Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the Nintendo 64 is an interesting title in the history of the FPS genre; it played its part, alongside much-loved contemporaries like GoldenEye 007, in pushing first-person shooters onto another level. It arrived early on the system - when its library was still tiny - and generated a lot of buzz.
Modern eyes aren't so kind to its flaws, however, which include clunky design and obnoxious platforming segments; we shared some of our views on it in our retro review in 2013. The famous fog, however, could be argued as a positive limitation; it was likely necessary to make it work on the hardware, but added to the atmosphere.
In any case, we're intrigued to see that a remaster is coming to PC on 17th December; it essentially looks like an upscale of the old PC version, which to current-day standards makes it look like the cross of an FPS and Minecraft.
It's slightly strange to see this one get remastered when it's aged rather poorly. However, the sequel is regarded more fondly by some and considered to hold up better, and the same developer is releasing that on PC next year.
Seeing this certainly pushed our nostalgia button, though; Turok: Dinosaur Hunter may have been expensive and flawed, but it was a big part of our early N64 gaming days.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 80
other than the fog, to my eyes this doesn't look all that remastered
oh man, me and my brother like to play Turok when we where little! gonna get this on steam soon, excited!
I didn't quite enjoy the 1st Turok game but the 2nd on N64 which I also have in my library. The 2nd one got a very dark story and the difficulty is quite hard, never managed to beat the game completely but I guess almost.
Goldeneye and Perfect Dark are the best shooters for N64 although! Would be cool to re-experience those Rareware titles on new Nintendo consoles any time. Maybe with the eventually started companionship between Nintendo and Microsoft, it might one day so turn out.
Still looks miles better than Minecraft, though. Both texture and animation-wise, so I'm not really partial to it being a "cross of an FPS and Minecraft".
The only question it does raise in my mind is: "why?"
Is it Turok's anniversary or something? I know they already tried (and failed) to make a decent reboot for the previous generation of consoles, but other than that, I don't see a reason to publish this remaster now and I seriously have to wonder if it is going to do well, if at all.
Good N64 memories, though...
I am so glad to see this posted here- I
May have missed it otherwise. I freakin loved Turok 1 for N64 and I will absolutely be getting this when it releases. I wonder if a console version is out of the question?
I just love the size of the worlds and the hidden puzzles that open up secret paths. I can't wait to explore the underground labyrinth and see if that glitch still works where you jump at the ceiling on a flight of stairs and you can "slide" down it!
This is great!
@TheRealThanos a company snapped up the rights and wanted to make some seemingly quick cash
@TheRealThanos Ah yeah, fair enough. The animations are obviously way better, but the environments struck me as needing a bit of a clean-up
Better than Minecraft, now that I watch this, it reminds me of Metroid Prime, like Retro was inspired by Turok.
@abe_hikura It looks like they simply are running the game through an emulator.
I had this on my N64 as a kid, and still do.
Never was a fan, only way I can have any fun in the game is by using those cheats to add in invinciblity and whatnot and just mess around. FPSs just aren't my thing, at all. As a kid I thought that all the weapons in the game we're neat at least.
I think a big problem here is that the word "remastered" is a bit misleading / people are misinterpreting its meaning. What this company has been doing is updating old games so that they can run smoothly on newer systems and properly match modern resolutions. The Turok series is one of my favourites and I am very excited to be able to play these classics again in a more comfortable way! I hope they do Rage Wars too!
If anyone is familiar with Unreal Tournament, that is a great example of the sort of "remastering" that this company is doing. Epic continued (and I think still continues) to patch that game so that it can be played on newer systems. Last I recall Unreal Tournament can fit a 1920x1080 screen and still controls wonderfully on PC. This is essentially what is happening here with Turok. A much needed update!
@abe_hikura Maybe so, but then it still begs the question: why Turok? They could have chosen a truckload of more successful titles instead of that, so if they want to make money, this might not be the ticket at all.
@ThomasBW84 Well, it seems that they already did a little bit of that: I have the original PC version (with fog) and it seems that besides the removal of fog they have indeed improved the textures and obviously they added some sky textures as well. It is a short clip, so it's not really certain, but it seems some work has been done on lighting as well.
@Nico07 No, this actually looks quite a bit better. I have both the N64 and PC version, the latter still installed on this very PC I'm using at the moment...
Huh. Interesting view of the graphics on here. To my eyes the visuals in Minecraft make this look horrible. In comparison Turok is washed out, more repetitive, ugly, with no character. The animations also have no character or life to them. Minecraft has a colorful charm and personality that makes its style instantly recognizable by millions. This game has aged like many of the early 3D games that were aiming for realism: horribly.
