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Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion

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This article is about the Nintendo 64 video game and its remaster. For the Game Boy Color video game, seeTurok 3: Shadow of Oblivion (Game Boy Color).

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion
Developer(s)Acclaim Studios Austin
Nightdive Studios(remaster)
Publisher(s)Acclaim Entertainment
Nightdive Studios (remaster)
Director(s)David Dienstbier
Producer(s)Jeff Everett
Designer(s)Andy Schwalenberg
Chuck Lupher
Jeff Shelton
Programmer(s)Dave Smith
Artist(s)Scott Brocker
Michael Janke
Composer(s)Nelson Everhart
SeriesTurok
EngineKEX Engine[a]
Platform(s)
ReleaseNintendo 64
  • NA:August 31, 2000
  • EU:September 8, 2000
Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • WW:November 30, 2023
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player,multiplayer

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivionis afirst-person shootervideo game developed byAcclaim Studios Austinand published byAcclaim Entertainment.It was released for theNintendo 64video game console in 2000.Shadow of Oblivionis the third main installment of theTurokseries and a sequel toTurok 2: Seeds of Evil.The game received generally favorable reviews from critics. A separate game, also titledTurok 3: Shadow of Oblivion,which is set in the same universe but follows a different storyline, was released for theGame Boy Colorin 2000. A remastered version of the game developed byNightdive Studiosreleased on November 30, 2023 forNintendo Switch,PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows,Xbox One,andXbox Series X/S.[1]

Gameplay[edit]

The player engages in abossfight with an enemy. The game'sHUDat the bottom left corner shows the player'shealthand ammunition.

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivionis afirst-person shooter.The player can choose to play the game as either Danielle or Joseph, who both have unique abilities. For example, Danielle can jump higher and carry high-powered weapons, while Joseph can crawl into crevices and use the sniper rifle in conjunction with thenight vision goggles.[2]Each character has eight main weapons that may be upgraded in different ways for a total of 16 weapons per character, although some of them are shared.[2]Players cansavetheir progress at any time with the use of aController Pak.[3]

In addition to thesingle-playercampaign,Shadow of Oblivionfeatures amultiplayermode where various players can compete against each other in eight game types, including blood lust,capture the flag,last stand, and monkey tag.[2]Multiplayer games can be played in 42 different maps and can also includebots.[2]The multiplayer mode is not included in the remaster.

Plot[edit]

When the Primagen's Lightship was destroyed at the end ofTurok 2: Seeds of Evil,the chain reaction it triggered was so powerful that theuniverseas it existed was completely eradicated, pushing Oblivion, a monstrous cosmic entity that consumes bodies of the living and reigned before the birth of the universe, to the very brink of destruction. Though totally ravaged, Oblivion survived and now desperately seeks a means to punch through the Netherscape that separates the living world from the Lost Lands, a strange and primitive world where time has no meaning. The last shreds of the pure energy source that created the living world and nearly wiped out Oblivion are contained within the Light Burden, the bag that every member of theTuroklineage has carried. Deep within the Lost Lands, Oblivion's henchmen have a massive headquarters from where they assemble their armies and direct their operations.

The game begins with the current Turok, Joshua Fireseed, having dreams of a child that must be protected, as he is the last of the Fireseed lineage. During that night, Oblivion Spawns teleport into his home and try to kill Joshua in his sleep. Joshua catches them and fights, but is outnumbered. He then tells his sister Danielle and his brother Joseph to escape, while he stays behind with a bomb in his hand to blow the Spawns away, along with himself. While Danielle and Joseph drive away, they are attacked by a monster, but Adon, a female alien who helped Joshua in the previous game, saves and teleports them to a council meeting to deal with the situation of Oblivion. They decide that either Danielle or Joseph must become the next Turok, and the player must choose. The player will eventually have to infiltrate the enemies' headquarters to destroy the scourge of the universe.

