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Why Robin Makes Batman Better Spark Unlimited’s alternate history FPS Turning Point: Fall of Liberty didn’t fare well with reviewers. A rather lackluster demo was followed by a relatively lacklustre game, leading to some fairly mediocre reviews, like a 5.0 from IGN and a 3 from Game Informer. What happened to Turning Point, a concept that had such promise? According to Spark CEO Craig Allen, those pesky “core gamers” got a hold of it. “You know, I think that when you try to do games that are about a mass market, and Turning Point is definitely a high concept idea, that with the time and money we had we did the best to execute on, our target was not really the core gamer.”
You heard the man! If you’re looking for a revolutionary game with innovative play mechanics driven by new technology, then Turning Point isn’t for you. Maybe they should include that in the game’s marketing materials, ushering in a new era of truth in advertising! “Stale gameplay in an interesting setting!” Sign me up for a dozen! Turning Point dev hits back at poor review scores [VideoGamer.com]
Last week we mentioned Microsoft’s David Edery’s tips on how to make a more compelling demo for Xbox Live. It’s a pity that the developers of Codemasters’ Turning Point: Fall of Liberty didn’t catch this article in time, or a lot more people might have been ready to buy their game next month. As it stands, I’ve been looking forward to the title for months now and after playing through this brief snippet of gameplay I’m considering going to the store and pulling my preorder simply on the merits of this lacklustre demo.
You’ve seen the opening sequence from Codemasters’ Turning Point: Fall of Liberty now what, a dozen times? Now is your chance to actually step into the shoes of Dan Carson, the New York City construction engineer, as he finds himself at ground zero of a Nazi invasion of the United States in an alternate timeline 1953. The demo clocks in at a healthy 1.2GB, taking you through the initial invasion of New York and ultimately leading you to a lovely splash screen detailing what you get in the full version of the game. Time to find out if Spark Unlimited’s alternate vision of World War II America is worth saving!
Codemasters has unveiled their lineup for next week’s Games Convention in Leipzig, and it looks to me like they’ll be having a fairly strong showing. Along with the aforementioned split-screen multiplayer for Overlord, the company is presenting two eagerly anticipated titles for the first time ever in playable form to the general public: Squad-based horror FPS Clive Barker’s Jericho and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, playable for the first time ever at GC. I’m interested to see the reception Turning Point gets specifically as it’s an alternate reality WWII shooter that begins with Nazi forces invading New York. Still a bit of a sensitive topic in Germany I hear. Joining the two new games are Colin McRae: DiRT and a playable first look at the next Lord of the Rings Online update, The City of the Kings. Definitely a respectable showing from one of the oldest game developers in the UK. Details follow the leap of faith we call the jump.