To be honest I never liked the game much when it released either. I did think the graphics were pretty cool at the time. But even then, I wondered why everything was so thick with fog. lol. It just wasn't much fun, though. Bought it, played for awhile. Gave up and moved onto better games.
Certainly will be fun and nostalgic for fans and probably a better experience than the original.
@abe_hikura : Its called a remaster when haven't done any effort to upgrade the game. Remaster usually means upscaled to 1080p and nothing more.
I begged my mum to pay £70 for this when it came out. Which is stupidly expensive even by todays standards. I still remember the NTHGHTHDGDCRTDTRK password somehow. If only I could repay my mother by remembering her birthday.
These "remasters" are getting out of hand and more and more pointless.
It's made by the same guys who made System Shock one, so it will probably be amazing enhancement of 1024x768 resolution! WOW! Without doing anything else. Oh, sorry, I'm too harsh, the fog will be 10ft further. It will make even the best rigs sweat.
Why is PC port news on Nintendo site is probably a wonder too
@aaronsullivan Either that or... the interesting view is yours. The LEGO- or Ministeck like visuals of Minecraft don't even begin to come close to my and probably most objective viewers' eyes. Also animation-wise: the enemy that was shown in this trailer alone has more animation in it than the entire world of Minecraft, which also has MUCH cruder animation.
But you already didn't like it when it first came out, so that may be were your current verdict comes from. It wasn't one of my favorites back then either, but I'm certainly a bit milder in judging this.
The developers have used the hardware efficiently enough, making its shortcomings work for them.
So I'd say horrible is highly exaggerated. Obviously the game hasn't aged well, like so many 3D classics, but contrary to the nouveau 8 and 16-bit wannabee games it still has it's charms, as so many of these games do. In part because they have more history behind them, but also because of a different way of making games back then, which forced developers to be smarter because of hardware limitations.
Sure, bugs were also present back then, but nowadays they seem to be the rule instead of the exception and it is a sad state of affairs to see that the amount of games now developed WITHOUT bugs or patches can be counted on the fingers of one hand...
@Dave24 With System Shock there wasn't an awful lot more to be done than uprezzing the game. There's a semi-official forum where you can download HD texture packs, though. Realistic water and all that...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enqmrHiEoB4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsVNHv-PhiY
https://www.systemshock.org/index.php?board=2.0
I want it for Wii U. I would love play it with wiiremote
what for pc why?? this should be on the Virtual console for the Wii u!! i used to play that game with friends i do want it again!!! bring that and Resident evil 2 XD
I love Turok .... best FPS games ever ... the first 3 and rage wars ....
I love that they decided to "remake" these and I think it looks decent, but they should clean up the models and textures a bit more, but the animations are way better and I can immagine, that they increased the resolution to be 1080p and I hope the use 60FPS ....
I hope, they remake Rage Wars too though .... loved that game
@TheRealThanos
I didn't actually say it looked horrible, but that it aged horribly. It has.
More animation does not make it better or have more charm. They aren't remotely bad in Turok especially for its day. Minecraft animation is incredibly crude with simple rotations of limbs, but it fits into an overall abstracted aesthetic. Many of the animations are even binary with no smooth interpolation between poses. But somehow I'm much more invested in those annoying little animals, their cute face looking up at me challenging me to feed them rather than eat them. It's an aesthetic that is cohesive throughout the game and is undeniably well-liked and absorbed into the vocabulary of millions.
Turok was an impressive looking game in the N64 library that most have forgotten.
I've much more to say, but no time. Suffice it to say, I appreciate the limitations of early games immensely and was even developing crude games back in the day on an Apple ][. I just appreciate the choices made for the visuals in Minecraft and think it has a great deal to do with its success. Certainly it's not a universal opinion.
I didn't like the original Turok. The controls were terrible and first person jumping was so annoying. Turok 2 was a lot better.
This is super cool! I'm surprised so many people disliked this game back in the day... I loved Turok 1. I never got into the second one, but I really enjoyed the unique take on FPS that occurred in the first game. Felt like a true action adventure game and was ahead of its time.
Rage Wars is admittedly my favorite, but I would love to try this game again.
Also, Turok 1 was the game that made me realize that the C buttons were meant for movement in FPS games. I used those controls in Perfect Dark and Goldeneye to great effect.
@aaronsullivan Oh, I agree that the animations in Minecraft fit the aesthetics, but that doesn't mean they are better. Rather just different.
