Turok

Man, I don't get why this game is considered a classic. Maybe because it was a launch title on N64 and people just didn't have any good shooters back then on consoles. And, if we are talking about consoles, this is probably one of the games why the PC master race looked upon console shooters like they were lepers for a very long time. Yes, I know Turok was also released on PC, but it didn't get much praise there. The problem with Turok actually stems not from being a console shooter but from some really bad game design decisions that botched a perfectly fun game. The team was inexperienced in FPS, and they made a lot of mistakes. So the things I hate about Turok: 1) Enemy respawn. This is the cardinal sin of this game, which fucks up pretty much everything good Turok has to offer. It totally destroys exploration (because no one wants to explore a world where killed enemies are respawned 2 minutes after their death). The respawn is done in a very idiotic way: some of the killed enemies just resurrect, while others do not, and it really doesn't make any sense. What's even worse is that ammo is scarce and NOT respawning; hence, if you are too invested in explorations or just playing at your own pace, you will be left with hordes of enemies and a knife to fight them. A lot of times you will just say "fuck it" and run past enemies and exploration to end this circus and see another level. This is not a game for methodical gamers, that's for sure. 2) Saves are done only on very rare save points, but there are also checkpoints where you can resurrect after death. It would've been OK and even fun, but resurrecting on checkpoints to see enemies respawned and your ammo dwindling is really irritating. Oh, and the amount of lives to respawn is limited (but it was never a problem for me). 3) Once again it's a random mishmash of enemies and scenery without any coherent story or explanation. 4) Some enemies are just stupid hitscan guaranteed hits, while others are twitching and shooting your ass before you can even react. 5) Platforming. I must admit, the controls for platforming are impeccable, and I was never raging because I fell due to bad movement. But platforming itself in this game is really boring and just drags on and on. And if you manage to fall, you'll have to start anew the whole platforming section. This is what happens when the team that did console 2D platformers their whole career makes an FPS for the first time. 6) The last level is just atrocious. It feels like the team just gave up and made monotonous corridors with the same texture and copy-pasted it into infinity. Very bad level, one of the worst I've seen in my 30 years of gaming. I just lost my temper and ran past everyone and everything for the last 5 minutes of this map to finally see the boss. Turok is obviously a game that suffers a lot from an experienced dev team doing stuff they've never done before. A lot of console 2D-platformer sensibilities are pushed into this FPS, and those things don't work in this kind of game at all. Even more, those things destroy what's good about Turok (level design, gunplay, exploration). And it was 1997: there were too many great shooters on the market already, and Turok didn't feel that good when compared to them. I consider the success of this game in those times to have been mostly based on three points: there were almost no good FPS on consoles; Acclaim promoted and advertised it everywhere non-stop; and the tech side of Turok was pretty impressive for 1997. But these days I can honestly condemn Turok as one of the most irritating, imbalanced, and badly designed FPS I've ever played. PS. Nightdive did a good remaster, and there are no complaints about their work. The problem is that they just remastered a bad game.

A very old N64 title from back when I was just a kid and always wanted to own and beat it like the older kids. You play as an indian guy with a bow and knife killing dudes with guns, dinosaurs, and other things I would rather not spoil. Simple concept but if you are overly reckless could easily become frustrating. Good weapon variety for a game of its age as well as enemy variety too. Very much enjoyed playing it all the way through all these years later. Achievement hunters beware. Turok:Treasure hunter achievement MUST be saved and overwritten in the same save file for all the secret areas to count. Don't do what I did and have to do it all over again.

