Skull drilling since 1998.
1998 was the year I played Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid, and many other classic games that hit me in that nostalgia bone. This includes Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. I played the first game nonstop as a kid, and when the sequel hit, I was all on board. To this day, it has some of the coolest weapons I have seen in a video game. Cut to almost 20 years later (yikes), and after a pretty successful launch of a remastered Turok 1, Turok 2 Remastered is here.
I’m not going to get into the story of Turok 2 because let’s be fair, that is not why any of us come to Turok. We’re here for the fast gameplay, interesting weapons, and level navigation. It’s all here in 1080p running at a smooth 60 frames per second and it never skips a beat. Granted, the game doesn’t look amazing, this is an N64 game after all, but even then, this game runs at a blinding speed and using an Xbox One controller feels great and works really well.
MSRP: $14.99
Platforms: PC (reviewed), N64
Price I’d pay: $14.99
The weapons are still interesting after all these years, and the amount of gore players will see instantly reminds me of the days when that was the biggest thing. Of course, the classic Cerebral Bore is here and still has some pretty fun death animations full of waterfalls of blood. Also, tagging an enemy with a Tech Bow exploding arrow is still satisfying to this day.
There are a few improvements to the game through the remaster. The notorious N64 fog is completely gone, and the look of it all is crisp, and with some added motion blur, it looks very cinematic. Players have complete control over key bindings on both controller and mouse and keyboard, and I could even switch between the N64 and PC versions of the soundtrack. Granted, the repeating music in each level becomes annoying after about 20 minutes, but welcome to that age of games.
Navigation can still be a slog. Turok has always been known for its expansive levels with multiple objectives and this game is no exception. Luckily, there is an updated objective marker that has been added to the remaster that can help players figure out what they are missing in levels. Even then, backtracking and getting lost happened no matter how many markers they threw at me. I got a little frustrated with it on multiple occasions. Even with the warp points, going through the same areas with respawning enemies can be annoying.
Along with that, I still feel that enemies are too much of a bullet sponge. While the game isn’t actually very difficult, it really all revolves around how much ammo I have. If I go into a big encounter with little ammo, I will have a harder time handling it. Same goes for boss fights. Those are the ultimate bullet sponges. Still, it’s serviceable and I never minded it.
All in all, Turok 2 Remastered is a decently done job with some minor improvements here and there that help with a few things. On top of that, the visual upgrade and new control scheme make it feel a bit modern and easier to play. So, anyone who has never actually played a Turok game before could jump right in with no issues. Fans of the series that are looking for that nostalgic feel can get it here and have a decent time with it. Just remember, this is still a 19 year old game.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