And LEGO itself also still has mass appeal, both digitally and physically and building stuff is something ingrained in many of us, so I can understand the mass appeal of Minecraft. Yet at the same time I'm also baffled because so many kids that play it think that, for example, GameCube and Dreamcast graphics are extremely ugly, yet somehow crude blocks and simple animations are the bees knees... Oh, well...
Turok 2 and Smash 64 are 2 reasons why my friends and I didn't sleep in high school. yea, 007, oot and perfect dark are all great. but it isn't shock the money
@Donutman
Yeah but Perfect Dark had "N Bomb the Alien"
@aaronsullivan P.S.
You actually did say it looked horrible:
Either I interpreted that too literally, or you worded it not exactly like you meant to.
Was expecting more, looks like a weak remaster. Shame.
@TheRealThanos Why?
Because it's name is "Turok: Dinosaur Hunter", names don't come much cooler than that, thats why. People know, and remember, that name.
As for graphics, reminds me a lot of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, on PS2, and to me PS2 are my "retro games" so I like it. And my wife CAN'T STAND Minecraft graphics. She has to physically leave the room whenever my kids play. But she knows the greatness of the Dreamcast. This one is kinda ugly, but everything was kinda ugly back then.
Remember when they called it "Unreal", b/c the graphics were unreal? Not so much now.
So by "remaster" what they mean is increased the resolution that it runs at and removed fog and then called it a day?
No appreciation for older 3D games these days, keeping in mind the reaction to Twilight Princess HD. You always hear the same old 'clunky', 'blocky', 'muddy' complaints about that era's visuals. I understand the appreciation for pixel art but not early polygon graphics, but I say let history be history and allowed to show it
So strange to choose to re-release this game (I refuse to call this a remake, as it looks almost exactly the same). I guess it's an attempt at a quick cash-grab because dinosaurs are so hot right now. Dinosaurs.
Turok's fogging allowed for fantastic detail without much slowdown. I wonder how good a game could look in 2015 with a draw distance of 2 metres.
Okay that's interesting how about Dino Crisis made by capcom,this game has an fantastic plots but don't play until you reach dino crisis 3 it's bad... Turok has many evolution of graphics and gameplay of course i mention it,but it lacks of fighting scene,but i guess better turok ps3 version has many fighting scene with dinosaurs and of course better aim sight for shoot..... otherwise this game has a great potential for me... i don't know for people's enjoy or not.
I liked Turok but I loved Turok 2. It was the highlight of the series for me. Turok 3 and the multiplayer game based on it were good but the magic just wasn't there.
But there was that Alien with da butt. Good memories.
That audio is atrocious, I realize it is just a remaster, but quality is so low, I won't buy it just because of that.
@TheRealThanos No, you're right. I did. I was exercising some hyperbole there I had forgotten about and I didn't completely re-read my original post as I was in a hurry. Sorry.
"Yet at the same time I'm also baffled because so many kids that play it think that, for example, GameCube and Dreamcast graphics are extremely ugly, yet somehow crude blocks and simple animations are the bees knees... Oh, well..."
Well, that's the thing. They don't understand why but I can guess they are seeing it like me. It's like reading a book, the most abstract of all visual arts. It's completely constructed in your mind. You fill in the details between the words. In a game like Minecraft, where it's a thoughtfully crafted abstraction, kids have the ability to fill in the details with their mind the way they want to. It's interpretive. Not everyone likes that exercise of using imagination to connect dots. Or at least they let that function of their brain fall by the wayside as they are convinced they don't need it for survival/work/life.
So, anyway, the kids see things like Turok and other old realism chasing games that leave little room for abstraction or imagination and it just looks unappealing. Add to that a lack of context for appreciation and the negative reaction is even stronger.
(Oh, and the way this is all worded... I'm not intending to divide people into creatives and non-creatives because I don't believe it works that way. Most people are naturally creative, but apply it to different areas of their life in different ways.)
@rjejr Only us oldies remember. The Minecraft generation will just shrug their shoulders and won't care, unless we educate them on it, of course...
As for games back then all being kind of ugly: well, I'm going to have to agree to disagree in the most gentlemanliest of ways, because I appreciate a lot of older games even more now than I did back then, even though not all of them have aged all that nicely. But the Dreamcast version of Unreal still holds up pretty well, even today. For comparison with the PC:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2oLqvSaTuU
And only just a week or so ago, I fired up the old Dreamcast to let it run a few game intros, just for old times sake. I can still marvel at how good Soul Calibur looks, as well as Dead or Alive, and the animation is also still impressive, even more so when you consider its age. Besides having slightly more polygons, the weapons demonstration movies in Soul Calibur were always impressive and very fluid, and they still are.
