Here’s a little history lesson: World War II began on September 3^rd 1939, and ended six years later on August the 14^th 1945. And, today is your lucky day because I have another; the first WWII game came out in 1984 and we have seen a flood of them ever since. Now, for those of you who are mathematically challenged that is 24 years of World War II games – four times longer than the war itself. To say that it has seen over saturation would be an understatement. In fact, I was so sick of storming the beaches of Normandy that I promised myself I would never play another WWII game, no matter how good. That is, until I read about Turning Point: Fall of Liberty over a year ago. Its concept was brimming with potential for both a thematically powerful story and a fresh twist on the WWII first person shooter. Too bad potential is all this game has going for it.

Developer, Spark Unlimited, has envisioned a ‘what if’ scenario in which the eminent Winston Churchill was hit by a taxi in New York City and didn’t survive – his strong British leadership never took place and neither does the second Great War. This leaves America without a boom out of the Great Depression and the Nazis roaring through an utterly defeated Churchill-less Europe. Hitler once said, “Germany will either be a world power or will not be at all.” this time fate favors the oppressor.

The opening scene begins with the Nazi invasion of Manhattan: massive zeppelins, bombing runs, buildings crumbling – it is powerful stuff. You are Dan Carson, an average joe working on the steel skeleton of a growing and towering skyscraper. The work day is cut short by a city skyline that erupts in chaos (think Charles C. Ebbets’ Lunch Atop a Skyscraper but with massive explosions, no smiles and no lunch). You are in control of Carson as you scramble across the steel girders and make your way down the towering structure while the game’s fantastic orchestral score booms in the background. This all sounds pretty good, and it is… until you get your hands on a weapon.

The lady of liberty doesn’t survive the attack

Turning Point blatantly rips off many great shooters that came before it: Call of Duty, Half-Life 2, Medal of Honor and the list goes on. It would be passable if Spark Unlimited had replicated the gameplay and design aspects of these great titles in a marginally adequate way, but the execution here ranges from god-awful to completely mediocre.

To add insult to injury, the controls are completely broken. The “iron sights” view that you love so much from Call of Duty rarely works here – it is better just to use the (also unpredictable) aiming reticule. Levels that require medium to long distance precision aiming are incredibly frustrating. You will find yourself actually wanting to play the close-quarters hallway shooting galleries – there is solace to be found in blasting away Nazis with ease. Also implemented is a grappling function, which allows you to use Nazis as human shields as well as execute environmental finishers; if you are in the right place you can smash their faces through TVs or drown them in a toilet full of their own waste. One of the only intended laughs in the game. As with everything else, it works sporadically and there is no real reason to use it.

In all that it does wrong, Turning Point’s ‘Nazis invade America’ concept still provides some moments of power, even if they do lack any real substance. As Carson you will move from a devastated New York to an oppressed Washington D.C. The missions in NYC are certainly channeling some 9/11 imagery and sentiment but it doesn’t manage to materialize as anything but a paper thin attempt at stirring emotion. In Washington, a puppet President has been put in place by the Nazis and the Whitehouse is sporting banners with Swastikas. You will assault the Whitehouse with your ragtag team of insurgent fighters and assassinate the Nazi pawn. It is one of the better set pieces in the game and there is a true rush fighting through such an iconic location. Unfortunately, there is almost no narrative or character development to hold these impressive moments together.

It may be visually striking, but moments like this ultimately result in little to no depth when the narrative is so weak

Since this takes place several years after what would have been World War II, there are some neat twists on Nazi weaponry that were “in the works” before the World War ended. A few are as trivial as slapping a flashlight and a new name on the MP40 (now the MP insert bigger number here). But, the designs for some of the zeppelins and tanks are fresh compared to what you have seen before in the genre. In spite of this, everything looks like mud was thrown on it – the game suffers from bad use of the Unreal III Engine. Most textures are blurry and take forever to pop in and character models are just plain hilarious to look at. This is somewhat evened out with some impressive explosions and smoke effects.

It would be nice if you could shoot with ease in a fps, but that is not the case here

It is a real shame, on paper Turning Point sounded great. The very fact that there was room for a narrative with stunning power makes the poor execution hurt even more. You have Nazis in the most diverse city in the world and all that you can muster is some cheap tugs at people’s heart strings? In the nation’s capital where they pride themselves on liberty you can’t do more than taking down a babbling and fat puppet president? Without any context or weight to these events, the thematic direction of the game goes nowhere.

And in the end, in its most basic form, Turning Point is not a good game – even if you take away the myriad of technical hitches that plague the experience level design is repetitive and boring. The single player ends quickly and multiplayer is thrown on as a bullet point on the back of the box. There are few good moments in Turning Point, but for every shaky step forward, it takes two giant leaps backwards. There is no reason to jump into this mess unless you just simply have to experience the ‘what if’ scenario. If that is a case, just go read a book or play a couple of games that have already tackled similar concepts with a far more deft touch.

(played on both Xbox 360 and PS3)

Presentation 6/10

Gameplay 4/10

Graphics 5/10

Audio 6/10

Value 3/10

Overall 4/10

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