Turok: Evolution definitely gives you the impression that this isn't your typical FPS. Dark hallways and musty caves have been replaced with large, lush, lavish jungles that are populated with enough dinosaurs that even John Hammond would have to change his shorts. Each of the jungle areas is very well designed and really do a great job of making you feel like you're pushing through the dense foliage rather that following a clear cut path (although Evolution still has its fair share of 'go in this direction' paths). This effect is made even cooler once you see enemies jumping from behind trees (which you can knock down) or are attacked by a raptor hiding in the foliage. Weapon effects are another high point of Evolution, which range from simple things like arrows sticking in corpses to the more visually impressive Swarm Bore that slowly dismembers enemies.

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However, this is about as good as Evolution gets. Both the texture and lighting effects leave much to be desired. I was especially disappointed with the visuals in the flying levels, which come off as bland and flat. The animation is good, but still a tad boring.

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Sound is the best part of this game. The thumping tribal beats of the background music do an excellent job of pushing you through your adventure. The various roars of dinosaurs and grunts of enemies are also fantastic and really add to the game's mood, if only the graphics had done the same, this would have been the presentation to beat.

When it comes down to it, Turok: Evolution is a slightly average FPS that at times shows it could bloom into something special, but because of a number of flaws, it never gets the chance to even bud.

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Evolution is the story of the origin of the Turok. Like The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, Evolution harkens back to the era before the original Turok on the N64 in order to give the series more of a background. It all begins with Tal'Set and his nemesis, Captain Tobias Bruckner, falling into a rift into the Lost Lands. Once in the lost lands, Tal'Set sets out to find Bruckner as well as fulfill his destiny. To be honest, that's about as much of the story as I was able to follow. Starting with the very first cut scene, it's obvious that the emphasis wasn't placed on storytelling. I'm sure there's a story somewhere, but I wasn't able to piece one together.

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One of the things I liked most about Evolution was that throughout the game, the main focus is exploration and figuring out how to perform tasks on your own rather than having someone hold you hand and walk you though. Every once in awhile the game will show you an objective, but it never tells you how to achieve it. For example, a key may appear on the top of a plateau that has no discernable way to get up. Instead of the camera showing you how to make it to the top, you have to explore to figure it out on your own. It's the puzzle-like moments like this that really made Evolution worth playing. For those moments where the path completely eludes you, the Turok: Evolution Player's Guide from Prima is available.

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Another cool idea Evolution uses, which I mentioned before, is the ability to use the environments against your opponents. Say an opponent is hiding behind a tree, instead of trying to find a way to shoot around the tree; you can shoot at the tree and knock it down on top of your enemy. Of course this idea isn't implemented as well as I would have liked, but destructible environments are always cool, even if it's something as simple as this.

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One of the elements Acclaim was hoping would spice up the series are the airborne shooting levels, however, instead of adding something new to the game, they drag it down. My main problem with these areas was that they were repetitive and dull. I couldn't tell which I disliked more, the sloppy, limiting flight engine, the cheap as hell enemy gunfire, or the disjoined effect presented by the frequent load times.

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Evolution's multiplayer modes were, hands-down, my favorite part of the game. While nothing revolutionary, they were still a lot of fun - especially when compared to the rest of the game.

One of the elements gamers look for in an FPS, besides cool weapons and lots of targets, is smart enemies. One of the main 'bullet points' Acclaim has always emphasized when talking about Evolution is the Squad Dynamics System. The goal of the SDS is to make players feel like they are fighting a well-organized, varied group of enemies instead of a group of like-minded fools. Some enemies will exhibit the killer instinct and charge after you with guns blazing, while others will hide, and strike with caution. It's the little things like these that keep Evolution interesting. It is also possible to have enemies drop their gun and run because they are too weak to fight or surrender. This added a great dynamic to the game, although I wish there would have been a better way to deal with surrendered enemies. Since the game gives you no way to tie up the enemy, you're left with the option of either leaving him in his place (and allowing him to call backup) or killing him.

Ahh - my endless struggle with the GC controller. For the most part, Evolution controls well, but never feels right. This is mostly in part to the limited setup options. Instead of offering a variety of setups to offer the maximum amount of options for the player, Evolution only allows players to decide between either using the left or right analog stick to move. As if this wasn't bad enough, the second control option is nearly unusable to any player with the normal number of thumbs because you can't jump and move with the C button at the same time.

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If you haven't taken the subtle hint by now, allow me to smack you upside the head with it, Evolution has some serious load time issues. Every little area requires a load time. I'm usually not one to complain too much about load times, but when they do as good a job at killing the action as they do in Evolution, its hard not to get upset.

To be honest, Evolution isn't the best FPS available, but when you consider the limited number of FPSs available of the Gamecube, it's the best available for the system. I'd give it a rental, but would think hard about making it a purchase.