@aaronsullivan No need to be sorry. You're one of the better, more level-headed people on here and that enables us to have a normal or adult discussion, that can even stay civil with disagreements included, and that definitely counts for something in my book.
As for my own comment, I should have elaborated on the kids liking Minecraft part: I agree with you that kids can use their imagination to a greater extent than most adults can, but I also see teens and older "kids" (I'm 45, so to me they're all kids) love the game. My nephew is the one that thinks Dreamcast graphics are ugly (or even pathetic in some games, if I remember correctly) and he is almost 16 years old, so he can definitely understand the context of older games and why I like them.
He is also VERY impatient, another thing that I frequently come across in today's generation of gamers. No patience to watch an intro movie to get into the story of a game and also not having the common sense to watch cut scenes during a game, even though I explained to him that they can sometimes definitely be of use by containing clues and such that may help your progress in the game.
No, ramming that A or B button to skip all that game interrupting BS is the recipe of choice. It makes me a bit sad sometimes...
I loved this game when I was a kid, and its one of the few games my brother with autism actually kicked butt at and got into. He loved shooting the guys in the throat and quoting Home Alone 2 as they fell to their death. Its a shame the PS3 one didn't have that magic. If this ever hit Wii U VC I'd be on it. If they ever decided to make a REAL new Turok, thats just like this one but way better, I'll support it.
@TheRealThanos
My kids have been steeped in NES and SNES games so they have an appreciation for the retro 2D stuff. Not like I do, but they've watched me play through all of Metroid Fusion, for instance. There aren't many in that PS1 N64 era that they've been exposed to. I think it has just suffered the most over time. Ocarina which I dearly love and will play from time to time has almost unbearable visuals at times for me, but my kids were into it... at least a few years back they were.
But really, everyone is just going to be different on this. Most kids don't have parents like you and I trying to widen their video game horizons. So far my kids enjoy cinematics, but I'm not sure where my kids will end up on games in their teens, but my youngest designs games in his head all the time. My older one loves the competitive ones (Splatoon!) and the really hard auto-run games like the Bit Trip Runners and Alto's Adventure.
@aaronsullivan Ah... the beauty of 2D games, the simple fact that the aesthetics hold up much more nowadays simply because of them missing that added dimension is a nice thing to be sure. Also explains the whole indie revival of similar gameplay mechanics: slightly flashier graphics and yet still old skool gameplay.
But not liking Ocarina of Time anymore (let alone finding some sections unbearable to watch) is completely unimaginable in my head. Sure, the graphics are dated, but it is also a mixture of sentiments and wonder that is still there when you start up the game, even the running intro sequence is still dear to me, with the galloping horse and beautiful music.
Running them in crystal clear 480p on a modded Wii may help out a little with that too, but still...
Ah, to each his own, I guess. I hope that for the foreseeable future you will be able to continue to share this enjoyable hobby with your kids.
I for one will definitely be looking forward to the NX reveal and buying one and then to once again find myself sitting in my living room with a controller in my hand, having that stupid, ear to ear grin on my face and childlike giddiness that only Nintendo can get out of me once I start up one of their games on their latest piece of hardware. It's the world-famous Nintendo Difference...
For some reason I have a strong feeling that 2016 is going to be a VERY interesting year for Nintendo fans...
I played turok 2 more, I remember it fondly. Now THAT is a game I'd love to see hit the vc!!!
Not much of a shooter type of gamer but Turok was cool. Better screenshots here...
http://gamefreaks365.com/turok-dinosaur-hunter-and-turok-2-seeds-of-evil-coming-to-pc/
@TheRealThanos on Ocarina I said I dearly love it! I still enjoy it! Just said the graphics at times are almost unbearable.
Yeah, unless NX is incredibly disappointing I'll be doing the same as you
SSB wrapping up before the year ends adds one more reason to think NX is going on sale by end of 2016. I wouldn't put it past Nintendo to try and stretch Wii U into 2017 but can anyone really imagine one more Holiday shopping season with Wii U and 3DS as the only hardware options from Nintendo?
@TheRealThanos I never meant to imply Dreamcast games were ugly, far from it, Dreamcast to me is the last great console improvement, it heralded in life like graphics, everything else has bene incremental since then. But there were certainly some great ugly PS2 games. Or maybe I'm thinking of PS1 and I got confused? Probably PS1.
But everybody who games should know the name Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Fear Effect and Dino Crisis, equally ugly but great PS1 games, not so memorable in the tile department.
Edit: Just noticed those were both rated M. Can't for the life of me recall anything M in those. Though possibly a hint of lesbianism in FE, but I think that was more in the sequel.
