Turok

When this reboot for the Turok video games series came out back in 2008, I thought it was going to be painstakingly good. Unfortunately, however, the goddamn game fell flat on its face, largely in part to Propaganda Games deciding on keeping it in the first-person. Terrible move. First of all, the main character of Joseph Turok is a stealthy Spec Ops, Rambo-like commando with a bad Mohawk. His specialty is stealth combat, and once you start down that path, you start favoring the stealthy methods more and more. It is extremely satisfying to sneak up on an enemy and perform a quick silent kill on him. Plus, your in a jungle environment, the key is survival. You don’t go “guns blazing” in the jungle, unless you want to alert every damn carnivorous monstrosity or gun-toting jackass that can walk heading straight for you. In first-person, you don’t get that “Oh yeah, I’m gonna kill the shit outta this guy” feeling, but you will get it tenfold in third. All the knife slitting silent kills and bow sniping from behind trees would be that much more gratifying if the game was in third-person. I don’t understand how the guys at Propaganda didn’t realize this during or after development. Ultimately, it all comes down to three things, third-person, stealthier combat mechanics, and smarter AI. All of which would have easily made Turok into a triumphant “survival of the fittest” experience.