The story in Fracture presents yet another doomsday situation, with the remnants of the United States falling into civil war. As the climate change situation worsens, the folks on the West Coast of America, known in the game as the Pacificans, choose DNA manipulation as a solution to the problem. The East Coast – or the Atlantic Alliance – go in the opposite direction, outlawing genetic experimentation of any kind. Instead, the Atlantic Alliance believe cybernetic technology is the only way to survive the forces of nature. Unsurprisingly, both sides swap words for weapons and go to war. As East Coast soldier Jet Brody, it's up to players to prevent the Pacificans from turning the world into one giant experimental Petri dish.
Fracture's narrative is a mishmash of several interesting ideas, but they are all executed poorly. The plot, while promising so much, delivers so little. Characters aren't fleshed out, conflicts are seldom explained, and in the end, all you can do is scratch your head in utter bewilderment. Not helping matters are the cut-scenes, which look horrible, and are always shot from the worst camera angle.
Meet Jet Brody, and your new terraforming canon.
Fracture takes place from the third-person perspective, and like other games in the genre, allows players to recharge their health by ducking behind cover. The one feature that differentiates Day 1 Studio's game from other similar titles, however, is its ‘terrain deformation’ mechanic. Jet Brody comes equipped with a portable cannon-like device, which can raise or lower natural earth. On the Xbox 360 controller, players can raise the ground by pressing the right bumper, while lowering the terrain is mapped to the left bumper. This setup makes the deformation process very easy control, and it is massively entertaining watching the ground change at whim. However, while the deformation feature is undoubtedly new, it isn't fully utilised.
Aside from raising or lowering the ground to knock enemies off their feet, there isn't much more you can do with the deformation cannon. A few areas require puzzle-solving, like raising the ground to reach a ledge or lowering the earth to tunnel under a wall. These situations are seldom difficult to wrap your head around though, and sometimes feel like an afterthought. Finally, players can raise a mound of dirt as impromptu cover, but there really aren't enough areas in the game where you unleash your terraforming powers. Nonetheless, the terrain deformation mechanic is fun while it lasts. Credit should also be given to LucasArts for thinking outside the usual third-person action game box. It's just unfortunate that the terrain deformation feature, which has been hyped to kingdom come, never really reaches its full potential.
You can blow enemies out of the earth – literally!
For every ground-breaking feature that Fracture brings to the surface (multiple puns intended), there is something else that is vastly unbalanced or underdeveloped. For example, Fracture packs an absolutely awesome arsenal of guns and grenades. There are grenades that create an unstoppable vortex of wind, ensnaring absolutely everything in their path, along with innovative explosives which ‘tunnel’ under the earth until you detonate them. Conventional firearms, like sniper rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers, also look cool and pack quite a punch. However, the artificial intelligence and frustrating gameplay undermine any fun to be had from the game.
Players will spend the majority of their time in Fracture blasting through waves of foes that are about as intelligent as a pile of bricks. However, the large number of enemy units and amount of damage they can take more than makes up for the lack of collective brainpower. Ordinary drones are usually harder to beat than bosses, making the process of grinding through levels extremely frustrating. Even on lower difficulty settings, you may have to replay the same areas multiple times if you want to triumph over the enemy. Fracture's vehicle sequences are also a headache, as controlling the direction of your ride is somewhat impossible.
Overall, Fracture takes approximately eight hours to complete, depending on the difficulty level. Thankfully, there are plenty of checkpoints littered throughout levels. Even though some areas may have to be replayed over and over, you never usually have to backtrack very far. Finally, as an added incentive, there are plenty of collectibles to find by being creative with the deformation canon.
Halo there!
Graphically, Fracture is on par with most games in the third-person action genre. Brody is probably the only character that looks unique, as all enemies bare the same set of mass-produced body armour. The animations look great, especially when you shift the ground or throw a vortex grenade. There are some nice weather effects, and the frame-rate is mostly sound. However, level design is somewhat generic, and the colour palette is limited. Audio, nonetheless, is excellent. Sound effects are varied, with each weapon emitting their own unique noise and LucasArts, as always, have included a resounding orchestral score, with solid voice acting to boot.
In terms of multiplayer, Fracture includes all the usual offerings, such as deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag. With the inclusion of the terraforming cannon, it's entertaining to play with a team who can raise or lower the ground. One multiplayer mode that is relatively innovative – and likely to provide some fun – is Excavation. The goal in Excavation is for each team to run to a specific location and raise a spike from the ground. Teams must then defend their own tower of dirt and rubble, while attempting to destroy the other side's spike. Excavation mode is one of Fracture's best features, so long as you can find enough players online.
Fracture is an average third-person shooter. If you can persist past the frustrating and repetitive gameplay, there is some fun to be had with the innovative terrain deformation feature and unique weapons. Multiplayer can be interesting, the sound lives up to LucasArts' excellent audio standards, and the visuals are polished albeit ultimately uninspiring. With more variety and resilient AI, this action game could have reached greater heights. Fracture is worth a look if you can get it at a good price – just don't expect a ground-breaking experience.
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