@VanillaLake a lot of the developers from Retro came from Iguana soft, so the two games were made by the same people
@aaronsullivan Yeah, I know, but I wasn't quoting you directly, I just mentioned my own sentiments on Ocarina of Time, since I am obviously not disturbed by any of its graphics at all. To be honest, even though I respect your opinion I can't understand anyone over 30 thinking anything but good thoughts about the game, and most people I know speak fondly of revisiting it, but we all agree that it has certainly aged and the graphics, although still having their charm in places, have certainly suffered the most by far, which is why I play them on my Wii, because the washed out SCART image also isn't doing any N64 game any good on a modern TV...
Then again, some of us only know the 3DS version, and that is also already slightly better, probably also helped by the smaller screen as well as the graphical update...
@TheRealThanos
Well you know how to keep me talking... My favorite thing about Ocarina is the pacing and the length and the shear genius in translating the original game to 3D. Distilling the original games into exactly what would work in 3D and keeping those original patterns in tact while adding so much. The size of the world felt so huge and epic yet unlike many modern games it was manageable and easy to internalize. And then... that ocarina. The music playing a real role. Sigh. Love that game. The great design work in avoiding the jump button. So many great things about it and the way they worked around the limitations of the hardware while aiming so ambitiously is still impressive today.
Doesn't change the fact that it's often ugly as sin. Just saying. lol. Even back then there were moments where I just wished there was a little more detail or that some texture wasn't stretched or that some part wasn't quite so dramatically angular. The frame rate also hurts. Since every Zelda game since has been a (pretty good) remake of Ocarina I'm not really champing at the bit for a big remake. It has aged better than some because there is quite a bit of character in the design and the story.
I haven't played the 3DS one though I'd like to some day I think. Don't get me started on the 3DS.
And now the pining for the new Zelda begins again. lol.
Steam sale come up and I'll snag this!
@rjejr I think it was PS1 then, and personally I would definitely agree. It had quite a lot of cool games, but besides them now having aged the worst of any 3D console (well maybe except for the Sega Saturn with its fixed backgrounds and major popup) I already got over the hype of it pretty soon after its introduction, because I couldn't get over the horrible "heat sink" effect of the PS1's 3D graphics.
Much later I learned that this was due to the processor working with so called fixed point calculations, instead of floating point, which the other consoles used (first N64, then later on the Dreamcast did the same).
Floating point calculations make for rock solid and fixed 3D imaging while fixed point creates that typical wobbly image because of the CPU constantly
re-calculatingkeeping the camera fixed on the points you're passing in the game instead of re-calculating them and keeping them relative to distance and height as it should. Besides all the things that Sony did good with the Playstation, the decision to go with that still puzzles me and none of them has ever clearly spoken out on that, so why they chose this lesser option is beyond me. Maybe floating point units were more expensive back then...In any case, it ruined my enjoyment in PS1 games, so I never got into Sony again after that because I chose Sega and Nintendo. I have the Dreamcast version of Dino Crisis, by the way, and that has also largely survived its age, mostly due to a lot of pre-rendered parts.
As for people knowing these games, I'm pretty sure you have to be at least well into your twenties to know these titles, unless you're someone that is more than averagely interested in gaming and also play older games, other than that, most younger people will probably not know them.
I personally never played Fear Effect, so I just checked some footage of it. Not too bad for an old game, and because of the style it made me think of XIII on the GameCube/PS2/Xbox. Part 2 looks a whole lot better, but after having watched a 15 minute clip of it, I am pretty confident that it is still playable today, might give it a go on the PC by means of ePSXe, which also up-scales automatically.
And the lezzie bit is indeed in part 2...
Oh, and I can agree with you on some of the textures of Ocarina of Time, but like I also said to our mutual friend @aaronsullivan, it simply doesn't bother me that much as it obviously does you both, so I also don't tend to use the word ugly in relation to any part of Ocarina of Time.
Actually, considering its still untouched place in the video game top 100 of all time, you two are bordering on the edge of sacrilege...
But what about the 3DS? Butthurt by Skylanders?
Agreed on the 3DS version of OoT, though. Might still pick that up some day as well, right along with the 3DS version of Star Fox...
@TheRealThanos
Even after all that praise of Ocarina I can't criticize some of the graphics? Come on, give me some room for nuance here.
3DS. Sigh. An uncomfortable and unsharable trap for good games.
@aaronsullivan Well, I already agreed with @rjejr on the textures, and I'll even go so far as to agree on the stretching but like I said: it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the two of you, so what can I say? I almost feel like apologizing for NOT feeling the same way...
Why can't you share a game on 3DS? Or the handheld itself for that matter? There are more than enough multi-player titles.
