The iconic noughties first-person shooter Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion will roar to PS5 and PS4 later this year, on 14th November, as part of an ongoing preservation effort from retro remaster specialists Nightdive Studios. The game – which first launched on Nintendo 64 almost 23 years ago – will use the latest version of the developer’s proprietary KEX Engine, meaning it’ll run in 4K at up to 120 frames-per-second, with a “higher tier of visual fidelity across 3D models, textures, and graphical effects”.
The press release explains: “In Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion, players choose between dual protagonists Joseph and Danielle Fireseed, siblings of Turok 2: Seeds of Evil protagonist Joshua Fireseed. Together, they must defeat the titular antagonist Oblivion and its followers, the Flesh Eaters, after the supposed demise of their brother at its hands.”
There’ll be full Trophy support in the full release, along with various other perks and improvements designed to optimise the experience for the modern market. Obviously this completes the trilogy, with Nightdive Studios previously releasing both the original Turok and Turok 2: Seeds of Evil on contemporary consoles.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 30
There was a Turok 3? How did I miss that? I owned a N64 and only remember Turok and its sequel Seeds of Evil.
Same here, never knew a third installment existed😂
Loved the first one, played it on a US import n64 and looked fab back in the day, even the fog effect didn't bother me👍
I said a few months ago that we will be flushed by remasters/ports of games from the early 3D era, or new games in the same vein, because the people who feel nostalgia for it are now full fledged devs (and producers love to bet on nostalgia).
And now here we go : Quake 2, Dark Forces, Turok 3 and so on.
I have played through this generation of games and how I don't want to go back to it one bit. This is what almost took me out of the hobby in the late 90s/early 2000s. People have to understand these early 3D games haven't aged as well as the pixel art ones from the 16-bit gen. If they are going to do them, a full on remake is needed. "Remastering" isn't enough.
Just for example, I really wonder how many people who bought the Quake 2 remaster will play more than a few hours of it. I'd love if the devs would put these stats up at some point.
I love this game. It has unbelievably good character models and lip syncing for the system. And it's good fun too. Just runs like crap on N64.
@Olmaz speak for yourself. I love this stuff.
@Geep Let me guess, you were a teenager at that time? : )
No issue with people loving it, but I will maintain that these games have almost no appeal to anyone who hasn't played them back then (and those who just really don't want to go through the torture again), unlike the pixel art ones of the generation before that can be still playable today with just a bit of quality of life added.
Love the first game, thought the second was pretty good too. For some reason never got around to this.
Nice. Got the first 2 on switch. I like the 2nd one but find the portals completely confusing. I could never get very far past the boat yard due to getting lost 🤷♂️
@Olmaz
Again, speak for yourself. I'm 50 and love seeing all this classics getting a re-release, (even with just a few tweaks and if the price is right), and play many of them regularly as well as a stack of original games. The remasters of Turok 1 & 2 are superb and so I will definitely be picking Turok 3 up.
I'm guess what you might call a retro gamer. Don't really care what other games people are playing, but you shouldn't really make wild assumptions of others based on your own gaming preferences.
@PixelDragon Hey, calm down, I'm not making "wild assumptions" and I'm speaking for myself alone.
Of course some people will disagree, and I may even be completely wrong and all these may well end up being bestsellers, who knows.
But just by saying what I feel about these games, and expressing a more generalized view of what I think the general gaming landscape is is not something to warrant such a reaction, let's just talk about it.
I am also what you could call a retro gamer (but just in his early 40s!), as I love to go back to old games I've played (and some I've missed). But every time I do this, I have to acknowledge how far games have gone and how hard it is to play some of these old games. And to me, these early 3D games are the worst culprit of aged graphics + insufferable gameplay.
Every once and a while I get this nostalgia rush and I go play the first Tomb Raider or Unreal Tournament. And while I see why they were fantastic at that time, no way I can play them more than an hour before being frustrated.
@Olmaz
I'm calm my dude and perhaps 'wild assumption' was the wrong phrasing, but had to challenge your stance that people won't be interested in this. Sure the majority probably won't be, but there is a large community of gamers who love this stuff and I'm a part of said community.
By comparison I find a lot of modern games with their incessant handholding, all style and no substance presentation insufferable.
@PixelDragon Fair enough! : )
@Olmaz Good games are good games, games without season passes,battle passes, pre-order dlc, loot boxes, pay 2 win mechanics, are better still.
@Olmaz
It's interesting that you mention the first Tomb Raider. I'll agree that at first the tank controls take some getting used to and modern audiences would no doubt bulk at it, but once you're on board it's clearly a more engaging, challenging and compelling gaming experience than the reboots - which were just pretty looking, shallow shooting galleries that lost all the grandeur of the originals.
Don't get me wrong, though, I still enjoy a wealth of modern games, but I am very picky about them and for many a good reason.
@Smiffy01 On this I agree 100%. I'm currently prone to say the late PS3, early PS4 era was the best, with all the modern gaming without most of the messed up BS we get today!
@PixelDragon The reboots failed completely at what they set up to do : a realistic, almost survival, approach to the character... yeah that didn't last 15 minutes into the game.
I'd love a remake of the first Tomb Raider with the same focused gameplay, but with modernized controls, graphics and sounds.
