renting when you are probably going to buy it afterwards anyway. I, personally, do not know how much Turok 2 is. My friend, Sam, gave me a copy of Turok 2 (he had two copies. He lost his first one, then bought another one and then he found his firsy one). So, he gave me a copy. If my friend liked Turok 2 so much to go buy another copy of it after losing it and knowing it was in his house somewhere, it proof that you should definitely buy Turok 2. If I had the money, I'd probably spend 50 dollars to buy Turok 2 if I didn't have it, and maybe even a little more if it just came out. Turok 2 right now is probably around 20 to 40 dollars (whatever price, it is worth it, trust me). So, please buy Turok to have the sensation of a lifetime and only rent it if you think you may not like it (which I think is impossible).

B. Conclusion
I have broken down the two possibilities of buying or renting Turok 2 into 2 different scenarios. If you buy it: you will bring it home and begin playing it. After getting to the second section of the first level, you will begin to get more into it as you face newer enemies as you venture deeper into each of the worlds that you must explore. After getting the first few original and very impressive weapons, you will want to play the game for hours on end and you may play it sometimes just to look at the surroundings around you and how detailed the graphics are. Conclusively, please buy Turok 2 and, if you somehow do not like it, rent some of the other Turok games to see if you like them, though I think Turok 2 will be just enough to keep you glued to the game.

That concludes my comprehensive review for Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. After reading it, I hope you have been motivated to go buy it.

Thanks for reading this! Josiah

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/02, Updated 09/22/02