@TheRealThanos Well, that would require multiple 3DS devices. I play games with my kids and wife the most, so... We are fine passing around controllers on one-player and two-player games and occasionally watching one person play for awhile (sometimes long stretches when the kids were younger and I'm playing through something mesmerizing like Metroid Prime or a Zelda title). You literally can't do any of that with 3DS because only one person can look at the screen comfortably. Or you can buy multiple 3DS machines but then... also multiple games and the kids already have hand-me down tablet/phones.
They do like the occasional 3DS game and @rjejr they are pretty crazy about the Badge Arcade game. I have to give it props and the rabbit is adorable and a pretty cool video game nerd. I've really enjoyed Kid Icarus but it's hard to continue on with the cramped play style and the ever-growing 6-year-old leaning hard into me to try and watch the screen (which means no 3D for me).
Honestly, it's just a disaster of a device for this family. I haven't even mentioned the giant pixels with the nice black square around each one that I just can't unsee anymore, now that I'm spoiled with high-dpi screens on most of our devices. I enjoy the 3D though and the new 3DS face tracking makes that part even better... but then the cramped hands, the tiny stylus.
I just want it to die so some of those great games can come to a system I can enjoy more.
@TheRealThanos I've never played OoT so I can't comment on that one. My first Zelda was TP, and they looked so similar I didn't see the point. And if the Skyladners 3DS comment is related to my Wii Racing comment, I can't help it if it's so ugly it's almost unplayable. There are giant bombs that are practically invisible. And it's hard to tell when you can go under or over obstacles. It's an eyesore, truly it is. Starfox Zero is way better, and that's as insulting to a brand new game as I can get. And it's weird typing "brand new game" for a Wii game in late 2015.
@aaronsullivan "Badge Arcade"
You let your kids play it? Better keep them away from your credit card. I've tried to do the math on what it would cost to earn all those badges but my brain broke. They keep adding more and some are more difficult to get than others. Probably still alot cheaper than the $750 for all of SSB. At least the amiibo collection would be real, unlike the virtual badge collection.
I agree on all your 3DS points, still waiting for my Wii U 3DS Player Adaptor. PS3 is getting PS2 games, X1 got some 360 games, NX could get 3DS games. It's possible.
@rjejr No money allowed for badge arcade. It does make missing some of timed badges very painful, but also makes the game more exciting. Really, once you use money on this game regularly, it's just gambling. The kind you can get addicted to. The kind that could ruin your life. So... no money allowed for badge arcade.
I'm a huge fan of old fps games. Will check this out.
I'll sit back and wait til they get around to Turok 2.
Turok was really quite special, it's a shame to see a game that actually was quite technically advanced be dismissed. I never got any of the sequels (apart from the GameCube one, which has different developers and I've yet to try it), but roamed around in that vast, tall landscape many an hour back in the day. If it came to the Wii U VC I'd buy it in a heart beat as I can't find my original copy anymore.
@aj_fowl That's something I did not know!
@ggnorekthx we always enjoyed 007 more then perfect dark. It was great, but remote mines in the temple holding the body armor was so much fun
@aaronsullivan Good call. I do think they could make a billion with a B dollars if this were their mobile game rather than Miitomo. And the "free" tries were more abundant, every 2 hours like Pokemon Shuffle, and paid tries were 25 per $1. I just don't see Miitomo working in the west. They at least need to change it to Meet-A-Mii. Well maybe if they add the rabbit. Who really needs a name. I still call him "amirite".
Came in here to reiterate what AJ Fowl said.
Retro Studios was founded by Iguana Entertainment people, so we still owe a lot to the Turok games and their success.
@rjejr
It won't be the first, but it may yet happen. Besides your thoughts, as I mentioned before, the bunny is a fun and clever video game nerd. He quizzes you on Nintendo games that are only available on dedicated hardware right? It's a big ol' advertisement that makes you desire Nintendo loot and in that way I think you are right about the mobile version. I think the financial model should be considerably changed if it heads to mobile. It also has the added problem of not having a destination for the badges... I guess they could be gifs to chat with... but then once they are sent everyone could copy them... AH! You could unlock the badges to use in chatting with miitomo, right?
Anyway, it's a strong little piece of software with a great character to leverage but the gambling core makes me a bit uneasy.
@aaronsullivan Unrelated thought while having lunch w/ my wife. Do you think TP:HD will offer both the Gamecube and Wii versions to justify the price of a 10 year old game that is barely upgraded graphically? They haven't really said if it supports motion or not, or the Gamepad or not. Seems like offering both versions would double their odds of selling it to people who haven't played one version or the other.
