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"Another day, another try, but remember: SHOOT OR DIE!"

So says a game that changed the Commodore 64 and Amiga forever. That was the famous tagline the original Turricans intro uses, and it still must sound as cool as it did back in 1990 when the game was released. Turrican is a sci fi shooter that featured true multi scrolling levels with huge places to explore and get lost in while shooting up all kinds of strange enemies as you fight through five monstrous worlds in your Turrican assault suit armor. Your advanced armor gave you many cool abilities, like rolling up in a destructive ball of doom, using wave lines, explosives, and a unique lazer beam that the player could control in 360 directions; surely things never before seen on an old computer console way back from the 80's. The plot was pretty generic; you as the titanium armor clad warrior had to stop Morgul, a three headed monster from taking over some planet. The game was very successful, and there was actually an amiga version that was released shortly after this one, as both were in development at the same time. While I still personally think the amiga game gives you more run 'n' gun for your money, there's no denying that Turrican can rock on just about any console, and that is why old school fans of the commodore original can still take pride in a game that became widely praised for its innovations.

Sound/Music: 9/10

Surprisingly, the commodore 64 version of Turrican did little to influence all the mainstream Turrican music you'd hear again and again in the later titles, but it did still have some magic of its own. The game only has about six tunes in all, and sadly most of the games levels (all except two) featured no music at all. But the levels that did support music were cleverly done, because in those stages, the the instant Turrican straps on a jetpack, it was just so immersive and a nice breath of fresh air from all that silence to hear a catchy tune to go along with the level, and it told the player that things are about to get hectic as Turrican advances upwards on his spiffy jetpack. Unfortunately, it seems the power to utilities both sound and music was too much for the C64 to handle, so those jetpack levels didn't come with any of the gun fire and explosions that all the other levels did. It was basically a game with no sound or a game with no music, but Manfred Trenz and the crew found a way to use both at the appropriate times, which was very clever. Aside from that, you have the main title music, which was completely changed in the Amiga version, and every level had a good track in that version thanks to Chris Huelsbeck. But some of the tracks in this game are the exact same, only not as good quality being on the commodore 64, but still pleasant to the ears! There is even a Turrican CD called "Shoot or Die! The C64 music of Turrican" available online that features all of the tunes in this game.

Controls: 6/10

To me, this was the games lowest point, but I know it's not really the game developers fault. In the commodore 64 version, things seem alittle frenetic, and the scrolling isn't as stable as one would expect, but that's because this was all new to the C64. You may find executing jumps from platforms alot more difficult in this version because the screen either scrolls you too forward, or you have some random collision with a ceiling above that bumps you back. It's very hard to explain unless you've played both the C64 and Amiga versions, but this one will most likely be causing you more problems (as well as costing you more lives). But all the button commands work great, sure the firing rate had to be seriously toned down in this game when you fire out of Turricans gun, but his jumps, crouching, movements, morph ball, bombs, are all responsive, and the controls are fairly simple.

Graphics: 10/10

You may take a look at the screenshots and think "pff, yeah 10/10 my ass", but believe it or not, Turrican has brought some of the best visuals seen on the Commodore 64 period. All the sprites and weapons look small when compared to the Amiga version, but there are even some nice scrolling backgrounds and I recalled that one enemy that throws the dynamite sticks at you had some fluid animations, as does Turrican when he runs around. The game is 8-bit afterall, and you'll find it's clarity in every last pixel the developers at Rainbow Arts put into it.

Gameplay: 8/10

First I'll start off with the basics. Your goal is to explore levels, shoot up all your enemies, collect diamonds, 1ups, find secret blocks that give you more ammunition and power, and ultimately stay alive through the very end of the game. Gun turrets, mechanical bats, birds, flying robot guys with guns, and all sorts of baddies will see to it that your goal becomes a damn near challenging one. And it is. I will say it now that this is one of the toughest Turrican games out there, and just don't be surprised if you don't blast through it your first time, not until you can find most of the 1-up locations to keep you alive. Big bosses are out to get you too, from the big gauntlet to the giant fish until the showdown with Morgul himself, you've got your unsuspecting encounters between and at the end of levels. Fortunately, you've got wave lines (bombs), grenades (I still haven't figured out how to use these on the C64 version with emulators, but they pack a punch on the amiga version), mines (while in morph ball mode, and is the most useless weapon in the game), the 360 degree beam that can be extended by collecting power-ups, and two weapon types (which isn't alot after seeing games like Contra). One is your typical upgradeable spreader (that was only limited to 3-way shot, versus the 5-way shot that was much more helpful in the amiga version) while the other is more powerful, but much more aggravating. It is a lazer that will hardly hit a thing, and is only really useful on the tough as nails bosses you'll encounter from time to time. The game really seems to change pace. From stage 1 with the cool lightning and thunder effects and hurling comets to the jetpack zones and up the giant tower, this game knows adventure. Let me just tell you this game has some of the best level design I've ever seen. They are just fun to simply play through every once and awhile, and you can tell the developers really put heart and soul into this game.

But this isn't to come without the games drawbacks. On the negative side, the commodore 64 holds an awful framerate at some instance you'd be dumbfounded how Turrican could even run on that old machine. This game just feels too slow for the kind of jump-in-the-fray gameplay it delivers. I guess I was a bit spoiled for playing the amiga one first, so for the time that this only existed, I could have seen myself more accustomed to it. But it really makes it hard for me to want to come back to this one, knowing there is a more advanced version, but for those oldschool gamers who like Turrican, shooters/action platform games of any kind, or who own a C64 and have no idea what to do with it, I have to recommend this atleast one playthrough. Not only are you experiencing the roots of the series, but it also had some minor alterations from the Amiga game, such as that boss at the end of the first jetpack stage that was dubbed out of the amiga game. Not only that, but the C64 version offered much more of a challenge, even if you do find all the 1-up locations, the game still has plenty of challenge and desire to be left for anybody thinking of mastering this game. Also, for anybody lacking a C64, you can easily find a emulator and finding Turrican for it is just as easy. Getting the emulator to work right and understanding it is abit of a different story though, but ask around in online forums and I'm sure somebody will help you out! That's my Turrican review, so hopefully I've moved some old fans or maybe even inspired some new ones! But don't take it from me; check the game out for yourself and see just why this game is, and always will be one of the top commodore 64 games.

-So for a final recap-

Pros.

+ Huge, non-linear levels with much to explore
+ Very creative elements, jetpacks are awesome
+ alot of weapons and abilities never seen in videogames back then
+ Lots of challenging bosses, obstacles, and stages
+ Some of the greatest graphics on the C64
+ Awesome (yet tiny) soundtrack
+ Offers a great challenge that will have you coming back for more
+Great ending that makes all that time and effort "worth it"
+ Turrican is just something awesome to obsess about!
+ It's FREE

Cons.

- The games slowness really can drag on and bring down the high octane action
- Loading times are abit annoying (swapping disks on emulators)
- jerky scrolling and never knowing just where you'll land will make this game a bumpy ride
- Not a whole lot of power-ups aside from your special weapons; you stick to one gun for most of the game
- Hardly any music
- I don't think you'll really want to come back to it unless you've either grown up with it or you have never played the amiga version

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/08

Game Release: Turrican (US, 1990)