Development[edit]

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivionwas developed byAcclaim Studios Austinand published byAcclaim Entertainment.[4]Before production of the game began, the development team decided to remove the Nintendo 64Expansion Paksfrom their development kits to guarantee a smoothframe rateon a standardNintendo 64.[5]Instead, high-resolution andletterboxsettings were developed for owners of Expansion Paks.[5]The team rewrote thegraphics engine,resulting in the game having a 30 degree widerfield of viewand two to four times thedraw distancethatTurok 2had.[5]Aco-operativemode, where two players, one as Danielle and the other as Joseph, would play through the campaign missions together, was originally intended to be included in the game, but was ultimately dropped due to technical difficulties related to Danielle and Joseph's unique abilities.[6][7]

Unlike previousTurokgames, whereartistswere limited to pre-designedlevels,Shadow of Oblivionfeatures maps that were entirely built to suit the designers' requirements.[8]Levels also include events that unfold independently of the player's actions. As creative director David Dienstbier explained, players can "see police choppers swooping throughout the world. Police drive up to certain buildings and charge into the building to go fight. Some of this stuff is scripted specifically around the player's actions and movements, and some of it takes place completely independent of where the player is".[8]In the weeks leading up to the game's release, the development team was composed of 21 people and worked 24-hour shifts.[8]The game was released on August 31, 2000, in North America.[9][10]A separate game, also titledTurok 3: Shadow of Oblivion,was released for theGame Boy Colorin 2000. Although set in the same world, it follows a different storyline.[11]

Reception[edit]

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivionreceived generally favorable reviews from critics.[12]Mark Green ofN64 Magazinedescribed it as a "gigantic, gorgeous game that's packed with goodness and perfectly playable in every way", but noted that the game failed to toppleRare'sPerfect Dark,an earlier first-person shooter that he felt theTurok 3team was unlikely to better.[20]GameSpotpraised the game, stating that it "concentrates upon what made theTurokfranchise a best-seller instead of attempting to one-up the competition, making it in many ways the bestTurokyet ".[2]The Electric Playgroundhighlighted the game's unique weapons and multiplayerdeathmatchvariants, but overall felt that the game was worthier as a rental than as an actual purchase.[15]NextGenconcluded that "despite a few problems,Turok 3is a satisfying experience that closes this [Nintendo 64] series in style. [First-person shooter] fans will not be disappointed. "[21]

Writing forIGN,reviewer Fran Mirabella III praised the option for players to save the game at any time, saying that "you can no longer live in fear of playing for 45 minutes only to end up getting whacked before you reach a save beacon".[3]However, he criticized the game's inconsistent frame rate and the fact that the game can occasionally look worse than its predecessor.[3]Similarly,GamePro's The D-Pad Destroyer said that the game's "sloppy" frame rate discourages the use of "awesome" multiplayer options, especially in 4-player mode.[23][d]The Enforcer, however, had a different opinion: "If you're a fan of the franchise, you'll find a lot to like aboutTurok 3.Its intense single-player adventure and extensive multiplayer mode will have you fragging till the wee morning hours. "[24][e]Nevertheless,Nintendo Powerhighlighted the realistic character models and the cinematics for theirlip-synchedspeech, a feature that is uncommon in Nintendo 64 games.[22]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Used for the 2023 remaster.
  2. ^Two critics ofElectronic Gaming Monthlygave the game each a score of 8/10, and the other gave it 8.5/10.
  3. ^InGameFan's viewpoint of the game, three critics gave it each a score of 94, 89, and 83.
  4. ^GameProgave the game two 3.5/5 scores for graphics and sound, and two 4/5 scores for control and fun factor in one review.
  5. ^GameProgave the game three 4/5 scores for graphics, sound, and fun factor, and 3.5/5 for control in another review.

