Good but not perfect remaster
This is Turok 2 on Nightdive's 64-bit Kex engine. The engine change has some downsides: some new bugs exist that weren't in the original, but they're minor. Let me get right into the big controversies with this remaster (although nobody seems to have made a big deal about them, not many of us OG Turok players left apparently):
- You move faster now and can climb ledges. This enables shortcuts that were impossible in the original: on level 3, you can get to the Sacred Eagle feather much earlier now just by jumping. On level 4, you can get to the true warp portal much earlier due to a jump that was impossible to make in the original. And some minor pickups here and there on levels 3, 4, and 6 can now be accessed just by jumping there instead of finding the correct path.
- Level 1 unhides one of the distress beacon switches. It also has a subjectively redesigned area made to look more visually impressive.
- It removes one enemy: the Skimmer on Lair of the Blind Ones level. In the original it only appears in the pit that leads to the Primagen Key so not a ton is lost.
The engine improvements and moddability still make this version the one to play though, no doubt. As for Turok 2 itself, it showcases some of the most genius level design in FPS history. There aren't many I would put on the same level. Certainly NOT Doom. When it comes to secrets, Turok 2 and Serious Sam: The Second Encounter are the most ingenious I've found in the FPS genre.
Turok 2 is also famous for its creative weapon design, most notably the Cerebral Bore but its arsenal of 3 melee weapons, 15 guns, and 1 grenadelike weapon is very well balanced and fun to use.
It also has the most types of enemies of any FPS game I know of at 32 (33 in the original) not counting the turrets (although still overall less diverse than games like Serious Sam and Doom which have flying enemies and other fundamentally different ones).
While not a perfect remaster, both this and the first game are must plays.