Time-Travelling, Fast-Paced Chaos Returns!
Turok is back and it’s looking better than ever in a newly optimised re-release of the 2015 remaster. Originally released back in 1997 under the name Turok: Dinosaur Hunter for the Nintendo 64, fans can now enjoy a fully optimised blast from the past on the Xbox Series X|S consoles.
The main question is whether or not this re-release is justified as a new version, and the answer is well… sort of?
New Features?
Let’s start by going through the new features in the Xbox Series X|S version, as it’s not quite the same as the remaster from 2015. Instead, Nightdive Studios have actually added a host of improvements, fixes and even a couple surprises here and then.
Firstly there’s a bunch of accessibility features and UI changes which just make for a much smoother and customisable experience. It means players can customise things like head bobbing, how the minimap displays locations and items, and there’s even a number of graphics settings to allow the game to look the best it ever has. Seriously, these environments look amazing with extended render distances and HD textures. The shine on Tal’Set’s arsonry distracted me multiple times simply because it was just so alluring!
The controls have been further optimised and there are better options to remap the controller however you’d like to play, whether it’s more like the original version or more akin to today’s standard FPS controls (it makes Turok a much better experience not having to worry about the clunky controls from the original version). There’s also some actual gameplay changes that make the whole experience more user friendly, such as being able to swap ammo types for all weapons at any point, and binding multiple weapons to specific inputs.
And then there’s the addition of the newly recovered Brachiosaurus dinosaurs which Nightdive Studios managed to salvage from a Turok: Dinosaur Hunter beta ROM. Players can find these enormous yet passive beasts wandering around the heights of the Treetops area in Level 6. It’s a small addition but it adds so much more immersion to what was already my personal favourite level in the game, and it’s absolutely my new favourite feature!
That just about covers the general new features, though there are many more subtle yet specific changes players can read about here if they would like to. There are dozens of changes and fixes on the list, but there’s only a few that directly affect the gameplay and overall product. For those that have played the first Turok before, these new features aren’t enough to justify returning, but for those who are yet to experience this significant title, the Xbox Series X|S re-release is certainly the definitive version to play.
Returning To A Classic
The base game of Turok is still much the same as the 1997 version. It’s an insanely fun, action-packed, fast-paced FPS that paved the way for modern standards. This is a game that came out before Goldeneye, and is expected to have impacted the trajectory of Goldeneye in various ways. Turok’s legacy and impact could never be understated; it’s an important piece of video game history. That being said, it’s a far from perfect experience.
Turok is a game that places entertainment at the heart and soul of its premise. There isn’t much of a story going on, but you have to remember that this was from an era where games weren’t so cinematic and narratively driven as they are today. I had no idea what was going on when I first played this title, and I still have no idea what’s going on in it today! There are dinosaurs with rocket launchers, and skeleton men chasing you with darts, and then suddenly there are aliens blasting you with ray guns – it’s hyperbolic nonsense, but that’s all part of the charm!
The gameplay is the core aspect here, and that’s a great thing because it plays so fluidly, and with such a visceral pace that you can’t help but get sucked into its allure straight away.
Each and every single weapon in the game packs a punch, making them super fun to use. There are of course certain weapons that are inherently better than others but all of them are viable choices and players will find themselves scrolling through their vast arsonry whilst zipping and gliding around the vibrantly immersive jungle environments. It’s non-stop action and some of the most entertaining gunplay I’ve experienced in years. That says a lot for a game that came out in 1997.
Unfortunately, the worst part of Turok has to be the platforming elements. First person platforming is a tricky thing to get right. Even now we’ve only had a few releases that manage to get it right. For its time, Turok gave it some great effort. It’s not devastatingly terrible, it’s just pretty bad. And perhaps even worse, it’s very frustrating. One slight overstep on a jump and you could lose one of your hard-earned extra lives. With the new control schemes and optimisations, it’s slightly improved in this new version, but it’s still the worst part of the game and I found myself actively avoiding platforming paths wherever I could. In fact, my only deaths in the game came from falling off some stupidly narrow platforms (apart from one death in a boss fight), and that just made it even more frustrating.
