Turning Point: Fall of Liberty – What if?

By dkpatriarch

© 2008 David Hilton

“I love “what if” scenarios. From science fiction to conspiracy thrillers, “what if” makes life more exciting because “what is” is often so mundane. Turing Point: Fall of Liberty, from Spark and Codemasters, presents a captivating “what if” story revolving around an alternate history where Winston Churchill, instead of surviving being hit by a taxi, dies and the United Kingdom subsequently falls to Nazi forces in World War 2. In the 1950s the Nazis attack the United States and the game begins. So, is the game a ‘turning point’ in the first person war shooter genre, or does it commit video game atrocities?

Okay, so Churchill gets hit by a taxi on 5^th Avenue New York, but dies instead of living with a limp for the rest of his life. The British, without their stout leader during the Second World War, capitulate and begin taking German lessons. You are Dan Carson and you are a construction worker building a skyscraper in 1953 New York, that is until you find your true calling as a Nazi-killing badass.

Skyscrapers and New York…yes, that means that you are going to soon be dodging explosions! The Nazis somehow catch the U.S. by surprise with a massive futuristic Zeppelin and fighter air attack and New York is heavily bombed. You have to get yourself down the scaffolding and to the ground where you can join the fight against the evil invaders. Meanwhile they have occupied the White House and put in a puppet President. Since you find learning German much too difficult you decide to resist and join the pockets of army and civilian forces that remain fighting. The fighting takes you from New York, to Washington D.C., and finally to London. So it’s basically a working holiday without the need for visas or declaring your weapons….

I’ve focused a bit on the story because it is a refreshing take on the old World War 2 shooter. The problem is that this promising concept begins to fade as the game goes on and you begin to feel quite a bit of déjà vu. Despite some minor differences this game plays very much like a standard World War 2 shooter. Instead of shooting Nazis in a burnt out French town you shoot Nazis is a burnt out New York City. Instead of dodging bullets in Normandy trenches you are dodging bullets in trenches along the White House lawn.

You fight Nazis in bunkers and hallways full of locked doors. Rather than a heroic civilian struggling through the hit and run guerilla warfare or sneaky sabotage you would expect to be busy with in occupied territory, you are a super-soldier leading the counter-assault. At one stage you even become a paratrooper, gliding down onto the Tower of London, wearing the same red construction worker shirt you have been wearing all game. I’m no expert but I think the military might drop a soldier before a civilian wearing plaid.

The game does offer some fun elements like the grappling (don’t try it on a guy on his knees though), environmental kills, using soldiers as human shields, and a very easy but enjoyable bomb mini-game. Unfortunately the grappling has limited finishing moves and the human shield sometimes gets a bit stuck on the environment as you try to move. The environmental kills, though fairly rare, offer some giggles: I enjoyed flushing the Nazi’s head in the toilet, throwing another baddie’s head into a TV set, and getting to kick a guy into a burning furnace. Explosions are a pyro’s dream and you do get to use a variety of weapons, though some, like the FG44 Karbine, are better than others and aiming can be difficult.

It is also nice that in some levels there are civilians running around instead of the usual empty areas that only have either allies or enemies in them. The music is cinematic and there can be an atmospheric sense of ambiance when there are dogs barking, babies and women crying out, and bells tolling in the distance. It helps the game seem more alive. The newscast cut-scenes, however, are illogical: the country is run by the Germans but instead of Nazi propaganda we listen to more pro-American updates on the resistance. Not likely.

Technically the game is not a big jump from last gen games. The gameplay is extremely linear, the framerate stutters a bit, and there are clipping issues and glitches everywhere (it is not uncommon to see legs sticking out of walls or whole bodies floating in air…right before they disappear in unrealistic fashion). Controls are slow and twitchy; in fact I recommend setting sensitivity to high right away. There is a non-intrusive HUD, which is good. Enemy AI is extremely basic, though it can be amusing watching them run toward exploding grenades as they yell “grenada!”.

The graphics and the environmental damage is a mixed bag. The look seems dated with an abysmal lack of decent lighting effects, basic character modeling and animation, and blocky environments. The diversity of areas and good pacing, though as stated before not terribly different to similar styled games, does at least keep you looking at different environments. I mean you get to attack the White House! Environmental damage ranges from good (some pillars blow up with grenades, some glass shatters, a clock’s face falls off when shot) to not at all (shoot a nearby wall lantern, meat hanging from a hook, or a window and they have black bullet holes stuck on them). Occasionally there are leaves or debris floating around, which are nice touches the game could have used more of.

In the end, I am left wondering “what if”. What if, in an alternate reality, this game had lived up to the fantastic concept. Instead, a few genuinely fun moments aside, I am left feeling I’ve played something last gen in both look and gameplay, and too many problems unfortunately distract from the experience.

5.5/10

©2008 David Hilton