![]() From the basic information that’s given about the character, Turok is a mantle that’s been handed down from generation to generation, making “Turok” a title and not the name of the character (until a much, MUCH later game, that is). It’s note very often that I discuss the box art for a game, but I have to make a special note in the case of Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. So yeah, those looking for any real insight into the Turok character are better left tracking down some comics, but games around this era, especially first-person shooters, weren’t known for their deep narratives. Loosely based on the Valiant relaunch of the title in the 1990’s, the player as Turok must stop The Campaigner from collecting the pieces of an ancient device called the Chronoscepter, a destructive weapon that could spell the end of the Lost Land, a dangerous sub-dimension where time stands still and ancient dinosaurs roam free. Though Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is based on a property that has its origin as far back as 1956, you couldn’t really tell from the bare-bones story and set-up that could easily be squeezed onto the back of its packaging. Acclaim’s gamble in this new genre would indeed pay off as Turok: Dinosaur Hunter would go on to be come one of the earliest million selling copy N64 games that not only saved Acclaim but kick-started a decade long franchise that would also spawn action figures and a direct-to-DVD animated feature. Nintendo of course being synonymous with family friendly games like Mario, Kirby and Donkey Kong among others and not so much big guns and buckets of blood (historically the Big N blocked Acclaim from shipping the original Mortal Kombat on the SNES unless the blood was removed). The first game from this new Acclaim was quite the gamble Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, an M-rated “Doom Clone” (what the industry called First-Person Shooters back in the day) on the newly released Nintendo 64. ![]() To turn their fortunes around, the now-defunct publishers hedged their bets on buying the fledgling Valiant comics to turn their comic book properties into not only video games, but multi-media franchises. ![]() Feeling the pinch in this transition was Acclaim, who made a name for themselves by releasing licensed games and bringing the first two Mortal Kombat games to console but now found themselves in financial trouble due to a decline in sales of 16-bit games and a lack of presense in the 3-D space. Not only were the at the time dated 16-bit machines on the way out, but the new console hardware, namely the Nintendo 64, the Sega Saturn as well as the Sony PlayStation were forcibly moving developers out of their 2-D comfort zone into the bold new horizon that was 3-D. ![]() ![]() The mid-90’s were quite a transition for the video game industry. ![]()
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