The PC version was the N64 version that could be played in higher resolution - textures looked abit more defined however this was because PC didnt have the AA and a second 'blur' filter pass applied before output to screen Nintendolife.
This new rerelease does indeed have the fog pushed back and the textures redone.
As for people 'hating' Turok 64...Many of the people who claim to hate it haven't even played it. Turok garnered AAA scores across the world in multiplats and Nintendo mags alike. It was a fantastic FPS on release and it was graphically astounding, showing off a range of effects and animations that made Quake look like stop motion. It is very old school by todays standards but is still fun.
@DreamOn Twilight Princess featured amongst the worst textures on GCN - I challenge you to compare TP to Factor 5's Rogue Squadron 2 and Rebel Strike 3 on GCN. Both featuring gargauntan draw distances, sandbox's replete with intricately detailed bump mapped texturing on every surface, with advanced lighting, countless NPC's, jaw dropping explosions and SFX all running at 60FPS. The forest battle alone in RS3 is as detailed as the current Battlefront.
Nintendo and texturing has always been a big problem. Even on N64 Rare's titles destroyed Nintendo in not just size and scope, but in incredible texture design. Rare's titles often feature beautiful, clear and detailed texturing for their era, using multiple textures for objects, Nintendo just stretched single textures over massive surfaces leaving a blurry mess with no thought or care. Nintendo's attempts at texturing have always been as weak as the weakest, hence why they've returned to the simpler cartoon style for the past few years. They simply cant do 'semi-real' textures.
If anything TP HD is approaching thr level of texturing the GCN was capable off.
@TheRealThanos My question to you is 'why not?' 😉
....because Minecraft is such a visually stunning photo-realistic thing of utter beauty.
@aaronsullivan Well, the New 3DS has a MASSIVELY improved viewing angle, so the 3D is easily viewable, even when sitting next to someone, so that might work for you and your family.
@rjejr Well, OoT is anything but similar to Twilight Princess, but I can imagine it may seem so at first glance. If you have a 3DS, I can almost guarantee you that you will not regret picking it up. The story as a whole still makes this a landmark title, so you can hardly go wrong giving it a go. As for the Skylanders/3DS comment: just pulling your leg, my friend. Just pulling your leg...
@liveswired I agree with everything you said about Turok, the fact that I still have it installed on my current PC should tell you something about that, but even though it was somewhat of a landmark title back then, my question was more along the lines of "why such an old game and why a series that is not very well known anymore" since the latest outing on Xbox 360/PS3 was all but forgotten the instant it got released, so that to me means that it isn't very popular anymore and since then, nothing has been heard of the series anymore.
And maybe they should do a remake of a more modern title, so that it can actually make a bigger difference and maybe reach more people, since most of today's gamers probably won't pick this up, because contrary to the new wave of 2D games, the early 3D games have aged very badly, so they will probably not like this.
And to think that originally, I was just going to say to you: never answer a question with a question...
@TheRealThanos Considering TP is a Wii game, and the Wii U can play Wii games in Wii mode, wouldn't it have made more sense for Nintendo to make an OoT HD rather than TP? Though I suppose if they would port the 3DS version to Wii U that would suffice.
@rjejr Well, that might have to be a whole re-imagining there, then, since the big screen wouldn't do the N64's graphics much good, even with the updated 3DS version. That is probably why they opted for the handheld in the first place, I guess.
But truth be told, I'm kind of missing what you're getting at, since it's not really a response to my reaction, or I'm reading you incorrectly, sorry, crazy day over here, so I'm not really all there. The mind wanders...
@TheRealThanos "I'm kind of missing what you're getting at,"
I'm getting at - why go to all the trouble to make an HD version of a game that we can already play on Wii U, and looks almost the same as the non-HD version, when their time could be better spent making an HD version of supposedly 1 of the best Zelda games of all time, OoT, which is much older and therefore people might be more interested in replaying it, for playing it for the first time?
@rjejr Ah, okay. You lost me a bit because we were talking about the differences between Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time, so that is why I was a bit sidetracked. Still think remakes/remasters of N64 games are better suited to handhelds, though. Although I wouldn't put it past Nintendo to throw some of them in the Wii U's or NX's eShop...
@rjejr (Maybe I'll get the super delayed response award for this one)
I've wondered whether they'll release the non-motion version only or provide support for both control methods. I'm really undecided. I'm inclined to think, that if Nintendo was really involved in this, that it would take the opportunity to prepare us a bit for whatever control scheme is coming to Zelda U. So, they'd offer one control method maybe with some options but hard to know what that would be.
