Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion

After the demise of Joshua Fireseed, one of his siblings must take the mantle of "Turok" and confront the ancient evil known as Oblivion in the third and final installment of the original Turok trilogy.

Nintendo 64

Overview

Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is a 3D sci-fi first-person shooter developed by Acclaim Austin and published by Acclaim for the Nintendo 64 in North America (on September 6, 2000) and Europe (on September 8, 2000).

The direct sequel to Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (and the conclusion of the original Turok trilogy), Shadow of Oblivion follows two siblings of Seeds of Evil protagonist Joshua Fireseed: Danielle and Joseph. After Joshua's demise at the forces of an ancient evil known as Oblivion, the two Fireseed siblings (with one of them as the next "Turok") must find and destroy Oblivion.

As the game has dual protagonists, players choose at the beginning of the game which of them will be the player character (with the other character restricted to cutscenes). Both characters have unique abilities and weapon upgrades, with Danielle being combat-oriented (including a grappling hook and high-powered weapons) and Joseph being stealth-oriented (including night vision goggles and technical weapons).

The game later received a re-mastered port by Nightdive for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Released digitally on November 30, 2023 as Turok 3: Shadow of Obilivion Remastered, this version was built on the KEX Engine (used for the previous two Turok games) and features an enhanced graphics renderer (with several new effects) along with compatibility for modern systems. It does not include the original's multiplayer functionality.

The handheld Game Boy Color version of the game, developed by Bit Managers, was released in North America (on July 27, 2000) and Europe (on September 8, 2000). Other than the same name and box art, it is not a direct adaptation of the main game and is instead a direct sequel to the Game Boy Color version of Turok: Rage Wars. Players reprise the role of Joshua as he again thwarts the plants of the Dinosoid legion "Amaranthine Accordance" (who is stealing human weaponry for use against the peaceful Dinosoid group known as the "Solidarity Order").

Weapons

The game has 23 weapons total (25 if including the deathmatch-exclusive Spear and Claws), with players receiving specific weapons based on their chosen character. In the Campaign Mode, players can upgrade most of their weapons to their character's special counterpart.

Unlike Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, all weapons work underwater and no weapons have alternate firing modes (although some have scope) or secondary ammo.

Tomahawk (Danielle) / Blade (Joseph) - Standard melee weapon for silent close-ranged kills. Both of them can be upgraded to the Razor Wind: a three-blade chakram that is thrown and returned like a boomerang for slightly longer ranges.

Bow - Simple hunting bow for silently launching arrows a long distance. It's distance and trajectory is based on how long the arrow is drawn before firing (by holding down the Fire button, then releasing it). Players can retrieve arrows from enemies killed by it. Danielle can upgrade it to the Tek Bow, which use special explosive arrows. Joseph can replace it with the Storm Bow: a high-tech scoped crossbow that allows players to fire immediately without needing to draw an arrow. It also sports a usable scope.

Pistol - Standard mid-range semi-automatic handgun. Danielle can replace it with the Mag 60, which fires in three-round bursts. Joseph can replace it with the Silenced Pistol, which has both a suppressor and laser sight and can be "zoomed in" like scoped weapons.

Assault Rifle - Standard mid-to-long range assault rifle that fires in three-round bursts. Danielle can replace it with the Firestorm Cannon: a fully-automatic minigun with a very high rate-of-fire. Joseph can replace it with the Sniper Rifle: a single-shot bolt-action rifle with a long-zoom scope.

Shotgun - Standard close-to-mid range double-barreled shotgun. Danielle can upgrade it to the Fireswarm, which fires explosive projectiles that can engulf enemies on fire. Joseph can upgrade it to the Shredder, which fires ricocheting projectiles that can stun enemies.

Grenade Launcher - Standard grenade launcher that fires explosive ordnance at a trajectory. Danielle can replace it with the RPG: a rocket-propelled grenade launcher that fires explosive ordnance in a completely straight trajectory. Joseph can upgrade it to the Napalm Cannon, which fires explosive ordnance that sticks onto surfaces and is remotely-detonated (by pressing the Fire button a second time).

Cerebral Bore - A strange limited-use device that launches spheres (called "bores") that home into most enemies, latch onto their heads, drill into their skulls, and deliver a small explosion for a bloody execution. Danielle can upgrade it to the Cerebral Burst, which deliver a larger explosive payload. Joseph can upgrade it to the Cerebral Possessor, which allow players to temporarily take control of their victim (allowing them to be guided towards other enemies for the explosive payload).

Vampire Gun - A unique and strange close-ranged device that leeches off of enemies, draining their health and giving it back to the user. Although it uses no ammo, failing to leech off of enemies drains the user's health instead.

