Turok: Rage Wars Review
Released for the Gameboy Colour by Bit Managers in 1999, Turok: Rage Wars was a title that many gamers at the time probably missed. Released in conjunction with the N64 Title of the same name, the Gameboy version of Turok: Rage Wars is a 2D Platforming title and bears little resemblance to the main series which are primarily FPS titles. While overshadowed by other more popular titles in the Turok series, Turok: Rage Wars remains a solid if sometimes frustrating edition to the franchise.
The games premise involves the hero, Turok, fighting an invading force of dinosaurs with an arsenal of weaponry. Each main section of the game is introduced in an overblown but thankfully skippable text biopic. From the very first level the game captures the [layers attention with its bright and colourful visual design, and despite its age it manages to still look impressive today. The level design remains varied throughout, and does not rely on just one style. There are several different level types throughout the game, from normal zones that give you the freedom to move back and forth across the screen, to side scrolling sections where your character is forced to keep moving to prevent you from being crushed by the screen. There is even a difficult raft section where the player has to hop back and forth across the level while trying not to fall in the water. This leaves the game feeling fresh and interesting and prevents areas of the game from feeling recycled.
These levels challenge the player throughout, even if the actual difficulty of some levels can fluctuate. Many of the game’s normal levels can be exceptionally challenging and push the player, but the same cannot be said of the games Boss fights which are mostly uninspired and feature basic encounters which are easy to predict. Be warned: the game practises a password saving system where after losing all their lives the player is returned to the very beginning world and has to enter a password to replay sections of the game. This is easily one of the most frustrating aspects about Turok: Rage Warriors, and can impede attempts to replay challenging sections of the game. Additionally, when using the password to replay a section of the game it automatically gives you all the games collectable weapons and upgrades, removing a considerable amount of the challenge in replaying sections of the game.
Despite the irritating password mechanic, the core gameplay remains fun and challenging, with the range of weaponry being one of its strongest features. Weapons available range from the starting knife and bow and move on to pistols, shotguns and machineguns as the game progresses. There is even has a limited crafting section, where weapons can be combined to make more powerful versions of themselves. An example of this in game is the crossbow, which can be made through a combination of the shotgun and the bow. As may be expected, this vast arsenal contains weapons that function as copies of each other and the player soon finds their favourites and sticks to them.
Despite is frustrations Turok: Rage Wars is an interesting and challenging game, and the core design and gameplay manage to remain solid and entertaining throughout.
