Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

By Daniel Needham

To some, the WWII genre has been overplayed, especially in the last generation of consoles, as an absolute flood of titles hit all systems willing to take them. However, lately developers are turning to a post-WWII era, where the result is different to what mankind experienced, and this is what Spark Unlimited’s upcoming title, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, is based on.

Turning Point tells the story of an alternate history in which Winston Churchill dies and, because of that, he never lead Britain to win the European war, allowing for the Nazis to overrun the allies and conquer the British Isles, as well as mainland Europe. After that victory, the Nazis go on to attack the United States of America, and the opening scene in the game slaps you right in the heat of the German's surprise attack on New York.

The crucial, and somewhat innovative, point here is that Spark doesn't let you play as a soldier. You're not connected to the military at all. You're just a normal, average citizen and instead of trying to be a hero, like in all the other war-sim FPS games, your main objective is simply to survive the German onslaught.

And this ‘survive at all costs’ attitude is sure to be repeated throughout the game, as you play as a person of fortune, only acquiring guns you can steal off your foes with limited clip capacity and no huge stockpile of ammo, resulting in Spark producing gameplay where you will need to weigh up your options carefully in order to survive, and fight back when necessary.

A neat feature included is the environmental kill. As the name suggests, this involves you making best of the surroundings, and using them to eliminate the advancing enemy. Whether it’s throwing a jerry off a bridge, or luring them to a huge fall off a skyscraper, this feature is sure to provide entertainment, as you look at every option to kill the enemy without using precious ammo.

The game places you in various locations around the US, from New York to Washington, and even places you in and around a swastika-clad White House. Judging by trailers and screenshots, this title is certainly looking the part, and with an alternate universe plotline and solid gameplay, this could be a sleeper hit of early 2008, when it releases on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

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