Personal Singularity Generator - An endgame high-tech super-powered weapon that generates black holes (which absorb nearby enemies, vaporize those inside, and release a powerful explosion). Although it uses no ammo, it has a lengthy recharge time (roughly one minute normally, or 20 seconds with the Unlimited Ammo cheat enabled). Like the Chronoscepter in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and the Nuke in Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, the weapon must be fully-assembled before use (with pieces scattered throughout each of the five chapters).

Deathmatch

Weapons

All players (except the Raptor) spawn with the Spear, along with any weapon set that is set in the options to be given on spawn. By finding weapon pickups scattered throughout each map (and dropped by enemies), players can acquire new sets of weaponry for use. By collecting the same type of pickups, players can pick up ammo for their weapons.

Five of the weapon sets include two weapons: the basic version of the weapon and one of the single-player upgrades (which is determined by the character used). Both of these versions share the same ammo pool.

Bow (and either the Tek Bow or the Storm Bow)
Pistol (and either the Mag 60 or the Silenced Pistol)
Assault Rifle (and either the Firestorm Cannon or the Sniper Rifle)
Shotgun (and either the Fireswarm or the Shredder)
Vampire Gun
Grenade Launcher (and either the RPG or the Napalm Cannon)
Cerebral Bore

Players who use the Raptor start out with their own unique weapon: their Claws. They cannot pick up or use any other weapon set.

Powerups

Red Health (+10 health)
White Health (+20 health)
Blue Health (+100 health)
Ultra Health (+100 health, bypasses maximum health restriction)
Berserk (temporary speed and damage increase, but player is restricted to Spear/Claws)
Cloak (temporary invisibility)
Shield (temporary invincibility)

Characters

Players choose from 16 characters, the only difference being their own set of alternate weapons that they can equip in specific weapon slots. Multiple players can choose the same character. Alternatively, players can pick the Raptor (who has increased maneuverability, but is restricted to their unique melee weapon: their Claws).

Danielle (Tek Bow, Mag 60, Firestorm Cannon, Fireswarm, RPG)
Joseph (Storm Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Shredder, Napalm Cannon)
Joshua (Storm Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Fireswarm, RPG)
Adon (Tek Bow, Mag 60, Firestorm Cannon, Shredder, RPG)
Spawn (Tek Bow, Mag 60, Firestorm Cannon, Fireswarm, Napalm Cannon)
Spawn Grunt (Storm Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Shredder, Napalm Cannon)
Guard (Tek Bow, Mag 60, Firestorm Cannon, Fireswarm, RPG)
Warrior (Storm Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Shredder, RPG)
Ancient (Tek Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Fireswarm, Napalm Cannon)
Scientist (Storm Bow, Mag 60, Firestorm Cannon, Shredder, Napalm Cannon)
Legionnaire (Tek Bow, Mag 60, Sniper Rifle, Fireswarm, RPG)
Magmite (Storm Bow, Silenced Pistol, Firestorm Cannon, Shredder, Napalm Cannon)
Lost One (Tek Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Fireswarm, RPG)
Infestoid (Storm Bow, Mag 60, Firestorm Cannon, Shredder, Napalm Cannon)
Slave (Tek Bow, Silenced Pistol, Firestorm Cannon, Fireswarm, RPG)
SWAT (Storm Bow, Silenced Pistol, Sniper Rifle, Fireswarm, RPG)
Raptor (unique, only uses Claws)

Game Modes

All of these modes are played in team format. In order to play free-for-all, each player would have to choose a team with only them in it.

Bloodlust - Standard deathmatch. Score points by killing enemies. Lose points by suicide and teamkilling.

Capture the Flag - Standard capture the flag. Score points by grabbing an enemy flag and returning it to base (with their flag intact).

Last Stand - Last man standing. Games are played in rounds, and players only have one life. Gain points by being the last surviving team in each round.

Golden Arrow - Best described as the Oddball mode. A Golden Arrow pickup is located somewhere throughout the map, and players must grab it and hold onto it to score points. Players who hold the Golden Arrow cannot use weapons.

Monkey Tag - Throughout the game, a random player turns into a monkey with low health and no weapons, and must find a special device to change themselves back to normal. When a monkey is turned to normal or killed, another random player is turned into a monkey. Score points by killing a monkey on the enemy team. Lose points by suicide and killing a monkey on the same team.

Arsenal of War - Best described as a combination of last man standing and a reverse Gun Game mode. Games are played in rounds, players have a limited number of lives, and players spawn with both a Spear and a specific weapon set (which gets progressively stronger as the player loses lives). Weapon pickups are disabled. Weapon set order is: None, Bow, Pistol, Assault Rifle, Shotgun, Vampire Gun, Grenade Launcher, Cerebral Bore. Players who choose the Raptor character can only use their Claws, regardless of lives left. Gain points by being the last surviving team in each round.

Color Tag - Games are played in rounds, and players change enemy players to their team by killing them. Gain points by being the last surviving team in each round.

Weapon Master - Similar to Bloodlust, but players can only hold one weapon set at a time (and can drop them on the ground by holding down B + Z and releasing).