If you were anywhere near an N64 back in the day, you probably at least heard of the Turok games. The original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter released back in 1997, not long after the Nintendo 64 launched in North America, and it blazed the first-person trail for other, arguably more refined genre entries like GoldenEye007 that would grace the console in later months and years.
Turok sold well enough to spawn two popular sequels—Turok 2: Seeds of Evil and Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion—and from June 7 through July 7, you can pre-order physical copies of all three remastered games for Xbox through Limited Run’s website.
You can also pre-order Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion specifically for Nintendo Switch and PS4 during the same time period. It appears the first two games already received the Limited Run physical treatment for PS4 and Switch a while back, so just the third game is now coming around for those particular consoles. If you aren’t already aware, it takes LR a long time to ship their games, so if you want to play all of these Turok titles now, I’d recommend going the digital route.
Here’s a run-down of what’s included with all the different physical variants, of which the metal N64 cartridge replica with authentic box might be the coolest:
Standard Editions ($29.99): Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One
- Full-color booklet included
Classic Editions ($59.99): Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One
- Full-color booklet included
- Embossed, foil retro box
- Reversible poster
- CD game soundtrack
- Metal retro cartridge replica
Additional Collection Offerings: Turok on Xbox One physical media
- Full-color booklet included
More Additional Collection Offerings: Turok 2: Seeds of Evil on Xbox One physical media
- Full-color booklet included
- Rigid slipcover sized for Nintendo Switch or PS4/Xbox One cases
These current remasters are actually remasters, it appears. They run in Nightdive Studios’ bespoke KEX Engine, which provides welcome upgrades like better lighting, improved framerates (up 120fps, to be exact), 4K resolution, higher-res textures and modern dual-analog controller support. Thank you, Jeebus.
If you’re beginning to gray and were literally around to experience the original N64 gamepad in the ‘90s, you’ll especially appreciate that last mentioned addition. Using the C-buttons to move and the singular analog stick to look around and aim was…uh…interesting, to say the least.
It was similar to how you had to play a lot of first-person shooters on the Dreamcast, which also only sported one analog stick (if you had a Dreamcast mouse and keyboard you were golden in Unreal Tournament and Quake III Arena). That’s why I went Southpaw for a long period of time, until the now common analog setup was more ubiquitous.
These are the olden days we’re talking about, man. The FPS genre was new to consoles and developers were just starting to figure out how to make these types of games work on traditional controllers. The gaming stone age. I’m grateful to have experienced it.
Other than some cursory sessions with the very first Turok, I haven’t spent much time with this series, though I’ve heard the multiplayer mode is an absolute blast. Potential problem: I don’t have an N64 Expansion Pack. Will this be an issue? I sure hope not.
That said, the latest Limited Run news is making me itch to jump in. The real question is, do I torture myself with a bona fide N64 controller via emulation, or do I take the polished, comforting, easy route through the Nightdive Studios remasters?
Or hey, why not both? Punishment and pleasure. What a time to be alive.
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