Turrican 2

Infobox VG| title = Turrican 2


developer = Factor 5
publisher = Rainbow Arts
designer = Manfred Trenz, Andreas Escher, Holger Schmidt, Julian Eggebrecht
released = 1991 (Amiga)
genre = Action, Sci-Fi / Futuristic, Shooter
modes = Platform, Side-Scrolling
ratings = ELSPA Rating : 3+
platforms = Amiga, C64, CDTV, Atari ST, PC, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum
media =
requirements =
input =

"Turrican 2" is the second game of the Turrican series. The game by Factor 5 was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amiga. This version was finished before the C64 version, but Manfred Trenz cites the C64 version as the original design. "Turrican 2" was also released for the CDTV, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum.

Gameplay

"Turrican 2" can be described as a cross between "Metroid" and "Psycho-Nics Oscar" [http://www.nemmelheim.de/turrican/files/aff5.html Interview about games that inspired Turrican (German)] ] . While the huge detailed labyrinth levels and the morph-ball function were inspired by Metroid, the overall graphics design and weapons were inspired by Psycho-Nics Oscar. Unlike many other action games of its time, Turrican didn't just force the player to complete a linear level. Instead, the real thrill for the player was to fully explore each level and uncover every secret spot, hidden room, and invisible passage. There is also surprising similarities with "Thexder" (and specially "Thexder 2".

Credits

* Design: Manfred Trenz, Andreas Escher, Holger Schmidt, Julian Eggebrecht
* Programming: Holger Schmidt, Thomas Engel (Atari ST) and Manfred Trenz (C64)
* Graphics: Andreas Escher, Manfred Trenz and Sven Meier (Atari ST)
* Cover: Celal Kandemiroglu
* Music: Chris Hülsbeck (Amiga), Jochen Hippel (Atari ST), Markus Siebold and Stefan Hartwig (C64)
* Publisher: Rainbow Arts

Conversions

A conversion under the title "Universal Soldier" for the Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Boy was produced by Accolade, who had kept the rights for the console ports of the franchise. But at a late stage, they also acquired rights to produce a game spin-off of the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie "Universal Soldier" and decided to rebrand the game. "Turrican"'s sprite was changed into a marine and several other substitutions were made. Amongst other changes, the eyeballs-walking-on-fingers became mini tanks, and instead of a large mech/steel dragon in the first stage, the player now faces a large representation of Dolph Lundgren's character in the movie.

The three "shoot'em up" stages, cut out from the port, were replaced by the developers with three original stages (a Vietnam jungle, a fortress, and a motel/car junkyard) that in theory should link the game to the movie's atmosphere. The rest of the original Turrican 2 stages are still present and remain mostly intact in overall design, though some of them appear in different order, along with the three new levels differently scattered through them. This conversion of the game was not very well received.Fact|date=July 2008

There also exists a Super Nintendo version that was almost finished, but it never reached a commercial release and nowadays can only be found as a beta. The Mega Drive/Genesis and Game Boy versions were the only console ports that were finally released.Fact|date=July 2008

References