Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion

Written by Matt Swider  on October 17, 2000

Review: Third time's a charm

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Once again, Acclaim returns with its control style, which was criticized in the past, but noticeably revolutionized many first person shooting control schemes. The main advantage of the control scheme, which Acclaim first used in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was the fact that it gave gamers a 360-degree angle with the N64 stick. The quick pick weapon select is also back and with 24 different weapons available, you will need it more now, than ever. If you have ever played Turok 2, you will remember Acclaim first used this weapon select style with much success. If you are comfortable with the scheme that is used with the Turok series, then you won't really have to adapt to any change at all.

Like all Turok games, the movement of the character is sluggish and at times getting from one place to another seems like an eternity. One thing I liked about GoldenEye 007 was the inclusion of the Turbo Mode, which enabled the players to move quickly around the levels. Something remotely close to this would have faired better in my book.

Over the past couple years, the Turok series has taken more of a generic path of Half-Life/Horror Action rather than keeping faithful to its Dino Hunting past. Instead of battling off these Minions and other alien like creatures, I'd rather be blasting some more raptors, triceratops, and even that one T-Rex mini-boss. Hopefully, when the series appears on one of the next-gen consoles, it will go back to its roots as far as the gameplay goes.

Multiplayer has become an important part of every first person shooter after the days of GoldenEye took the streets. Turok 2 featured a very basic and unbalanced multiplayer interface when comparing it to 007 and, although Rage Wars improved upon Turok's deathmatch action, the fun only lasted to an extent. Much of what you saw in Rage Wars is featured in Turok 3, and when combined with the single player mission mode, you finally have a full game and not just an arena game. With 8 modes to test out and 48 maps to play in, you will want to call up some friends for a little four-player bash, but not until you mastered it before they arrive.

With two characters to take control of, both with different paths, you might not be able to complete this Turok game by running through the level and firing at enemies when they appear on screen. With secrets to be unlocked and tons of deathmatch action to play through, something tells me, it will be a while before you put Turok 3 down.