Xbox Series X Review: Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered (2023)

If you've ever played Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion on the N64, you know what that one was like. It wasn't the frame-rate crime that was Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (1998), but 3 still ran like big time butt, borderline unplayable in spots. Look. We put up with a lot of single-digit frame-rates back then. It was what we had. Thankfully, things have changed, and a lot of these old games are getting updated to look all spiffy and run nice on modern systems. They did it with the first few Turoks, but I figured they'd stop before 3 because it's so different from the others. But they didn't!

Turok 3 is different because it's very Half-Life (1998) of them; the focus on narrative is much more pervasive. Instead of distinct levels, you get a lot more interconnected areas. Instead of the sprawling, maze-like messes of the first two, Turok 3 is super linear. Overall I think this is a net positive, even if it makes the game generally pretty easy, because I'm just happy to not be lost in the meaningless, more-or-less identical corridors of Turok 2. Nevertheless, Turok 3 is a bit too short, with some aggravating sections, and a questionable level of replayability. You get two different characters (and a few unlockable ones), each with their own weapons, skillsets, and a few exclusive areas to explore, but in general the differences between them are pretty surface level.

In addition to a playable, barf-free framerate, the developers also added more ammo and health, as the dearth of pickups in the original version of the game made it much harder than it needed to be. And they took away the multiplayer! If you've played the original Turok 3, you likely remember that the multiplayer bot matches were excellent garbage, deeply customizable to break things apart with variable running speeds, anti-gravity, tons of weapons, and weirdly cramped and strangely innovative level design. They let you break it with some crazy settings and it was awesome. If they update this game, they should totally bring it back because without it, the Turok 3 package is a bit sparse for the asking price. Wait until it's cheaper! That's my advice to you.