Turrican first shot to prominence in 1990 on the C64 system, utilising rarely used hardware and a new palette – and proving that the programmers (lead by Manfred Trenz) knew as much about the machine they were building games for as they did about brilliant, breathtaking gameplay. All that, and I haven't even touched on the sound effects and the marvellous soundtrack that was even released on CD!
The game was one of the first action/shoot-em-ups to allow the player to explore levels and find secrets that weren’t necessary to the completion of the level, allowing a non-linear dimension of gameplay. Oh and he can turn into an indestructible wheel/gyroscope!
The original games were never released for the PC and the success and renown in which the series is still held has lead to several versions being made available to PC users over the years. Some official remakes and continuations of the series have almost got off the ground, such as Turrican 3 and Turrican 3D – but the original seems to be the best, and the template for a host of freeware Turrican clones.
For the uninitiated, Turrican plays along the lines of an old-style arcade game shoot-em up. The player takes control of the Turrican character (in some versions the hero’s name, in others the name of the suit) which is thrown into instant combat against all manner of alien creatures, some large, some small.
Turrican has a selection of unique weapons for a game originating in the early 1990s – along with attacking his enemies with standard (upgradeable) blaster fire, Turrican can (depending on the version) drop mines, fire grenades, issue a bolt of lightning in a 360 degree arc and issue a screen-clearing “power bar” that destroys almost everything in sight. Jumping from platform to platform or running through tunnels, Turrican can also pick up bonuses ranging from weapon upgrades and replenishment to power ups and extra lives.
Although considered a straightforward platform game, Turrican’s original success lay not only in its playability but in its adaptability – the original games also featured up/down scrolling “jet pack levels” and 360 degree scrolling “space fighter” levels.