Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on September 11, 2007

First Impressions: The Fuhrer wasn't a mousy little mama's boy! The Fuhrer was BUTCH!

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Back in 1931, Winston Churchill was visiting New York when he was hit by a taxi on 5th Avenue. Fortunately, he recovered and went on to lead his nation to victory in World War II thanks to his famously inspirational speeches and good relations with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. But what would have happened if fate looked the other way and Churchill died in that accident instead?



That's the question developer Spark Unlimited used to base their upcoming alternate reality WWII shooter, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. Without Churchill's leadership, they envision England falling to the Nazis and the US maintaining their passive isolationist policies. With Europe conquered and brimming with confidence, the Nazis build up their forces using new technology and launch a massive invasion on an unprepared US in 1952.

Some of the most powerfully compelling images released for the game so far include the White House draped in Nazi flags, the Chrysler Building lying on its side and zeppelins cruising over New York, all of which are generating a ton of interest for this very cool twist on the otherwise tired WWII shooter genre.

The game promises to be intense and visceral, not surprising since the team at Spark Unlimited developed Call of Duty: Finest Hour and were former Medal of Honor team members. Unlike these and every other WWII game, however, you will not be fighting as a soldier. Instead, you will play as Dan Carson, just an ordinary blue collar construction worker who is simply trying to survive.

The game starts with Dan working on top of a half-completed skyscraper when the Nazis sweep into New York with fighters, bombers and zeppelins, while battleships cruise past the Statue of Liberty. Things get frantically intense in a hurry, with explosions, fire, smoke, gunfire and screaming civilians assaulting your senses. Dan's first priority is to get the heck off of the skyscraper and onto the relative safety of the ground. This is also an opportunity to see how Dan can climb and shimmy across girders, Tomb Raider style, as the camera temporarily pulls back to a third-person view.

As Dan clambers down the skyscraper, desperately hanging on for dear life as bombs rock the building, he eventually spots a Nazi paratrooper landing on top of a skybridge. This allows Dan to show off his grappling moves as he sneaks up behind the Nazi, grabs him by the throat and steals his gun. It also lets him use one of the many environmental kills as he shoves the Nazi off the skybridge to his death. The environmental kills are context sensitive so you can do things like smashing enemy heads into walls or through a window, cracking them over the head with their own gun, shove them across a kitchen table and into a garbage chute or even mash their head into a toilet. Say goodbye to the Ty-D-Bol Man, Mr. Nazi!

Even though you can steal or scavenge guns, you're not a trained soldier and so combat will be a bit different than your standard shooter. While you'll still have your fair share of running and gunning, you'll also have to engage in third-person view fist fighting and grappling. You will even be able to creep up behind enemies a la Splinter Cell and perform an instant-kill melee attack or grab them as human shields.

As with their previous projects, Spark Unlimited is trying to keep things realistic and historically accurate wherever possible. Since the story is totally fictional, Уhistorical accuracyФ might seem like an oxymoron but surprisingly, it's not. Thanks to some thorough research, they have recreated experimental Nazi weapons and vehicles, some of which were actually in development and could have been built if the war lasted longer. These include the MP50, an updated version of the famous MP40 SMG featuring a larger clip and an attachable flashlight; Vampir infrared Уnight-visionФ goggles; flying-wing jet fighters; a trans-Atlantic jet bomber; and even a monstrous 4 million-pound tank sporting battleship cannons that probably still gets better gas mileage than your typical fat-assed SUV.

The Americans, on the other hand, have done little with their military and will still be using old weaponry like Tommy guns and M1 Garands, heightening the tension of being attacked by a technologically superior enemy.

In keeping with the realistic immersive experience, you will only be able to carry two weapons Ц which will kick back and affect your aim Ц and a small handful of grenades. Similar to King Kong, you won't have a HUD blocking your view and constantly reminding you that you're just playing a game. Enemies will behave realistically as well by actively seeking out and firing from behind cover. The one concession for gameplay purposes is that you will have a Halo-like health regeneration system.

The story focuses on your own personal struggle to survive and how one man can make a difference and change the course of history. As a result, you'll be on your own for most of the game; occasionally you'll encounter other resistance fighters but for the most part you'll fight solo as everyone is in pure panic-driven Уeveryone for himselfФ survival mode, a very realistic scenario in the face of such chaos. The downside is that the story's focus on Dan's personal fight means there will be no co-operative mode.

The game will span eight chapters taking place in New York and Washington, and feature well-known landmarks like the Empire State Building, the Capitol Building and the White House itself. You will even be able to fight in Nazi-occupied London.

As you might expect, the game will feature online multiplayer with the standard deathmatch and team deathmatch. Unfortunately, there is no word yet on the number of supported players or any other game types.

Graphically, everything is quite impressive with beautiful smoke, particle and fire effects, courtesy of the Unreal 3 Engine. It also sounds great with the aural assault of ear-ringing gunshots, explosions and screaming Nazis that Call of Duty fans know and love. Adding to the intense gameplay will be WWII game vet Michael Giacchino's sweeping musical score, who also scored Medal of Honor: Frontline and Call of Duty: Finest Hour. In a nice touch, the music, performed by the 76-piece Hollywood Studio Orchestra, will dynamically change depending on the player's actions.