Turok 3 E3 Hands-On

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion was showcased in playable form at the Acclaim booth during E3. Other than a noticeable improvement in its visuals and the availability of two playable characters for the first time, the game stays very close to the series' fast-paced, FPS lineage. The game's story picks up at the end of Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, as the monstrous Oblivion threatens to consume the world.

For the first time, in game cut-scenes progress the story, as players take on the adventure as either Danielle or Joseph Fireseed. These intro scenes are naturally done in real-time on the N64, and look just as impressive as the rest of the game's detailed, yet ominous visuals. Following the cut-scenes, the character you select actually has a noticeable bearing on the gameplay. For example, as Danielle I was able to engage the enemy more aggressively. She can carry larger, more powerful weapons, so the best strategy with her is to take enemies head-on and dispose of them quickly. Joseph is smaller and weaker than his sibling, as he has to rely on long distance sniping and stealth to be successful.

Turok 3's visuals have been redone, with new texturing to reflect a more organic environment. In the level that was playable at E3, the surroundings were solidly modeled and nicely detailed. There wasn't much noticeable clipping and the fogging distance has been increased as well, so players can see all the way to the end of the game's new areas. Particularly impressive was this one section where I had to crawl under, and into an air duct, and surface in a wide open, lushly textured underground cavern on the other end. The level designs seem more intuitive and intelligently done in Turok 3, and the fact that the game moves with impressive fluidity doesn't hurt either.

I wasn't able to check out the multiplayer modes in the game, but with modes such as Blood Lust, Monkey Tag, Color Tag, and Blood Lust, Acclaim promises that the game will have plenty of features for multiplayer buffs.

Finally, Turok 3 lets the player save at any point in the game, which is a cool feature allowing players to move at their own pace. Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion will ship for the N64 in August 2000.