Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Developer : Iguana Entertainment / Nightdive Studios
Publisher : Acclaim Entertainment / Nightdive Studios
Platform : Nintendo 64 / PC-Steam
Release Year : 1997 / 2015
A Dino-Blast from the Past
I am 100% that person who never grew out of their love of dinosaurs. For the longest time I wanted to be a paleontologist when I grew up, and even thought life didn’t turn out that way, my love of those prehistoric animals, and the science behind them, never went away. So, when I learned about an upcoming game for my N64 called Turok: Dinosaur Hunter back in those ancient days of 1996/97, I knew I had to play it as soon as possible. Here was a game that was combining two things young Zachary loved so very much: dinosaurs and first-person shooters.
Why wouldn’t I want to play it?!
Dinosaurs and guns? Yes please!
Once I finally did get my hands on Turok, by renting it from the local Roger’s Video I should add, it blew me away. The game felt massive thanks to the maze-like level design, and the graphics were unlike anything I had seen at that point. Here was a game that was really showing off this new world of 3D gaming on home consoles, and I am so happy that I got to experience that firsthand. Back then gaming technology was moving a breakneck pace, and a game like this would never have been on a home console only a year or two earlier.
How the remaster of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter by Nightdive Studios flew under my radar for so long is still a bit of a mystery to me, but I’m so happy that I got the Turok trilogy for the PC. Replaying through these titles was such a trip down memory lane, and being able to compare these remasters with the original Nintendo 64 releases via my Retroid 5 really helped to show how far we have come, especially when it comes to controls…because holy shit, the controls on those N64 games are something else.
A Dinotastic Good Time
Is Turok the best FPS game ever made? No, not by a long shot. Hell, it’s not even the best FPS on the N64, but there is something about this game that I have loved for decades. Even now, it’s hard to put my finger on exactly why I loved this game so much back in the day. Was it the huge and maze-like levels, because finding your way through gave you a real sense of accomplishment? Was it the dinosaurs, even if there wasn’t enough of them to satisfy me? Was it the gunplay, as basic as it was back then? Or was it a combination of all of it?
I think it was a bit of everything and then some, because replaying this game today was like seeing an old friend, and picking up right where we left off. There is also a health dose of nostalgia here for me, and let’s just say that these rose tinted glasses fit me like a glove. But enough talk, lets dive into this and start with the game’s level design. Why? Because why not!
Level and Visual Design
The level design in Turok is very much a product of it’s time, with its sprawling and maze-like maps. Traversing your way through these levels involves a lot more than running straight ahead and shooting whatever gets in your way, instead you’ll be swimming through flooded caves, leaping across death defying gaps, making your way through ‘dense’ jungles, and so much more in your quest to collect the keys hidden across each level. These massive and open maps give the game world a real sense of scale, which I feel is pretty impressive for a console game this old.
Visually, the levels look really good, if they are a bit spartan by today’s standards. The game has that very distinctive late ‘90s polygon and is either an esthetic you either love or think looks absolutely terrible, and I am very much in the former camp. I love how clean and crisp the polygons are in the remake, while still retaining their ‘90s charm. The remaster also tones down the massive amounts of fog that were notorious in N64 games, and it should come as no surprise how much better Turok looks because of it. You would think that lack of fog would make the levels look smaller, but if anything, the levels seem almost bigger with the reduced fog. Without all the fog, you can really take in how big these maps are, and for a game that debuted on the N64, it’s pretty impressive what Iguana did here.
Gameplay
The best thing about this remaster isn’t the high resolution retro visuals, it’s the modern FPS controls, because holy shit, going back to the N64 version and trying to use that control scheme is something else. With the updated and modern control scheme, Turok plays so, so, so much better. Like, unless you have played classic Turok, it’s hard to overstate just how much better the game plays thanks to the not having to use that strange, yet iconic, N64 controller, because aiming with the left stick and using your right thumb to move, via the c-buttons, feels so wrong. The updated control scheme also makes the gunplay so much better, which is a damn good thing, because you know, the game is a first-person shooter.
There is really not much else to say about the gameplay really. You go through the levels shooting bad guys and search for keys and secrets, and that’s it. You have to remember, back in the day that was more than enough, especially when a game was 3D. Sure there is a story here, but it is there more so just to check a box, because I have no idea what is going on, and I really don’t care; I’m having more than enough fun just making my way through the levels and blasting dinosaurs, soldiers, and aliens.
Basic, yet Fun
There really isn’t much else to say about Turok. If you didn’t like the game back in the day, or hell, where not even born yet, I can’t see this remake changing your mind or making you want to play it for the first time. Now, if you were a fan of the game on the N64 or are a fan of other shooters from those ancient days, I think this remake/remaster, or whatever you want to call it, is something you’ll really enjoy. Night Dive Studios did a damn good job here, and playing through this game got me super excited to play both Turok 2: Seeds of Evil and Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion.
Which I did right after I finished Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and I had a hell of a good time.
