The upgraded Turok boasts support for high resolutions and widescreen displays, along with visual tweaks like dynamic lighting, bloom, and enhanced water effects. Night Dive also promises “improved gameplay and level design” that addresses long-standing issues and quirks specific to the game’s original engine.
Released for the Nintendo 64 and PCs in 1997, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was among the first shooters to feature environments rendered in polygonal 3D. Gameplay in Turok featured 3D platforming elements in addition to an early attempt at first-person shooting mechanics.
The Nintendo 64 version of Turok was also one of the first console FPSes to adopt a control scheme that allowed players to aim and move at the same time. The game’s default controls mapped movement to the Nintendo 64 controller’s face buttons while players aimed with an analog stick. Night Dive’s remastered version of Turok instead features a traditional mouse-and-keyboard control setup akin to modern first-person shooters.
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter was a hit on the Nintendo 64 and spawned multiple sequels in the years after its initial release. 1998’s Turok 2: Seeds of Evil introduced a multiplayer mode, laying the groundwork for future series entries that would later focus entirely on split-screen competitive action.
The Turok series ended in 2002 with the release of Turok: Evolution for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and original Xbox. Developer Propaganda Games produced a franchise reboot titled Turok in 2008, but the release found limited success compared to its Nintendo 64 predecessors.
Night Dive Studios previously published a remastered version of the landmark PC FPS System Shock. A full remake of System Shock is also in the works, and a long-awaited series sequel was unveiled earlier this week.
The remastered version of Turok launches digitally for PCs on December 17th.