I yearn for simpler games, and this is why some of my favorite games these last years are things like Dead Cells or Slay the Spire. These massive AAA games too often feel so bloated by unnecessary mechanics...
@Olmaz
Tomb raider Anniversary was a far more accomplished attempt at capturing the feel of the original, but things like QTE combat for the T-Rex encounter stole away the sense of grandeur and danger.
I did enjoy both Legend and Underworld and, unlike the reboots, Lara remained a likeable, sassy, sharp witted character thrown into a world of exploration and fun puzzle solving . In the reboot Lara became this dour, moody, wholly unlikeable person. I did eventually complete the first one, (kept playing in the hope it would improve), but it just droned on.
Decided to give the benefit of the doubt with the sequel, but soon just switched it off. Didn't even bother with the third instalment.
Going back to Turok I got completely lost in the Death Marshes in Turok 2 earlier this year. For the life of me I cannot remember where to go, but refuse to use a guide. Must return to it at some point with fresh eyes!
I played and loved the first two games on the N64. If I remember correctly, I skipped the third one because it seemed that it was mainly focussed on local multiplayer PvP matches and less on singleplayer campaign.
Can anyone confirm this? Been a long while, so I might be mistaken with another game of the era.
And if my memory serves me correct, any mention of this version getting online multiplayer support?
@Olmaz gotta agree with you but upon buying Quake 1 remastered on Switch for £2.67 I can’t put it down with the gyro controls.
@Olmaz sort of. Teenager in the PS2 era which remains my favourite because it was powerful enough to deliver some fairly realistic visuals but still modest enough to require devs and artists to get creative to deliver those experiences. It was a bit of a wild west, but we ended up with some of the best games ever made and many that are still hugely playable and influential (so many 60fps titles on that system).
I still love the grainy industrial visuals on ps1 too. But it's a real case by case basis on whether the games have aged well. Like, I still find MGS, Ridge Racer Type 4, Final Fantasy 7-9, and Silent Hill to be pretty essential titles that I love to revisit.
@Olmaz I'd argue that the best looking ps2 games have aged better aesthetically than the most average looking ps3 games due to trends in art and technology.
They tried too hard to push normal maps, low res stencil shadows and all sorts of other ugly post processing in the ps3 era that the hardware wasn't ready for - that's why ps4 ports of those games often look so much cleaner. But they were also dull artistically. So many grey muddy shooters.
@ThaBEN you're thinking of Turok Rage Wars. Turok 3 was an almost half-life style story driven sequel.
@Geep
Guess that means I need to buy this
I'm enjoying this conversation thread and leaving the page open to see where it goes. I loved that era of gaming, and it's good to see the differing opinions.
I'm adoring the experience of going back to Quake 1 and 2 on my PS5, particularly for the 120fps, but am now used to the epic progression of story and environment of modern FPS games.
So I'm going back to them when I feel like revelling in that lovely visceral, not-overly-complex brutal gameplay of Quake 2, but it only lasts for a while until I have to put it down as I feel like I'm just clearing similar areas to go to the next one.
Brilliant, but for a single player story driven FPS that really sucks me in long term, something like the modern Wolfenstein games appeal to me more.
Still, I'll keep going back to Q1&2 just in short busts when I need that simple theraputic pleasure of wanton massacre.
@Geep I'd say purely artistically, I agree with you (although there quite a few stunner on PS3). But gameplay-wise there are really few PS2-era games that hold their ground compared to current games in the same genre.
Do you have some PS2 games in mind that still hold up as they are?
For me, there would be the 2 God of War games (even though GOW3 blew them out of the water), Dragon Quest VIII (even though DQXI is far better) and Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (fingers crossed DBZBT4 will be great!).
@Luigia I never got on to the gyro bandwagon, always seemed clunky, but I'm open to try. Do you know of a PS5 game that you'd recommend playing with gyro?
I love this constant feed of classic games were getting, and with them adding trophies. It gives me the incentive I need to revisit them.
@Olmaz can’t talk for PS5 games but Quake on Switch with Gyros is ace
@Olmaz tons of them. Almost all the turn based JRPGs play like modern indie RPGs and Persona 5. Most the best beat em ups. Most the extreme sports stuff like Tony Hawks and SSX3. Then classics like Ico, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, Burnout 3, NFS, Gran Turismo, MGS2 and 3, RE4, and countless others play as you'd expect. Tbh, I find every game I pick up these days having the exact same homogenised control scheme pretty dull. Nothing to learn and it seems to stop people from experimenting.
I use to play the hell out of Turok 3 back when I owned a N64. I use to own all 3 of the Turok games on the N64, Turok Evolution on PS2 and Turok on PS3. Yes you could say I was a fan of the Turok games. I was so excited when I saw Turok 3 was getting a remaster. This will complete my remastered trilogy. In my opinion Turok 3 has really good gameplay. The classic games are not about the scenic parts of the game it's about the gameplay/storyline. Now the Turok games that need a remaster is Turok Evolution and Turok released in 2008. After those games get remastered that will complete the remastered Turok series. If that never happens though that's alright I'm happy with what has been remastered. Thank you Nightdive Studios for all your hard work on these remasters.
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