Great game from the 90s that still holds up. I remember playing this on the 64 as a kid and being frustrated by the aiming scheme using a N64 controller. On PC with mouse and keyboard the controls are smooth and the game plays great! The graphics are decent for an older game, there is some blockiness to the textures but if you're expecting something different from a game this old...well... The animations are quite good as well, several different death animations for the enemies and variation in death animations among the enemy types means that the game doesn't feel stale and repetitive killing your 100th raptor. Speaking of enemies, there is a decent smattering of different types of enemies and a good difficult slope as you progress through the levels. As you attain more powerful weapons, they'll be needed to take on triceratops and mechs. The weapons themselves are quite varied from a bow to a fusion launcher that unleashed a nuclear bomb (or something like it). Ammo is both plentiful and scarce. If you run through the level and don't have to back track or go redo the level because you forgot a key you will have plenty of ammo. However, if, like me, you seriously messed up level 4 somehow and had to redo the entire level, ammo can get pretty tight. Some enemies respawn making sure you can't just horde ammo or wait things out. Turok will have you puckered on the edge of your seat as you try to manage health, ammo, and hordes of enemies that pop out of nowhere and start blasting you while you panic scroll trying to find the right weapon to take out the trolls that are throwing fireballs at you while your getting shot by a mercenary and raptor and a guy with a club are chasing you down. The game plays best head down, full tilt, balls to the wall guts and glory. If you're looking for a fun arcade game with a few simple puzzles, maze like levels, and wolfenstien shoot-em-up energy this is a great fit. The only real drawback is the lack of story. The evolution of the levels themselves tells its own story as you go from spawning deep in the jungle fighting mercenaries and dinos to finding a hub that leads to...other parts of the same world?...A different world? There is of course the comics and animated movie, so I'm sure if you're familiar with the established lore the game probably makes more sense. But as you get through the jungle you progress into a mechanized world where you infiltrate and shut down a factory producing....stuff...and things. Again, there's definitely a story being told, but without the outside source material you kinda gotta fill in the blanks on your own. As far as replayability, the game does suffer a little. You can play with "cheats" and have infinite ammo and lives to go back through the early levels and blast through everything with the high tier weapons you get in the late game but...that kinda get old fast. The main replayability here is challenging yourself. Definitely a game ripe for speedrunneers. I'm note sure it would be possible but even certain weapon challenges could be fun as well (i.e. beat the game only using the knife). 7/10 (Needs better puzzles and a story) Oh, and also there are aliens.

An excellent FPS that's held up well over time. I've always been a big fan of the Turok series. It's like Rambo meets Jurassic Park. The controls are fluent and respond perfectly. The music is fantastic. The graphics are a nice step up from the N64 version. The weapons are fun to use. But be prepared for a challenge, especially for the action and the platform jumping. Overall, a great game to check out and can't wait to blast my way through Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. One last thing: it really would be nice if Steam could get Turok: Evolution on here, as that's a great game in the series.

Plus Killing enemies feels satisfying, though I liked the human ones a lot more than the dinosaurs, and those a lot more than the robots. Good old shooting fun With guides, progressing through the game was possible Minus Levels are way too large for no reason Without guides, progressing through the game would be harsh, and the secrets de facto impossible No free saving Too many weapons! And too little max ammo! First person platforming never became a genre for a reason There's really only one level theme before the last two levels, where there is another I wouldn't play this on higher difficulty than normal (and luckily it's not required) because combat isn't all that fair, some enemies' attacks are basically not dodgeable Respawning enemies No RPG elements – which ties into the respawning enemies part. Why not implement a levelling system and give me a small boost to stats, max ammo etc. from time to time... the game would feel a LOT less pointless. I consider that the biggest flaw of the game. No story or characters whatsoever A non-trivial speedrunning achievement, which usually is an automatic thumb down – but I'm lenient here cause I got it reasonably quickly 20 Euros is ridiculous. Don't pay more than 5 Final verdict Really this was something you play to 100% and immediately forget. BUT as I was able to do it without too much trouble, it's still a thumb up, as this is quite impressive for a game that originally was produced for my most hated console of all time, the N64, which made me give up on console gaming altogether. I haven't held a controller in my hands for more than 20 years now and I'm proud of that. Anyway, this sure felt a large step up from Duke Nukem 3D as a SHOOTER (certainly not in most other regards, of course), and I respect that.

Great game for the OGs.

Cyborg Dinosaurs? Yes, more please.

good

I am Turok Son of Stone

I AM TUROK.

Savage FPS

I played this in 1997 without a memory card leading to a 28 year spiral of getting lost in fog looking for keys, hitscanned from beyond the horizon, and jumping into lava pits