Turok Returning to the PC

Touchstone has announced it is bringing an updated Turok game to Windows PCs, as well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Earlier this year, Disney game publisher Touchstone announced it was bringing a revamped version of the Turok franchise back to the video game business, with a new Turok first-person shooter game in development for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Turok was set to hit the streets February 5, 2008; today, Touchstone announced it will also be publishing a verison of Turok for Windows PCs. The Windows port will be done by Aspyr Studios.

"First person shooters have a rich history on the Windows PC platform and are known for having enthusiastic, dedicated fans," said Propoganda Games’ president and general manager Josh Holmes. "Turok will be an unforgettable experience ideal for the Windows PC platform when it becomes available in 2008."

Turok got its start in comic books in the 1950s as Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Originally drawn by Rex Maxon—the artist known for the Tarzan newspaper strip—Turok was first published by Dell Comics and migrated through a series of publishers, finally ending up with Acclaim Entertainment. Eventually, the title was converted into a video game for the Nintendo 64 platform, and spawned two Nintendo 64 sequels which were also converted to PCs. A fourth installment, Turok: Evolution, debuted to disappointing sales in 2002, and Disney’s Buena Vista Games acquired the rights to Turok in 2005.

The once-again re-imagined Turok is set on a dark jungle planet in the future, where Joseph Turok—now a former black-ops soldier—must take down his former mentor (Roland Kane) and his private army with the Mendel-Gruman Corporation. Of course, as Turok’s team soon discovers, the planet doesn’t only host Mendel-Gruman’s troops, but a variety of man-eating lizards, giant insects, and other perilous creatures.

Voice talent for the Turok game includes Timothy Olyphant, Ron Perlman, Donnie Walhberg, William Fichtner, and Chris Judge, with Gregory Norman Cruz voicing Turok and Powers Boothe as Roland Kane.

Turok isn’t due out until 2008, but it already has an ESRB rating: "M" for Mature.