References[edit]

  1. ^Romano, Sal (August 22, 2023)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion coming to PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on November 14".Gematsu.Archivedfrom the original on August 23, 2023.RetrievedNovember 5,2023.
  2. ^abcdefSatterfield, Shane (August 30, 2000)."Turok 3: Shadows of Oblivion [sic] Review".GameSpot.Fandom.Archivedfrom the original on November 7, 2015.RetrievedOctober 26,2016.
  3. ^abcdMirabella III, Fran (September 5, 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion (N64)".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on March 6, 2016.RetrievedNovember 29,2020.
  4. ^"The Final Episode of The Turok Series for the Nintendo 64 Arrives In Stores".Acclaim Entertainment.September 6, 2000. Archived fromthe originalon August 26, 2004.
  5. ^abcCasamassina, Matt (May 26, 2000)."Going Behind Turok".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2016.RetrievedNovember 29,2020.
  6. ^IGN staff (March 17, 2000)."Uncooperative Co-op".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2016.RetrievedNovember 29,2020.
  7. ^IGN staff (April 12, 2000)."Turok Won't Cooperate".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on October 27, 2016.RetrievedNovember 29,2020.
  8. ^abc"Prepare for the Hunt".Nintendo Power.Vol. 133.Nintendo of America.June 2000. pp. 26–30.
  9. ^"Turok 3Time ".IGN.August 31, 2000.RetrievedJuly 2,2024.
  10. ^"Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion".IGN.Archived fromthe originalon December 3, 2000.RetrievedJuly 2,2024.
  11. ^Harris, Craig (August 4, 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion (GBC)".IGN.Ziff Davis.Archivedfrom the original on November 7, 2015.RetrievedNovember 29,2020.
  12. ^ab"Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion for Nintendo 64 Reviews".Metacritic.Fandom.Archived fromthe originalon March 6, 2016.RetrievedOctober 26,2016.
  13. ^D'Aprile, Jason (October 5, 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion".Gamecenter.CNET.Archived fromthe originalon October 19, 2000.RetrievedDecember 28,2021.
  14. ^Lockhart, Ryan; Mielke, James "Milkman"; Kennedy, Sam (November 2000)."Turok 3 [Shadow of Oblivion]".Electronic Gaming Monthly.No. 136.Ziff Davis.p. 248.Archivedfrom the original on December 28, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2023.
  15. ^abConlin, Shaun (October 18, 2000)."Turok 3 [Shadow of Oblivion]".The Electric Playground.Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived fromthe originalon January 15, 2003.
  16. ^McNamara, Andy; Reppen, Erik; Reiner, Andrew (October 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow Of Oblivion – Nintendo 64".Game Informer.No. 90.FuncoLand.Archived fromthe originalon January 7, 2001.
  17. ^Mylonas, Eric "ECM" (November 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion".GameFan.Vol. 8, no. 11.BPA International.pp. 112–13.RetrievedDecember 28,2021.
  18. ^Weitzner, Jason "Fury"; Van Stone, Matt "Kodomo"; Ngo, George "Eggo" (November 2000)."Turok 3 [Shadow of Oblivion]".GameFan.Vol. 8, no. 11.BPA International.p. 26.RetrievedDecember 28,2021.
  19. ^DMC (December 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion"(PDF).Hyper.No. 86.Next Media Pty Ltd.pp. 78–79.Archived(PDF)from the original on December 28, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2023.
  20. ^abGreen, Mark (October 2000). "Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion".N64 Magazine.No. 46.Future Publishing.pp. 46–53.
  21. ^abRice, Kevin (December 2000)."Turok 3: Shadows of Oblivion [sic]".NextGen.No. 72.Imagine Media.p. 119.RetrievedDecember 28,2021.
  22. ^ab"Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion".Nintendo Power.Vol. 136.Nintendo of America.September 2000. p. 109.Archivedfrom the original on December 28, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2023.
  23. ^The D-Pad Destroyer (August 31, 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Review for N64 on GamePro.com".GamePro.IDG.Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2004.
  24. ^The Enforcer (October 2000)."Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion".GamePro.No. 145.IDG Entertainment.p. 136.Archivedfrom the original on December 28, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2023.

External links[edit]

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