Turok: Dinosaur Hunter's legacy on the Nintendo 64 is undeniable. While the pressures of being both a commercial and (more often than not) a critical success would have tempted series of lesser quality to churn out mediocre sequels, Acclaim has not let this franchise run that way. Now with the second "official" sequel (not counting Rage Wars) wreaking havoc in Nintendo land, it's time to see if the legacy is fulfilled. Visually, this is by far the best in the series. While the graphics on the N64 can only go so far, they're best utilised in the amazing cut-scenes displayed throughout, as the action's tension is increased by the dramatic score that heightens the atmosphere of the game.
The weapons are virtually the same as those you came across in previous Turok games, so things may seem familiar. There are new weapons, but most of them are just upgrades of the current ones. The only time that weapon selection will be important is during boss battles where the rocket launcher will pack a bigger punch.
Not only can you save your game anywhere, but you can also continue from many checkpoints throughout the level. As you progress, you will pass checkpoints where the game pauses, and the title of the area appears on the screen. This feature is great because when you suffer that oh-so-sudden death, you only have to go back as far as the last check point rather than your last (and possibly distant) save.
With the single-player mode thrown back in for the third Turok adventure, the multi-player mode in Turok 3 doesn't seem to flow as well as it did in Rage Wars. This might be excusable, but with Rare showing how fun a single/multi-player title can be not once, but twice (GoldenEye, Perfect Dark), it's a bit disappointing. Still, Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion is a great first-person shooter for Nintendo's ageing machine, and more importantly, one that doesn't embarrass the series. --Todd Mowatt (Review copyright Amazon.co.uk)