Since Turok: Dinosaur Hunter first released on the Nintendo 64, the game franchise has been something of a B-list hit. Known for its creative weapons, excessive gore and (naturally) dinosaurs, the game served as an introduction for many console gamers to the FPS genre. It spawned three sequels, and many of us thought it had all come to an end with the bankruptcy of publisher Acclaim and the poor reception to Turok: Evolution.
A few years later, it was revealed that the Turok franchise would not suffer the ignominious fate of obliteration. A new game was being built from the ground up to reflect more modern conventions in FPS games. The result thus far has rejuvenated a franchise many wrote off years ago.
We caught up with Josh Holmes, Vice President and Studio General Manager for internal Touchstone developer Propaganda Games, and talked about hunting the most dangerous prey of all... the Giganotosaurus, what did you think?
That's quite a prize there...
According to the NPD, Turok on Xbox 360 was the eighth best selling title for the February period. The game was the fourth best selling game on the Xbox 360 platform and third best selling on the PS3. Overall, Turok sold slightly under 200,000 copies during the February period on the Xbox 360 alone.
"We are very satisfied with Turok's performance in the month of February," expressed Holmes. "We knew that we had delivered a game that would resonate well with shooter fans and our sales goals for the product were set high as a result. The game has so far exceeded those goals and we are thrilled with both the sales of the game and the reaction from fans."
In addition to this, Disney's Touchstone label announced that Turok has now shipped over one million units and has new downloadable content available for purchase. "Turok has captured the imagination of video game players throughout the world," said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing for Touchstone in a statement.
This ain't your dad's dinosaur hunt
Like any modern shooter, Turok has both the technically advanced engine running under its hood and extensive online multiplayer options. The former is provided by the Unreal Engine 3, which let the team create some of the most detailed dinosaurs ever seen in a game. The latter, which features both competitive and co-operative play, has been complemented by throwing hostile dinosaurs into the mix that all players need to contend with.
"Cutting edge graphics and sound were a focal point in the development of Turok and play a big role in bringing the world to life. The Unreal Engine 3 gave us a strong foundation to build from when creating the game," said Holmes, adding, "The AI controlled dinosaurs are a unique part of Turok's multiplayer experience and help distinguish the game from other first person shooters. Having to worry about a vicious third party roaming freely through the environment really takes the online element to the next level. A variety of different online modes and maps offer plenty of options to complement the single-player campaign."
Turok is a complete reboot of whatever had been offered in the franchise before it and that goes for the story, characters and setting. The Propaganda Games developed title was ultimately given a grittier edge than its previous incarnation, and the project was further enhanced with voice work from Hollywood actors such as Ron Perlman, Timothy Olyphant and Powers Boothe.
"Turok has always been about three things - a Native American protagonist, cool weapons, and dinosaurs. We think we delivered a game that incorporated these features well with the new updated set-up and fans of Turok past and present were very happy with the results" commented Holmes. "Great story and characters help take a game to the next level. Leveraging world class talent like Ron Perlman, Timothy Olyphant, Donnie Wahlberg, William Fichtner and the legendary Powers Boothe really helped the story and the characters come alive."
Oh, its already been brought.
The Turok series has always been about gratuitous thrills, and the TV spot captures that well. It shows a herd of raptors charging towards Joseph Turok as he's drawing a bow, then a T-Rex charges into view and Turok whips out dual sub-machineguns and utters a throaty "Bring it." It does a good job of encapsulating what the franchise is all about: dinosaurs, guns and Turok himself.
"There were many memorable moments throughout the promotional campaign for Turok. One was our sponsorship of UFC Ultimate Fight Night on Spike TV," detailed Holmes. "We held a multiplayer event in San Francisco where we turned one of the ballrooms at the Hotel Nikko into a lush jungle environment. Our CG TV spot has run for quite some time on major networks and drew in existing core shooter fans and others. We also received some great attention online for the Awakening the Giants: The Making of Turok documentary series that was released during the lead-up to the game's launch."
While no details are available yet for a Turok sequel, it's hard to imagine that this game won't spawn a continuation of the renewed franchise. Game companies typically don't create a game with this level of story detail and intend it to be a "one off." As long as players still have an affinity for stalking dinosaurs, we'd imagine that there'll be demand for more Turok.
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