The focus is solidly on multiplayer gaming. As many as four players can enter the fray in several modes of combat -- the standard Deathmatch (Bloodlust), Team Deathmatch (Team Bloodlust), Frag Tag and Capture the Flag. The last two options offer the most unique gameplay. Frag Tag has one player as "it." If that player is killed while "it", he turns into a monkey. Monkeys can go places others can't, but they're easier to kill, requiring only a few hits. However, the monkey can get a special powerup that turns all the other players into monkeys while the former simian can hunt them down in normal form. Player can pass on monkeyship by stepping on active platforms. Capture the Flag also contains a bit of fun, with one flag that as many as four teams can try to capture and bring back to base.

The controls are similar to Turok 2's -- the C keys move forward, back and side to side. The trigger fires, and pressing the B button triggers a secondary fire mode or special option, depending on what weapon is currently active. Players switch weapons by holding down the A key and moving the control stick in the direction of the weapon they want to use. Before entering a multiplayer game, players can choose from a variety of characters and skins (most of which need to be unlocked in the single-player mode), and then choose their weapon loadout. Each player has five default slots and can select from 14 weapons to fill those slots. Each weapon uses one of three different types of ammo -- Bullets, Explosive Rounds and Energy Rounds. Since players already have the majority of the weapons in their inventory when they start, and the only way to use them is to collect ammo, players often feel like they're always short of ammo while playing. However, there are other special weapons scattered throughout the levels, like sentry turrets or the cerebral bore. Most of the time players will run around picking up ammo rather than hunting fellow players, which can get a bit annoying after a while.

While the game focuses on multiplayer, a single-player Trials mode lets players play by themselves (or in a two-player team) against computerized "bots," -- artificially intelligent enemies that will hunt players and each other. The Trials mode gives players plenty of practice, but the mission tree begins to feel dull quickly, and although the bot AI can be adjusted for difficulty, even the smartest bots don't do a very good job of impersonating a human opponent -- they just have impeccable aim. No, for a single-player game, players should certainly avoid this one. The focus here is multiplayer only.

The game uses the Expansion Pak for high-res graphics, and the colored lighting does a good job of adding atmosphere to the game. However, soon after playing a rousing round of Turok: Rage Wars, four of us popped in Quake II and revisited the multiplayer modes in Activision's older hit. The game ran faster (albeit not as prettily), and the weapons simply felt more varied and powerful, even though there aren't as many as in Rage Wars. Granted, the Quake II weapons don't have secondary fire modes, but they still feel more useful. Truth be told, we had more fun revisiting Quake II than we did with Rage Wars -- it was faster, had better sound, and was simply more fun.

For players dying for a multiplayer game, who have already played everything else out on the market, Turok: Rage Wars is worth the time and effort. However, for those new to the multiplayer scene, there are far better games with faster multiplayer and more intensive single player modes out there.