Game Category: Strategy - Real Time
Developer / Distributor: Digital Reality / CDV Software
Release Date: 19 Feb 2007
Rating: ESRB - Teen, PEGI 16+
Introduction Once again war looms on Daily PC Game Reviews. Yes, it's another real time strategy game and this time the game is from Digital Reality (also known for their work on the Imperium Galactica
and Haegemonia series). This game is based on an alternate history of World War II, it's a pretty and polished game which is why I am serving it up early in my list of reviews-to-do.War Front: Turning Point (WFTP) puts you in an alternative world where Hitler was assassinated early on in World War II. The resulting void was quickly replaced by new leaders who escalated the war to even greater heights. The ensuing chaos led to more high tech weapons research as well as a new twist in the war - that being London's capture by the Nazis. And this is where you come in to the game. To liberate London!
With two campaigns to go through, you will have a blast of a time as you go into battle with heroes who have abilities that make the difference in the war. What also makes WFTP stand out are the luscious video cutscenes that tell a thrilling story laden with some interesting twists. The game play in WFTP is also on par with other good real time strategy games out there - Red Alert 2 especially comes to mind. So you are not wrong to get it.
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| A time for war |
The main menu shows a video of the alternate World War II history in the background as you ponder over which menu option to execute. Here's the ones that matter: Campaign, Multiplayer, and Skirmish.
Campaign - this mode brings you to a selection screen where you can play a pretty thorough tutorial or select to play one of two sides - the Allied Campaign or the German Campaign. Each campaign has 11 maps, so it's going to take quite a while to complete either of these. There are no restrictions to which campaign you want to play first, so go ahead and pick the German Campaign if you desire. In addition, there are three difficulty levels that you can choose from, but I prefer the default Normal difficulty level. Finally, you should not forget to check out your gleaming Medals that is accessible from this screen.
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| Campaign level selection |
A multiplayer or skirmish game comes with three modes of play - Deathmatch, Conquest, and Secret Orders. Deathmatch has three sub-modes: Rack and Ruin, Annihilation, and Aftermath (subtle variations that involve destruction of certain building types). Conquest is similar to Deathmatch but it has the optional objective of zone occupation for a specified time. Secret Orders is a fun option that presents you with a player exclusive objective; you have to be first to complete the objective to win the match.
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| Take your pick |
One thing you might come to feel as you play through the Tutorial is that WFTP plays rather like Red Alert 2 (or some other similar RTS game). In fact, the three factions in this game would not appear strange alongside the units in Red Alert 2.
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| Bootcamp training |
The first is the ability to enter a first person shooting mode for anti-air guns, anti-tank guns, and bunkers. The game tries to entice you to enter this mode by giving you an advantage to your attack bonus. It's fun while the shooting lasts. You obviously can't stay in this mode forever however as there are other game play elements to worry about, so I believe you will use this feature rather sparingly.
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| It can get pretty hot in here |
Take for example, the two dashing heroes you get introduced to in the Allied and German Campaigns. First, there's the American Colonel John Lynch equipped with a grenade launcher. John can launch a flame grenade, perform a quick repair of nearby vehicles, cause more damage with his grenade launcher, and increase the armor protection of any vehicle. Then, there's the German Oberstleutnant Roland Hellmann who demolishes vehicles using his triple barreled Panzerfaust weapon, receives an armor bonus for 30 seconds, has more hit points than normal, and can fire at further ranges. As you can see, their skills are pretty varied, so you can't go wrong having them in your army.
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| John Lynch leading his men outside Big Ben |
Allow me to give you some examples. So as not to spoil too much of your fun, I won't tell you which faction gets what. First, there's a Force Field Generator unit that raises an energy shield around your other units. It's as impressive as the force fields raised in Perimeter 2, so do look out for this special unit. Next, you should try your hand at commanding a squad of jetpack infantry. These guys who wear a cumbersome rocket on their backs really remind me of the hero from the movie, The Rocketeer
. Lastly, we have the Exoskeleton which looks like the exosuit cargo loader that Ripley used in the movie Aliens
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| And, what's that big thing in the sky? |
As you can see from the screenshots, the game's graphics is pretty superb. The terrain for each map is in 3D, and the trees and their shadows all sway in the breeze. The buildings are all beautifully modelled, while the units don't look as detailed for the human units, but at least the vehicles and tanks look rather lovely.
The graphical user interface in WFTP is impressive and neat at the same time. Everything looks very organized and logically placed. You also get informative tool tips if you highlight your cursor over something.
There are two types of terrain that I've seen in the game. One looks like a template taken from a hot summer day - lots of luscious green colors. The other template is designed for winter encounters. They both look equally great.
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| A desperate battle |
The cutscenes in WFTP is the third feature of the game that makes this game stand out. The movies here are lavishly designed and rendered, but of prime importance is the voice over work. It's very good. The accents sound believable to me, and I feel myself rooting for the characters after watching some of the more difficult spots they have to go through.
The in-game music is pretty decent, however I would have preferred a better mix. The musical themes I kept hearing seemed attuned only to war and destruction. The sound effects are excellent as you get to hear quite a lot of metallic sounds as the tanks march along towards their destination. The explosion sounds are also impressive.
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| Great acting especially in the Allied Campaign |
- This game features an interesting marriage of World War II and science fiction, and it has some superb ideas for an alternative history.
- You get two excellent campaigns that feature exciting stories.
- The map are truly works of art. Take for example the very first map for the Allied Campaign - war torn London looks very realistic, and even Big Ben and Westminster Abbey are highly detailed.
- The movie cutscenes are beautifully done and the acting is pretty top notch.
- There's lots of fun and frantic real time strategy action.
- You get awarded nice medals to admire.
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| I need more medals |
- The game play is too formulaic and is reminiscent of other real time strategy games out there.
- Since the game encourages me to get as many units as possible, I have created huge armies of 100 units. To my horror though, I noticed that my tanks usually get blocked by my infantry. Unfortunately, there's nothing that I can do to solve this issue.
- There were some interesting game play features, but I found the first person shooter mode to be a pointless addition to the game. If you'd like to know, so far I myself have not used this feature after being introduced to it in the tutorial.
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| Like a bridge over troubled waters |
I think you can tell I like War Front: Turning Point quite a fair bit. It may play like a conventional real time strategy game but at least the production values are very good. The approach for its artistic design does breathe life into the three different factions. The Allied, Germans, and Russians forces all differ slightly in their tech tree which I feel is another plus point to the game.
It's rare to find such a gem of a game nowadays, so the developers should be proud of their achievement. As for me, I am returning to hunker down at my computer to complete one more mission of the German Campaign. Somethings afoot and I am pretty sure it doesn't have anything to do with the Allied Forces.
Till the next review then.
Daily PC Game Review Score: 7.5 / 10
Review Date: 22 Jun 2011
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