Turok was always a novel series that had a fun B-genre premise, following the escapades of a Native American wondering around lost in time, killing dinosaurs, aliens and whatever else crossed his path. It was a pretty well-received series when it hit the Nintendo 64, praised for its first-person shooting, combat and Jurassic-based action. After a few sequels, things went quiet for a few years only for the franchise to eventually resurface as something else entirely.
In the mid to late 2000s, it became a pop culture trend to take older franchises and update them with with 'dark' and 'gritty' aesthetics to make a property 'more realistic'. In 2008, Turok had its own dabble in updating the series, trading much of the original premise for a 'colonial marines' type affair, complete with crash landings and dinosaurs. The reboot came out to a middling response in the press and with the help of the movie tie-in game Tron: Evolution, it ultimately aided in Disney Touchstone Interactive's decision to close the game's developer Propaganda Games down.
But before their fate was sealed, Propaganda was planning on producing a sequel to the rebooted Turok to continue their story. Thanks to NeoGAF, a look behind the curtain of the troubled production has surfaced, showing off a collection of box art, concept art, renders and screenshots from Turok 2.
To add to that overview and give you an idea of what the game might have looked like in motion, here is a clip that found its way online showing off the premise.
By the looks of the concepts, Propaganda Games was planning on marrying Turok back to his Native American roots which would have undoubtedly pleased fans of the original games. Many gamers have been crying out for a truly great game featuring dinosaurs for years and bar a few notable examples, they have been largely denied (although perhaps Primal Carnage: Genesis could whet those appetites). Turok 2 could have been the entry those fans had been waiting for, but alas, they shall never know. The really sad part here is that this once beloved series from the nineties will now likely fade into obscurity. There is a fine line between success and failure, with games like Grand Theft Auto barely making it out the door to then go on to dominate the industry. Unfortunately for Turok though, it looks as if he landed on the wrong side of that line.
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