Okay just put these guys in charge of all the Nintendo 64 remasters. Can we get Perfect Dark next?

Nightdive has outdone themselves, Turok 2's remaster is near perfect.

Turok 2 itself is an amazing game with impressive graphics for the N64, great sound design and brutal combat across huge levels. Now you take that winning receipe, put it on PC with proper controls, new graphical options, quality of life features, mod support, and 60FPS? You got something special. Not to mention the PC soundtrack is included as an option, a very nice touch.

Beyond this, Nightdive has been supporting the game well with monthly updates that include tons of bugfixes, optimization and even new or requested features. To the point that they included an actual HORDE MODE multiplayer mode!

I could spend the rest of this review praising how great and supportive of a developer they are, despite Turok being a niche product in of itself they have committed to making this the best it could be.

At 20 Dollars, it sounds steep, but consider that unsupported, unremastered games go for 10-15 on steam. You're supporting a small niche developer that focuses on taking care of old forgotten games and you're paying for not only Turok 2 but every improvement and feature added onto it. I have spent money on worse

I don't think I'll ever forget the most glorious cheat in video game history: bewareoblivionisathand

Very impressive remaster.

+ New visual effects
+ Actual new gameplay mecanic that helps Turok during platforming (that one is impressive)

+ MORE BLOOD than the already-violent original (more blood decals on surfaces than before too)

+ Sharp, clear textures
+ Game looks fantastic with Ambient Occlusion (and frankly with everything maxed)
+ Reflections on water? What is this sorcery! It's awesome!
+ DRAW DISTANCE! DRAW DISTANCE!

+ Related to the above (draw distance increase), some parts of maps where enemies used to NOT see you (and you not seeing them) because of the Fog in the original will now shoot at you if you happen to be within range. It actually changes the dynamic of the game a little bit and it's great. There's a couple of places where more enemies than "normal" will shoot at you (especially guard Dinosoids from fixed posts at a distance) because they can now see you, but of course you can see them too. So it's a shooting craze in those map sections.

+ You can actually choose between the N64 or the PC versions of the Soundtrack, I think I had a tear in my eye when I saw that.

+ I THINK that there's some (very few) places where one or two enemies have been ADDED compared to the original. I'm playing my first game on Hard right now... it may be why. I might also be wrong... but I'm 100% confident that I've seen at least two locations in the first map (which I've completed by the time I write this review) where there was at least one extra enemy that just didn't exist there in the original. The best example I can give is right at the VERY beginning of the first map (Port of Adia). There's a dinosoid spawning at the port right after the initial explosion occurs as you walk to the right. I remember clearly that in the original game there were NO enemies there at all (unless there WAS one but I just don't remember if I actually beat the game back then on Hard, or not... it might be because of the difficulty setting, but that would surprise me). Anyway, the gist is that if they indeed ADDED some enemies here and there based on difficulty setting then that's AMAZING. More enemies means more things to shoot at, that's always a plus in my book!

+ What can I say more? IT'S TUROK 2.
+ Buy it.

Thank you for reading if you did (also, remember, just buy it, you'll thank me later).

BEWAREOBLIVIONISATHAND

BEWAREOBLIVIONISATHAND

‎

Bewareoblivionisathand

Childhood classic brought to the pc. 5/5 remake

It's Turok 2, except it isn't capped at 10fps.

The first Turok was a success. Comic book readers were happy to get a very good game based on what they read, while gamers were just glad to get fun and good-looking game that was pretty different from most of the others. Obviously, Acclaim decided to make a sequel. A-a-and that's where thing got complicated.

Technically, Turok 2 tries to keep the original formula. We still have so-called Hub in the center of things and can re-visit the previous levels any time to collect more keys and unlock more levels to eventually unlock the way to the final boss in the middle of the area. But the thing is, Acclaim decided that old formula alone is not enough. In other words, they didn't want make the original Turok's re-skin, like Ubisoft do with their games nowadays. They were nice guys. And that's exactly the reason why Turok 2 ended up being what it is. Insert the old proverb about the good intentions here.

Like I said, Turok 2 keeps the original formula (aside from switching from bright and colorful palette to a pretty generic dark something, the change that I totally didn't like), but now that formula comes with a brand new thing – level-related goals. Even though you'll still need to explore the levels thoroughly to collect the keys, you'll also need to accomplish the certain goals. For the example, the very first level (which you'll need to finish just to get to the Hub) will ask you to find and activate four distress beacons, find and save four kids and also activate the warp portal. And even that won't be the end of your pain. You'll need to locate the exit and defend so-called Energy Totem, which will be attacked by enemies. And you'll need to do that on every single level. Aside from our usual key hunting and boss battles (you'll still need to look for the bosses, those won't just sit on the end of every level). Sounds like a lot of stuff to do, right? But guess what? That's not even the end of it.

