So here it is (after promising it a while ago), the review of the Codemasters game Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. Although this wasn’t originally amBX-enabled the guys at Coddies have managed to release one that actually does a pretty good job. This review will give a quick rundown of the game, some of the amBX effects they have included and as always a video demonstrating with some in-game footage.

One thing I do want to point out though that might be frustrating for users (although it might just be my PC) is that the game tends to hang a lot in certain areas. What I mean by that is it seems to lag when loading scripted sequences and amBX effects and this can get pretty frustrating, especially if you are being chased or waiting to shoot a load of enemies.

On the plus side though, some of the scripting done by Codemasters is pretty sweet. The backlight ripples red to simulate muzzle flash as you shoot your main weapons, the side lights turn red when you get hit (as normal across most games) and the fans make a major impact in the cut-scenes, more so when the cinematics include travelling in a plane or truck.

Compared to a lot of amBX games I think the rumblepad is a little over-scripted and sometimes tends to go a little crazy and some of the time I spent playing I actually had to move it out of the way so as to not distract and get annoying.

The gameplay style is very much like Legendary which is hardly surprising given Spark were the development team and this makes a refreshing change from some of the more “hardcore” shooter titles although it is still quite fast-paced and frantic at times.

The menu system and game also allow for controllers such as from the Xbox360 and again this can get a little frustrating when used to browsing the menu with a mouse and then finding you have to revert to all keyboard controls to get into the game.

Overall though, some nice amBX effects given that they have been added after release in a dedicate patch and will hopefully show other developers and publishers that it is possible and can be done to a good standard. The release of the SDK recently show also allow more developers / publishers to do the same for their games that have already been released if they want to provide something new and different to their players.