Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Preview

Last time Pro-G were invited to view Turning Point, only a glimpse was made available, in the form of a brief demonstration of the opening level, and a glossy trailer. This time things were a little different, and while controllers were kept tantalisingly out of reach, seeing some sustained gameplay began to give a real feel for what has the potential to be a very exciting game.

Of course, hands-on time is the only way to grasp how the game feels but as explosive action-romps go, Turning Point is looking dramatic, detailed, and surprisingly intimate.

If you aren’t familiar with Turning Point’s premise, it is a WWII first-person-shooter, and thus joins the most crowded and familiar of all gaming’s niche genres. Like all new military shooters, it must do something to distinguish itself from its rivals, and in Turning Point’s case, its most obvious ‘unique’ feature is its setting.

Spark Unlimited, the game’s developer who previously worked on Call of Duty: Finest Hour, have re-imagined history. Their conflict is one without Churchill leading the allies, meaning the war has become entrenched and lasted well into the early Fifties. By mixing the converse worlds of the kitsch 1950’s, good-times Americana with the eccentric military designs of Hitler’s overconfident mind that never saw production in the real world, the team has created a surreal and appealing world, providing a whole new perspective and aesthetic in which to bash Nazis.

If you want more on this premise, then Pro-G already has plenty in the form of previous coverage. Here we are concerned with what is newest, which comes in the form of a new level set in The Big Apple, and some thrilling hints about Turning Point’s London-based conclusion.

Spark know how to do big openings, as demonstrated to the press on our previous viewing. The level demonstrated more recently concentrates on your escape from New York, as the city blazes above you, and though far from lacking in drama and action, is a rather more modest affair, giving an impression of what the game’s everyday gameplay will be like.

Set at night, the New York level instantly proves Spark is good with light, or rather, lack of it. Under the cover of darkness you must make your way to a rendezvous point, giving you the opportunity to experience the depth and variation evident in the various pools of light and shadow throughout the level. Where previously games have struggled to accurately reproduce the way you can in fact see a great deal at night, Turning Point instead manages to define outlines and objects with black ‘highlights’, create an impressive sense of distant street lights and a world seen through dilated pupils.

There is also a fantastic amount of background activity that gives off a wonderful sense of a city as it tumbles into chaos. NPCs dart through the shadows as they invade or defend, and the skies and buildings above sparkle with explosions and commotion. The sound, too, is noteworthy for adding to the sensation that you are surrounded by a ferocious battle, as your speakers roar with the screeches of twisted metal and the rumbles of destruction.

The combat itself seems traditional, though the ability to grab enemies to use as human shields appears to be more fluid and central to the gameplay than in previous releases that have included the feature. There is also a focus on hand-to-hand combat that has not been used so widely in other first-person shooters. Several kills in the New York escape level relied on the player exchanging close blows with Nazi fiends, though how intrusive or counter-instinctive this will be in a game built around gun control is unclear.

Seeing the sections of the game played through did rather imply that bravado and a gung ho approach were as effective as more considered moving and shooting, though it is not evident if this means we were being treated to the spoils of an overly-easy game or an overly-familiar tester.

Moving on from the realities of the demonstration to the scintillating hints made by Spark CEO Craig Allen, it seems that UK gamers are in for a treat as Turning Point meets its climactic moments. As well as confirming that London is host to the game’s conclusion, there is talk of an ‘entrenched city’ where the invading forces have been present for so long the country is completely submissive, and a ‘twist’ in the game’s closing levels. After many ponderings on the value of capturing enemy symbols and buildings of significance, and conjuring up images of a Swastika festooned Trafalgar Square, Allen quietly quips “but there is a resistance in London,” before quickly becoming tight-lipped.

Though it has long been known that London is to star, to hear of its importance to the game, and to begin to understand how familiar some of Turning Point’s settings will be is still of great interest. On the subject of hints, after thanking Allen for his presentation, Codemasters’ David Brickley enthusiastically proclaimed his trust and support of Turning Point, saying there was more mileage in the IP, and the potential for productions outside of the FPS genre.

Based on speculative suggestions and maybes, Turning Point has a long and healthy future. Concentrating on the facts of the in-game action demonstrated, the shooter looks exciting, of high-production values, and filled with large-scale, explosive set pieces. It still has a great deal to prove, but there is no doubting the potential of this wartime epic.