Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

I only found out about the comic book(and have not read it) after completing the game, but I understand that they have little to do with each other. This takes place in The Lost Land, a different dimension in which all the stuff the developers thought up and didn't want to abandon could co-exist, and you must fight your way through many enemies, to finally rescue the world... or something. Of course, you wouldn't know any of that unless you read it somewhere(well, it is in the manual), such as on-line, because the game makes less than any attempt at telling you(but hey, at least the story does make the whole deal with being able to resurrect(the game lets you have extra lives, the way FPSs that went before it did) make sense and able to be explained within the context of it). The Lost Land is divided up into about eight different(even though several of them are similar to one another) areas, and you have to find the keys to all but the very first one, searching through each but the last for them. The game is an FPS, or First Person Shooter, and is steps(not leaps) beyond Doom. It features elements of adventure and platform games, a 360 degree camera, and things you'd expect to be in an FPS. There are some Boss fights. Adversaries are plentiful, and there are many different kinds. The AI is fair. Among said elements of other game types are a number of jumping puzzles, and vast areas to explore(mainly in search of the keys, of which, on average, there are three per level). Those two, in particular the first, coupled with the fact that the game only allows saving your progress at specific points(which there aren't that many of), are likely to cause all but the most stoic of players frustration, possibly even of tremendous potency. The difficulty level is reasonable, if not always even. Sound is OK, no real major ups or downs, all in all. Graphics are rather well-done, all the way through, and the fog helps create atmosphere. There are few bugs or glitches in the game, but some "clipping" issues can be another source of irritation. Level design is pretty good, be prepared to spend a lot of time(considering how short the game is) running around, looking for where to go. Whether or not that's a positive or a negative thing is up to the individual player. You'll go through catacombs, a tree-top village and a forest. You will face and fight many other opponents in addition to the dinosaurs the appearance of which explain the title. Being an FPS released in the late nineties(as opposed to the early nineties, which was when the sub-genre of action gaming started), the game lets you jump and swim, and there are elevators and the like, in addition to the entirely free camera. One thing this has that not too terribly many FPSs have, at the very least at the time this was released, is climbing walls. Not all walls let you do this, but some, you can scale. There are ladders, as well, and the system for going up or down either isn't half bad. Jumping, while I personally could have done without quite so much of it, tends to be supported well by its system, if the furthest jump(which is, of course, important to master for any area that requires its use) demands something of a combination of keys pressed(especially for a game which doesn't fall into another sub-genre of action, fighting), if it could have been worse. Design is interesting and notably versatile. The weapons are nicely done, and some are *really* entertaining to use. None are downright boring, although an early one or two will get trumped by later finds. There are modern, old and even futuristic arms in your well-stocked arsenal. There tend to be one of each basic kind, but some are similar to one another, in fact, the whole "energy powered and energy unleashing gun" is done several times. The game-play is fun, and can be intense. One noteworthy aspect is that you can go back through earlier areas throughout the very most part of the game, if the progression through the levels, as far as I've been able to tell, remains entirely linear(not within the levels themselves, at least not necessarily, more in the *order* of the eight levels). I didn't care for the way so many foes re-spawn, and at times soon, some even about immediately, after, that, to me, takes away the point of fighting them at all(as opposed to just running past them). In addition to saving your game, you will also find checkpoints, and if you die in the game, you will resurrect at the last passed checkpoint, or the last place you did save, whichever was the more recent of the two. There are sci-fi aspects in this, including dimensional portals, but it's mostly fantasy, and decent if you want to play a game populated by the well-known pre-historic creatures who graciously lend their name to the title of this video-game(the middle word, in case you remained outside the always pleasant state of certainty). This doesn't have terribly much blood or gore for the type of game it is, but some deaths are somewhat disturbing. I've read conflicting information from two separate sources, so I'm unsure of the background of the Turok character featured herein(and in spite of my tireless prodding, the only words he ever uttered during the time I spent controlling him remained "I... am Turok", which, albeit it does do a nice job of cementing his identity or title, whichever it is, or both, it in no way answers any other question the player might have), but what I can say is that he is a Native American(to be PC), and he's in The Lost Land. I recommend this to fans of action, First Person Shooters, science fiction and fantasy. But mostly the first two. 7/10

I deducted a point from the overall score due to the annoying technical limitations that were carried over from the Nintendo 64 to the PC. For instance, save points were few and far between, which gets frustrating in more difficult levels. Consolitis aside, however, Turok proves to be a very entertaining shooter for "dinosaur hunters" and first-person shooter fans alike.

