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Trigger finger gettin' a bit itchy? Are you up at nights, dreaming of filling reptiles with high-velocity projectiles and sizzling forks of plasmic energy? Do you find yourself frequently pointing your index finger at the occasional horned toad, uttering little onamatopoeic sound bites like "zapow!" and "fwoosh-boom"?

Well, maybe that's just me. Or, at least, that's what my shrink tells me. But, my personal issues aside, I'm sure that you're eager for a little virtual gunplay involving our scaly pals, right? RIGHT?

Well, welcome to the jungle. Again. That's right - Turok, the star of one of the more popular original Nintendo 64 games, is back for another go- round with those evil dinosoids, in another first-person perspective shooting extravaganza. But is it worth a day's minimum-wage earnings? Let's take a gander at it through the eyes yours truly, shall we?

Turok 2: Seeds Of Evil chronicles the quest of one Joshua Fireseed, the "New Turok" as it were, as he fights the evil Primagen and attempts to restore order to his world. Aided by the mysterious Adon, a grey-skinned lass from another dimension, he'll wield incredible firepower and tackle even more incredible foes as he seeks the destruction of the enemy ravaging the landscape. Hey, we're not talking high-brow lit here - this is a comic book turned first-person shooter. The premise of the game sets itself up for what it promises to deliver: big guns and even bigger bad guys. Turok 2 is all about war, fire, death, and testosterone - this ain't Jane Austen, so leave your brain at the door.

When it comes to sheer good looks, Turok 2 beats the competition, on virtually every US platform. The textures were concocted with an incredible eye for detail, the models are incredibly well-defined, and the backgrounds look superb. The omnipresent fog from the first Turok has been pushed back, allowing the brilliance of the game's aesthetic design to shine through spectacularly, creating immersive environments and enemies that look (and behave) almost frighteningly real. Slap in the $30 RAM Expansion Pak and you can set the game into one of two high-resolution modes for even greater visual clarity - booya! If you can maintain the integrity of your bladder after firing up this game for the first time, you're more jaded than I am.

Of especial note is the monster animation. While this Turok sports no obviously human enemies prime for a gory demise, it does feature an amazing cast of superbly well-developed and animated beasties, ranging from "dinosoids" to gruesome insects to lumbering, ape-like hulks. My personal favorite is a critter called an "Endtrail," a human/raptor crossbreed that behaves almost like a real human opponent. Iguana's much-vaunted soft-skin animation algorithms make your foes look and behave with frightening realism - you'll see then twitch, breathe, and spasm in very organic style. The bosses look even better - my first encounter with the Mantid's momma left me near-catatonic over the impressive animation. Definitely a looker, for such an ugly sod.

And, as with all things Turok, the weapon effects are just the keenest things around. While I miss the Hollywood-esque razzle-dazzle of the Chronoscepter and plasma cannon effects from the first Turok, Turok 2 has some equally visceral firepower to keep your little optic registers knee-deep in delight. My favorite, hands-down, is the Flamethrower - this is the best-looking piece of heavy-duty destruction I've seen in a first-person shooter. I've always had a soft spot for napalm and pyrotechnics, and this is the first time a fire weapon (Fire! Fire!) has been done right in 3D. Also designed to titillate your testosterone glands are the Cerebral Bore and Razorwind weapons, especially if rendering a lizardman into a pulsing font of sanguinity is your thang.

Unfortunately, this level of detail comes at stiff price - the frame rate bottoms out frequently and the game turns into a slide show. The general ceiling for the frame rate isn't too impressive in these days of 30 and 60 fps titles - Turok 2 hovers around 15 in the non-letterboxed mode and 20 in the letterboxed mode - and we've developed certain expectations in this area. However, the problematic frame rate wouldn't be intolerable if it remained constant and consistent; trouble is, you put three or more enemies on the screen, and the game turns into a chop-o-rama of Hong Kong proportions. This can make aiming unnecessarily difficult and hurts the "coolness" factor of some of the niftier gameplay aspects, such as the weapon effects and the Triceratops jockey segment. D'oh!

It should be noted, by the way, that playing in the high-resolution letterboxed mode will help frame rate issues to some degree, at the expense of screen real-estate. If you don't mind large black bars at the top and bottom of your screen, this is definitely the display mode for you to choose.

The real-time rendered cinemas starting each level look surprisingly good, and flesh out the rather thin story adequately. Once again, FMV is demonstrated as unnecessary - I'm glad that cartridges have forced developers to get over pouring tons of man-hours into disjoint full-motion video affairs that look nothing like the game currently being experienced. A big plus to Turok 2 for at least paying some small amount of lip service to its story - that's yards better than most FPS titles these days.

Sonically speaking, Turok 2 is a very ambient affair, with most of the music confined to airs and beats that capture the atmosphere of the game effectively. It's nothing spectacular, but it does keep the tension high and creates a sound canvas for the game to play itself out against.

Plenty of environmental sounds abound, such as seagulls crying over the Port of Adia to mysterious clacking in the Mantid's Hive. Stereo or surround sound really helps in keeping you immersed in the game, and contributes well to the sense of "being there." Peering nervously around a corner and then hearing that Pur-linn thump down immediately behind you, positionally, is enough to give even the most hardy man a stroke. Well done, Iguana.