The jumping is clunky and imprecise, and it slows the whole momentum of the game down to a grinding halt whenever you have to platform your way through an area. It’s a jarring contrast to the otherwise fast-paced aesthetic.
Exploration and Level Design
I think it’s safe to say that Turok will never be a game for everybody, especially those looking for depth. The core aim of the game is to complete seven levels, find all the keys in these levels and then go on to the final area. That’s it. Searching for these keys can be a tiresome slog. Some of these levels are seriously big and almost all of them have branching pathways where you’re never sure which way you’re supposed to be going. One way might lead to the key, whilst the other might lead to a bunch of ammo you didn’t need. When you make the wrong decision and miss all three or four keys in a level it can start to get pretty frustrating.
These confusing level designs will ultimately determine whether Turok is for you or not. If you can stick with it and find solace in the fun gameplay, and just generally enjoy running around and shooting a great variety of enemies, then it’ll be no problem. If you’re someone who is looking for a more linear experience with tighter and more focused objectives, Turok will probably have you ripping your hair out. Whilst some might agree that the confusing game design is a massive hindrance, it could also be argued that encouraging exploration is a great thing.
Players can easily spend over thirty minutes or more on a level looking for specific keys, but in that time all that exploring could have led to the discovery of some of the best loot in the game including secret rooms, backpack upgrades and full ammo/health. I fall somewhere in the middle on that spectrum. It’s certainly impressive that so much freedom and exploration is granted to the player, but sometimes it’s just too much. It also has a direct impact on boss fights. If players come fully equipped and prepared (which they should do from exploring for so long), none of the bosses are particularly challenging.
The exploration point ties nicely to another gripe of mine: after spending so long exploring and maxing out your equipment/health, there’s ultimately no point in killing any more enemies unless they are required to progress to the next area. Enemies sometimes drop health or ammo, but often they drop nothing. If you don’t need health or ammo then why bother engaging with any of them? Sometimes it makes more sense just to run through whole areas, skipping all the enemies which is the main part of the game.
And that’s a real shame because the enemy designs are fantastic and their death animations and visceral reactions to being shot are some of the highlights of Turok. One of the most satisfying ones is taking down a Triceratops loaded with rocket launchers and then watching as the huge dinosaur squashes its hunter rider beneath its weight. In this re-release specifically, the enemies also have a tighter ragdoll effect on their deaths, allowing them to fall off cliffs after explosions or sink in deep water. It actually has better enemy death animations than a lot of games released today which is seriously impressive!
There’s just something to the feel of the fast movement and never-ending shooting that clicks and syncs perfectly throughout the whole game. It’s some of the most satisfying gameplay of all time and there wasn’t a single second where I was ever bored, even when I’d been searching for keys for over an hour. If I was doing that in any other game I would have probably turned it off after 20 minutes – but Turok is different. It captivates you and pulls you right into the action, never letting you stop to think too much, and never telling you what the hell is even going on!
A Blast from the Past, Enhanced for the Present
The new features and fixes do make this re-release the definitive version of Turok, but if you’ve played it before there’s no real reason to return here (unless you want to see some really cool Brachiosaurus’ roaming the Treetops level or if you’re just a hardcore Turok fan). It looks great and plays beautifully with a silky smooth framerate. The jungle environment has never felt so immersive, from its captivating sound effects and music, to the atmospheric fog that encourages further exploration. On a number of occasions I actually found it difficult to discern between the beating of drums in the soundtrack to the running footsteps of enemies hounding towards me. It’s blood-rushing stuff that further enhances the fast-paced nature and makes for a truly immersive experience.
Overall, the new re-release of Turok can be a great experience and I thoroughly recommend it for anyone who hasn’t played this insane game yet. The ending is certainly a tad underwhelming, and with a complete lack of story explanation players will never know what’s going on, who anyone is, or even who you’re playing as (the character isn’t even called Turok)!
But sometimes all you need is some insanely fast-paced and extremely fun gunplay, great enemy designs, and huge open levels to have a good time. And that’s exactly what Turok achieves.
Your Dino Links
Buy Turok on Xbox Series X|S – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/turok/c3fdp0ntc0jm
Grab the Trilogy Bundle, including Turok 2 and Turok 3 – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/turok-trilogy-bundle/9P13DT8NX19S/0010
