Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Preview January 16,2008 - What if Britain’s air force fell to the Luftwaffe? What if an overwhelming Nazi force crushed England and Russia on top of France, Italy, the Middle-East, and other European countries? What if Germany had conquered the rest of the world, leaving only the comparatively small United States left to topple before global domination? Codemasters’ upcoming first person shooter, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, explores this twisted timeline from the perspective of a resistance fighter combating the Third Reich’s occupation of London and invasion of America.

Technically, Fall of Liberty is another WWII shooter, but this intriguing storyline makes the scenario seem new and fresh. The thing is, Codemasters is actually only very slightly altering a single event that causes this monolithic change in the outcome of World War II. In 1931, Winston Churchill was struck by a taxi cab. He survived but walked with a limp. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty places Churchill just a few feet from where he really was, causing a fatal accident. With Churchill gone, Britain’s forces quickly crumble under crushed morale and lack of a strong willed, intelligent leader. You, the player, will take on the role of a construction worker named Dan Carson caught in this war, using guerilla tactics to retake the streets of American locations like Manhattan and Washington D.C.

In addition to an alternate storyline, Codemasters is creating an armament of new weapons that Germany would have had the time and funds to develop. The results of these developments are powerful new tanks like the Panzerkampfwagen and Landkreuzer as well as zeppelins, the world’s first jet fighters, the first atom bomb, and a very powerful sniper rifle scope affectionately called the Vampyre for its infrared detection. Advanced versions of other weaponry like that you might find in most Call of Duty games will also be included.

Some new gameplay mechanics are also being tested out in this ambitious FPS. Instead of simple pistol-whipping melee moves, Turning Point will offer the ability to use enemies as human shields against their own allies or instantly kill them without needing to repeatedly punch. Apparently environmental interaction will also be more heavily emphasized than most first-person shooters. Videos have shown Carson climbing over buildings as well as up and down ladders, but developer Spark Unlimited is also promising some unique environmental kills, and hopefully these aren’t restricted to scripted sequences where Carson must take out an overhanging crate onto a group of soldiers, but something a little more fresh like pushing an enemy combatant onto the exposed rebar of a bombed building. The meat of the game will have Carson joining other resistance groups and, you guessed it, fighting Nazis in realistic environments.

Michael Giacchino has been hired on as the DJ for the game, so you can be sure to find moody, mysterious music for the length of the soundtrack. His track record includes work on the T.V. shows Lost and Alias, as well as the blockbuster film Mission: Impossible 3. He’s not new to the gaming industry either; his credits begin with the Playstation adaptation of The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1998 and more recently a couple of EA’s games, namely Black and Medal of Honor: Airborne.

With a fresh story, fresh gameplay, and an original soundtrack, Codemasters and developer Spark Unlimited seem to have a sure-fire hit on their hands with Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. New intellectual properties have the task of garnering new fans to the series and take the risk of being avoided by those who will only buy within series they are familiar with, though, so there is a definite risk involved. Spark Unlimited is mostly an unproven developer, but Codemasters’ experience and track record should tell us we won’t be receiving a shabbily made game. Look for this title to retail late February on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

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