The first thing you'll notice when you start playing Turok is the amazingly realistic movement. When you walk, you'll see your first-person view bob in ways that make you feel nauseous for the first few minutes of gameplay, but you'll get used to it pretty quickly. When you swim underwater, you truly feel like you're swimming, thanks to realistic swimming movement (unlike in Duke Nukem 3D and Quake, where you felt like you were "walking" underwater) and a tinted blue screen when you're underwater. The superb graphics further add to the immersion. The gameworld is filled with outstanding detail, and never-before-seen special effects like fog make you feel like you're really in a living, breathing dinosaur world. The sound is also excellent, with footstep sounds, water splashing, birds chirping in the background, and stuff like that.

There's an excellent variety of enemies, from human mercenaries to nasty bugs to evil aliens and, of course, dinosaurs. The variety of weapons is just as awesome (I counted 13 weapons in total -- probably more weapons than in any other first-person shooter at the time), with all of the standard-issue weapons (knife, pistol, shotgun, assault rifle, grenade and rocket launchers, plasma gun) as well as totally awesome new ones (explosive crossbow, explosive shotgun, nuclear warheads), and a few other ones I couldn't remember. Coupled with over-the-top, realistic violence and gore, you simply can't go wrong shooting up all the enemies in this game. When you shoot an enemy, blood splatters all over the place (though it unfortunately disappears after a few seconds). The death animations also vary depending on where you shoot them (as opposed to previous 3D shooters that only had one death animation). Neck shots will cause blood to spurt from their neck while they slowly die, leg shots will cause enemies to writhe on the ground in pain, etc. While I think that Acclaim could've done a better job porting the game from the Nintendo 64 to the PC (see above), Turok is a very entertaining shooter that's well worth playing, especially for those who enjoy killing dinosaurs.

This game has to be one of the greatest video games ever made and will NEVER die out! The Game and levels are exciting and the graphics are perfect. What is there to complain about? I Recommend this game to ANY game player.

This game is now being turned into a movie by Adam Beach and Hayden "Darth Vader" Christensen. Too bad. It will most likely completely destroy any dignity left upon it after all those awful sequels.

Turok remains one of the best for the Nintendo 64 gaming system. Yes, I play video games, because where else can you live out your movie heroes? You should get one.

Turok gets 5/5 stars from me...

John Ulmer

I played this game back in the day on my mate's N64. I loved the atmosphere and the graphics were ahead of just about anything at the time.

I played and completed the remastered version on the PC. This version plays superbly on Windows 10, with enhanced graphics including lighting and water effects. Unfortunately it still suffers from the fog and poor draw distance.

The characters and set pieces all hold up really well. The levels are a bit samey, but the jungles, aztec-style ruins and space levels were incredibly original at the time and are still appealing today. I think the game designers were influenced by Tomb Raider. Turok features incredibly difficult and tedious platforming which would give Lara Croft a run for her money. On each level you need to collect a series of keys, if you miss a key you need to go back and these are hidden in places that aren't obvious. Enemies also warp in seemingly random intervals. In other words: the game is more difficult than it needs to be.

Music is tribal style. It's incredibly well-composed, but forgettable. The underwater music is my favourite.

Back in the day this was a must play game. Now Turok is worth playing for the amazing arsenal of weapons, enemies and atmosphere which are unique. Gameplay wise collecting keys and jumping 10 platforms to get to the area is not fun. There's around 8+ hours of playtime to complete the game. I would say play the sequel instead and skip this.