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Buena Vista Games seeks to restore the franchise to its former glory!

I remember the ‘Jurassic Park comes to life’ sense of awe I felt when I first fired up the original Turok on N64. The dinosaur adversaries and lush jungle environments, all lovingly rendered in 3D, were an immense leap forward from the 2d platformers that had been all the rage just a few, short months before. Unfortunately, the feeling was short lived.

The now-defunct Acclaim proceeded to churn out several cookie-cutter sequels, robbing the franchise of its gameplay and sealing its fate as filler for game store bargain bins around the world. Fans of the franchise will be glad to learn, however, that Turok is poised to make a comeback, courtesy of Buena Vista Games. Buena Vista, along with developer Propaganda, will seek to breathe new life into the series with a brand new Turok title, scheduled for an ’07 release on PS3 and Xbox 360. A demo was available at this year’s E3 and, clearly, Propaganda is deviating significantly from Acclaim’s formulaic approach.


 
The graphics in the demo look fantastic, but the impressive visual upgrade is far from the only change. During the 50+ year run of the Turok comic, and all the games to date, the protagonist has always been a Native American, but no longer. In this iteration, gamers portray Joseph Turok, a former US black-ops soldier. On his way to pursue Roland Cain, his former mentor and now a war criminal, Turok’s ship is shot down while attempting to land. He is stranded in a hostile, prehistoric landscape where he must contend not only with Cain’s goons, but with the giant mutant dinosaurs that populate the planet.

The dinosaurs have no allegiance to Cain’s forces, however, which adds an interesting twist to the gameplay. You can lure dinosaurs into enemy guns and let them do the work for you or, conversely, tag enemies with a flare that attracts dinosaurs and watch as they are torn to pieces! Dinosaurs will even be present in multiplayer matches, which should help to distinguish Turok from the FPS crowd.

 
Another significant change to the gameplay is that most weapons now feature secondary firing options. Already shown have been a flame thrower with a grenade launcher, and a shotgun that can also fire flares. Propaganda has also created a chain gun which, when placed on the ground, can function as an automatic turret, providing covering fire while you get to a safe spot. Weapons which allow a more stealthy approach, like a knife and Turok’s traditional bow, will also be present. The option to allow players to pursue a stealthier approach is a big departure for a series that has long been defined by dinosaur-destroying carnage, though it was also attempted, with limited success, in Turok’s appearance on the original Xbox. Vehicles will be present, a first for the series, though it is currently unknown exactly how much of a role they will play.

 

From what has been shown so far, Turok’s next-gen debut holds a lot of promise. Developer Propaganda has changed the gameplay enough to make me excited about the series again, while retaining its most essential elements. If they can successfully combine the updated visuals, gameplay, and AI with the spirit of the original N64 title, Propaganda stands a chance of restoring interest in the franchise.