In terms of control, Turok 2, when not impacted by frame rate issues, is actually quite solid. Most players unfamiliar with the original Turok control layout (analog stick to aim, C-buttons to move) will want to use the "Arcade" arrangement, which works exactly as Goldeneye does. As you progress, you'll find yourself gravitating toward the original layout, since it allows for the most facility in quickly gunning down enemies in high positions. If the choppy frame rate wasn't such a hindrance to precise aiming, I'd be even more enthusiastic, but, since the game rewards head shots with instant (or near-instant) kills, I'm going to have to mark Turok 2 down a little in the control area.

The gameplay itself is that of your run-of-the-mill post-Quake first-person shooter, with you, as Joshua Fireseed, gunning down everything that crosses your path. Most of the so-called "mission objectives" are nothing more than finding X number of children, killing X number of enemies, or locating a "key" item and bringing it to specific location. There's nothing especially intellectualy stimulating, here, and the game makes no pretensions toward being otherwise: Turok 2 is a pure 3D blast-em-up featuring the occasional sniping exercise or jumping puzzle. In this respect, Turok 2 delivers exactly what it promises.

However, in terms of FPS design, Turok 2 misses the mark, at least as a single-player game. First of all, the levels, while gorgeously modelled and brilliantly textured, are very awkward in layout and design, sporting little about them that is intuitive or coherent. Contrast this with the supremely intelligent level design found in games like Heretic 2 and Half-Life, and Turok 2 comes up with locales that feel disfocused, rambling, and needlessly labyrinthine. Despite the shockingly attractive surroundings, I felt no real sense of location, since the levels lacked any architectural consistency.

Exacerbating this problem is the lack of save points. As if the inexplicably maze-like levels weren't irksome enough, the fact that you will spend quite a bit of time negotiating them looking for save points will really strain your tolerance, especially if you're like me and don't have significantly long stretches of time to devote to playing. Also, seeing as Turok 2 provides some very difficult scenarios, having to retrace your steps from a save point umpteen miles away just to re-enter the scenario you just died at and try again could test even the patience of a saint. This is simply not good game design.

What Turok 2 does offer is a lot of gameplay - at least forty or so hours worth, just to complete the game the first time. The levels are long and the challenge is great, so there's no doubt that any gamer looking for meat, without a care for quality, will be reasonably satisfied. As far as play endurance goes, Turok 2 definitely delivers, and in spades.

The multiplayer aspect is probably the best part of Turok 2, with surprisingly solid frame rates even in four-player mode. There are a number of variations on the Deathmatch theme, including my favorite, Frag Tag, where one of the players becomes a screeching monkey and is pursued by the other three players. This version of deathmatch play is destined to be an instant classic, and is probably the most sterling reason to purchase the game. On top of the wide variety of DM play modes comes a roster of selectable character types, which range from the speedy Adon to a giant, lumbering Pur-linn warrior. Each character has a unique range of attributes, including speed and armor levels.

There are a few drawbacks in the multiplayer modes, although some are expected due to the limitations of technology. First of all, not all of the weapons are available - sadly, this includes the Razorwind and the Flamethrower - because that would put too many "one-hit kill" weapons in the MP munitions roster. The levels are also smaller and less-detailed, in order to keep the frame rate up. Most egregious among the drawbacks, though, is the fact that when a game finishes, you are dumped out to the Turok 2 main screen - this smacks of rushed interface design and should've been fixed before release. Also, the sounds often cease after two weapons are fired simultaneously - this also could've and should've been rectified before shipping the game to store shelves. Still, complaints aside, Turok 2 does offer one of the most entertaining N64 multiplayer experiences out there, and really should be tried at least once if you're into party games.

In the final evaluation, Turok 2 comes across as a very long, very challenging game with beautiful graphics but several notable flaws. The worst flaw, perhaps, is not the frame rate or the lack of save points, but the general impression that the game is actually quite mediocre, with many cool gimmicky effects (graphics, gore, animation, pseudo-AI "tricks") cleverly concealing the middle-grade level and play design beneath. Had the game been holistically designed with less emphasis on clever visual tricks and effects, I imagine that the frame rate and save point troubles would not be an issue. Ultimately, I can't help but feel that what we have in Turok 2 is Quake with gorgeous graphics, poorly-planned (but attractive!) levels, and gimmicks out the wazoo - in many ways, it's a step back from games like Goldeneye, which shattered genre preconceptions by offering ingrained mission objectives (as opposed to Turok 2's variations on the "find the key" or "shoot X enemies" location-independent objectives) and more intelligent play.

If you're looking for nothing more than an eminently attractive run-and-gunner with a few nifty tricks up its sleeve, Turok 2 will probably fit the bill, provided you aren't a frame rate junkie and you don't mind having to play long stretches at a time. On the other hand, if you are looking for an FPS that will offer something a little more original at the core, as Half-Life and Goldeneye do, you'd probably be better served in making Turok 2 a rental or passing it up altogether, unless you crave a new multiplayer FPS.

The Bottom Line: Turok 2 is an aesthetically impressive first-person shooter that relies more on gimmicks than on holistically excellent game design to immerse and involve the player.