This HD upgrade feels a bit hands-off, at least by Nintendo's usual standards, so maybe it will be just a one-to-one with original controls. I've got to think that having both as an option would be a good idea in that scenario, like you are suggesting.
I'm not sure it would be best for the fans of the originals, but I'd rather have them smooth out the controls in one agreeable way custom fit to the GamePad. Which I guess might conform to the prepare-for-Zelda-U approach but not necessarily.
The reason I'm hoping for that is because the Wii version has some clunky implementation of Wii remote functions. They have been so refined since then that it would be a shame just to duplicate how they were. Unlike Skyward Sword the "swinging" is just a waggle to do what a button would do faster. I kind of enjoyed it at the time. The pointing to aim also has multiple issues. Even as they are, going back to just regular controller options is deeply unsatisfying in a post Wind Waker and Splatoon world. So, I'm hoping for probably too much here.
I'm guessing you are probably right. We'll get an option for both styles of play. What's interesting is that to be truly true to the originals we are talking a complete pair of left-to-right mirror versions of all the game models and scenery in order to do it right!
Also... it just looks SO much better to me that I just don't feel any need for extra justification for the cost. I mean, I've preordered it with the Wolf/Midna amiibo. Just waiting now!
@aaronsullivan That was about TP HD and not Turok I presume?
I can't recall everything I said before but I do like your idea of it being the defacto Zelda U control method,whatever that happens to be. Of course if Zelda U gets dual released with Zelda NX then the new Zelda will likely have 2 control methods as well, unless they call it Wii 3 (Kings of Orient Are).
11 hours of 2015 left, Nintendo must be looking forward to 2016 and getting some real games out there to appease their fans. Sure. we'll still get Miitomo and MP:FF but Starfox and Zelda U to keep them company, and Pokken Tournament and TP HD. (Which I won't play again, but my kids might, they were really young when I played it at release.) Well if Zelda U is still a thing. Maybe it can come out in episodes like FF7 Remake?
Did you get my card? Maybe better question is did you get my card and not know it was from me? Happy New Year!
@rjejr
TP HD, yes. And you brought up the off-topic. It was a long time ago. lol.
As far as control methods for Zelda U/NX I'm hoping that whatever is new that NX brings it will be with nice, easy-for-3rd-parties-to-use core controls. And if it can have that, then it can work with GamePad, too... well, the screen...
Starfox, TP and Pokken Tournament and Zelda U are just enough to keep Wii U going until NX, and 3DS has just enough to lead up to NX as well. But, these are the announced games. It's not impossible that NIntendo plans to keep one or both going... but if that is the plan, I sure would have expected the new pres. to say something about either 3DS or Wii U at the last forward looking financial statement.
Anyway, I did get your card! I knew it was you, but I stared at the return address for a good long time before opening it. We all got a big smile out of it! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! Nobody got cards from us this year we weren't keeping up well right up to the big day. We had half our ornaments still in the box. Great time though, overall.
Yoshi's Wooly World is one of the big gift "winners" so far with the Force Awakens play set in Disney Infinity also doing pretty well. The other big winner is Anki Overdrive (from grandparents). Have you seen that? It kept the kids busy for hours and hours unsupervised.
@aaronsullivan Hard to miss Anki Overdrive. It's not quite a hoverboard but it seems to be everywhere. My kids weren't interested though. Really in anything. Having 8 presents for Hanukkah earlier in the month, then Christmas with my family 2 weeks early, I think spread out the cheer a bit too much. And from now on we make plans for the holidays, knowing we have 10 days in the house with nothing to do means doing nothing. Next year Hanukkah starts Christmas Eve and ends New Years eve, so I'm thinking cruise. Or Dollywood. Is there a Dolly Parton Cruise? Everybody likes XCX though, well except we can't read a thing. I moved the tv 3" closer and the sofa 3" closer before diner hoping that extra half-foot helps. And I sent you the card to prove that I do have happy moments, I'm not actually a troll that lives under a bridge.
NX is a big mystery. The more I feel like I have it figured out the more I change my mind. Who knows, maybe even Nitnod is changing it's mind. Rumour has it that Sony planned up util days before E3 to bundle the PS4 w/ the Eye, even included Play Room w/ PS4, but then decided $400 without it was the way to go. So maybe Nintneod doesn't know if they should bundle the 4DS with the NX or sell it separately? Hard to imagine after the Wii U fiasco they would bundle it. I'm not planning on buying an NX for awhile, if ever, but man I sure am curious about it. So much potential.
Oh well, let the festivities begin, we're watching Avengers 2: Ultron Something tonight - Guardians of the Galaxy last year - time to start making the popcorn. Happy New Year!!
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