For those who started playing the FPS games only recently, Turok 2 can be a huge shock. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to act like an old geezer here, it's just, as we all know, level design in the FPS games changed a lot with time. At the beginning there were mazes (Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM are probably the most famous examples of that period), then there were complicated levels full of many different puzzles and activities (check out Duke Nukem 3D and QUAKE to get the idea about that period) and then all that went down to drain for cinematic purposes, easily accessible co-op and quick multiplayer matches. Nowadays, if you want to feel lost, you play so-called “metroidvanias”. And Turok 2? It's one of the most tricky examples from late 90s / early 2000s. The levels here are pretty big and full of hidden paths, locked doors, teleports and others things that will make you want to draw a map by hand. Just because the in-game map that still looks the same, just won't be enough. In other words, if you just finished story mode in yet another Call of Duty, or another open world game like Far Cry, Turok 2 will probably confuse you to death. Of course, I'm giving you these examples not to badmouth the other games, I'm just trying to give you an idea about how things are in Turok's sequel. And the things are – if you've easily finished Duke 3D, or Half-Life, you'll still feel lost and confused here. The original Turok's levels were complicated enough to be fun, but not too complicated to avoid being frustrating. In Turok 2 Acclaim (I'll just call Iguana Entertainment “Acclaim”, since they've become Acclaim Studios Austin somewhere on the way) overdid things a bit. Thanks to that, you either decide that you want to go through all the troubles and find every hidden thing (even the main goals here are very well hidden), or feel that it's not worth your time and quit. That's the thing about Turok 2 – the entry threshold is pretty high here and you'll probably end up either loving the game, or hating it. There's no “it was OK” about Turok 2. Even the weapons this time are way more than your typical arsenal and will take a lot of time to master.

The story-wise, though, it's still pretty simple. This time we play as a new Turok (in case you forgot, in the Acclaim universe Turok is a title, not a name) and we were summoned to kick another bad guy's evil butt. 'Cause you know... the dude is evil and wants one million dollars. Wait, it's from another story. Oops, sorry. Anyway, we have a few cutscenes this time, but still not enough and again, Steam release doesn't have manual to cover the details. And to make things even worse, the game ends with the cliffhanger. You were very brave, you've overcome all the troubles and guess what? The villain in Turok 2 was not quite evil enough. He was semi-evil. He was quasi-evil. He was the margarine of evil. He was the Diet Coke of evil, just one calorie, not evil enough. There's another guy out there, who's way more evil. Want to know how to face him? Why, by buying Turok 3, of course! And before you'll start searching for Turok 3 in the Steam store, I'll tell you what – you can't. Guess what Acclaim did? They've ended Turok 2 with the cliffhanger and then made Turok 3 a Nintendo 64 exclusive. La-da-da-da-dah It's the mo***kin' D-O-double-G~ ♫ Yeah! Acclaim sure mastered the hidden art of thug life back then. So, if you want to learn more about the story, you'll need to either go to eBay (not a sponsor™), or do that funny emulation thing that PC guys do.

Anyway, back to our review. Like the remaster of the original Turok, Turok 2 is a very solid work. Nightdive Studios turned out to be a pretty nice guys and remastered version of Turok 2 feels like they just wanted to make a good version of the game to play and enjoy by themselves. There are some small changes here and there (for example, Mother boss now has a life bar), but all in all it feels more like a glorious update for both visuals and controls. The game will feel right at home at your cool and expensive rig and you won't get any problems with widescreen resolutions and other stuff that is considered normal nowadays. No weird feeling controls here either. The changing in lighting effects may be pretty questionable, but the music sure delivers. Like the previous game, Turok 2 comes with both PC and N64 soundtracks and you're free to switch between them at any time. All that sure makes this release the best version of the game, hands down.

The question is – do you need Turok 2 in your life or not? Unlike the original Turok, the answer isn't that simple. The first Turok is fun. Fun for pretty much everybody, as long as you want to look back in the history. Turok 2, though... The story doesn't have a proper end, while gameplay here is way too complicated on every possible level. So, unlike the original game, you'll need to think twice before buying this one. Turok 2 won't go easy on you and it won't be a walk in the park either. On the other hand, it you love complicated levels as much as I do, this game has a chance to become your new favorite FPS. You can spend hours on a single level here and if you like this kind of stuff, make sure to check this game out. Especially since, like I've already said, remaster here is totally nice.