General Discussions

Now for what I liked and disliked, first-off the cellphone is a brilliant new inovation that makes something as simple as restarting a failed mission so much easier instead of going all the way back to the highlighted start point...thank God those days are over. Your cellphone in the game is your lifeline, able to make pretty much any task a phonecall away. The combat system has been simplified as well, it has it's rough points in close but for the most part fairly easy to get cover and survive in a gunfight. As great as GTA IV is it has it drawbacks, it's major flaws (in my opinion) are the lack of a save or checkpoint system. This is very, very frustrating when you fail a long, arduous mission because you lost a guy or die unexpectedly. I can safely tell you that I cursed out my TV on more than one occasion because of this easily fixable problem, if Rockstar is fixing so many new things there's no reason why they can't add this kind of feature. Next on my list is the driving, while most experienced gamers will crack the new driving system fairly early there's a definite breaking in period you must endure. Changing the driving in this GTA compared to the other installments seemed unnecessary. I'm sure plenty of people we're a little p!ssed that the free-flowing driving of GTA was gone. Finally there's a few instances of framerate issues in some areas, doesn't happen often, moreso on long playthroughs, that and if you've been playing awhile be sure to save periodically because the game has a nasty habit of crashing at the worst possible times.


Final Verdict (Grand Theft Auto IV)-

Nikko Bellic explodes into GTA as a cold-blooded, violent, killer but at the same time never changes his morals. In an insane city Nikko is the sanest choice...Rockstar would have it no other way. Everything in GTA IV works in harmony. The story would be nothing without the city; the city gains realism from the physics engine; the physics complement the improved AI; the AI would make no sense without the new cover system. And on and on...there is no one major weak aspect. Rockstar do what they do best and produce yet another solid, action-packed, violent GTA. While I still think the 80's charm of Vice City makes it the best GTA in the franchise its simply my opinion. All I have left to say is 'you have to play this game', its that good. While I won't praise it as I'm sure others already have it truly is one of those games that come along not too often and push boundaries in the video game world...so grab a gun, knife, crowbar, whatever. Just go try this game.

9.8 (Outstandingly Excellent!)

Utterly Recommended.

Wow, its been awhile hasn't it...

Turok

This is one of those games last year I kept puttin' off and puttin' off until I finally came around to trying it out last May...in retrospect after playing it it's really one of those games with its moments but overall a failure of a project. Turok dives us back into the world of Dinosaurs, but don't be fooled this isn't a N64 or Xbox rehashing, the new Turok is set in a futuristic environment backed up with a story-driven FPS and a killer voice-over cast. In a nutshell Turok joins Whiskey Company assigned the task of hunting down and apprehending his former collegues in Wolf Pack, a militarized detachment specializing in black ops training and namely finding its leader and former mentor Roland Kane on a remote terraformed planet. Before you can carry out your assignment however your ship is shot down in orbit and you with its survivors soon find yourself in a life and death struggle on a planet infested with Dinosaurs, genetically-altered Bugs and oh yes plenty of Kane's goons...afterall it couldn't be Turok without Dinousaurs right?

As you progress you soon discover the game's sketchy plot and a bit of Turoks past through flashbacks. It's pretty simple, and narrow I might add...find Kane and stop him. Really I wish there was more to it than that, Kane is just like any other run of the mill bad guy you've seen, he wants power and is willing to do anything to achieve his goal. That's where the game drops off, the only thing that really keeps you going in the game is your fight for survival...because pretty well wherever you are in the game your in danger of being torn to shreds by Dinos. Aside from the games hazy plot there is some salvagable parts of Turok, namely the knife. I found the stealthied silent kills were the best part of this game, very accessable and easy-to-use, I loved just hiding in the grass then sneaking up on an enemy and jamming my knife through his skull...there was something eerily satifying about it lol "That's not a knife, this is a knife"... On to the cast, Propaganda did a good job in recruiting some great actors for this game. I was actually very surprised to find someone like Powers Boothe and Timothy Olyphant do a voiceover for such a substandard game, seemed like adding a room onto a house with an already broken foundation. Lastly there are some tense moments in Turok that will leave your heart beating a bit quicker than normal, the vicious growl of a Dinosaur in the distance will have you looking around wondering what's behind you. But its namely on the missions by yourself and at night or as you first make your way through the jungle. Either way the aspect of terror is still somewhat there...

The graphics also offer much to be desired, its lack of new-gen textures and lighting we've all come to expect pull you out of the feeling that your in the middle of a ravenous jungle, it just feels too much like the created world of a videogame. AI isn't much better, guys will alternate to cover, find 'em, pop 'em...pretty generic to say the least and the Dinos are cut from the same mold, just fast moving targets scurrying up a tree or straight after you with Turok always gaining the upper hand by knife or otherwise. Weapons are surprisingly tamer in this installment as well, the basic gear you'd expect from any run of the mill FPS, no cool toys this time around in Turok...just tap the RT when prompted to see a cool kill with the knife, that's it.


Final Verdict (Turok)-

Turok starts off interestingly enough setting the scene very well but soon drops off leaving you wondering just what the hell is really going on and where is this going? Unfortunetly both of those questions are never fully answered in the game...there's is a point at about the half-way mark in the game where you think your getting somewhere but in the end your left scratching your head wondering just what was Kane really up to? Overall the game isn't bad just outdated, built on the same foundation as previous-gen shooters, in the end if your looking for a 'different' type of FPS then this one might be right up your alley otherwise your not missing much, obviously if your into anything with Dinosaurs then I'd recommend this one for you but in the end if your a regular type of FPS gamer- some cool kills with the knife and nice Dinos, that's about it.

7.0 (Alright if not Okay)

Recommended for a very small audience.



I'm sure more reviews to come in time, feel free to question or comment any of the reviews I've done thus far...

[Edited by Jackal, 1/21/2009 9:09:05 PM]

I am seriously disappointed by the latest Turok, I'd rate it a 3/10 or so. It's dull, uninspired, repetitive, ugly, gimmicky and generally bleh. It is probably the worst game I have ever spent my own money on.