Set in a distant dysfunctional future where
the United States has been torn apart by advances in biotechnology,
Fracture places you in the role of a powerful marine soldier who's aiming
to take apart a separatist faction that has fully embraced their
bio-engineered future. Your side has taken a different approach to these
scientific advances and has opted to create new terraforming weapons that
allow you to change the landscape around you almost instantly by pulling
the trigger. Your basic mission is to wipe out the other side, using your
abilities to keep them off guard and develop new methods of attack.
Fracture's basic premise is fairly strong, and its solid execution keeps
you interested throughout. The game's controls should be familiar to most
fans of the genre. There are two basic types of weapons at your disposal -
standard firearms and terrain altering devices. Learning how to use both
of these weapons types effectively, and knowing in what situations require
them, is a key element in successfully completing your missions. There are
sections of the game where you probably won't be able to progress without
using them but, you'll also need to anticipate the chain reaction effects
of these forces, or else place yourself in the center of a disaster. Its
this puzzle-type of gameplay that helps Fracture stand out, but there are
enough familiar elements in the game that most players won't feel
completely out of their depth.
Fracture's basic arsenal includes
standard rifles, shotguns, sniper arms, grenades and mines that you can
use to destroy any opponents who come in contact with you. These weapons
function and operate in fairly standard fashion, using the PS3's lower
shift keys, and most players should have little trouble getting into the
game. Most of the action is fairly straightforward when it comes to
battling foes, you merely aim and shoot and in this department, Fracture
doesn't really offer much in the way that's new. One interesting aspect of
the game is how it borrows elements from other titles and gives them a
unique spin. For example, when you press the triangle button, you can
sprint, as in Gears of War, with the screen zooming in on your character
to give you a more visceral feeling of running. Another aspect which feels
recycled are the game's environments and graphics, with levels that seem
reminiscent of Halo. This extends to the cybernetic enemies, who bear more
than a passing resemblance to the Covenent guards. Even the main
protagonist feels slightly familiar, with the usual tough-guy marine
you've come to know and love in many other titles. Finally, there are some
interesting physics puzzles which feel kind of like those seen in Portal.
Of course, building on successful elements from previous games is nothing
new, as long as it's done judiciously and with the developers' own style.
Taken alone, these elements make the game feel slightly derivative, but
Fracture's innovations help to make it feel more unique than its
individual elements might seem.
This
becomes most apparent when you move your fingers to the upper shift keys,
the game's innovative terrain changing weapons come to the forefront. It's
definitely a unique approach and gives the player a unique way to play.
There are several types of terra-forming weapons at your disposal. The
most basic allow you to move the ground up or down by targeting a specific
area. It's a highly effective technique and has the added advantage of
knocking any foes off their feet. You can also use this method
strategically to make rocks and boulders, or even sections of buildings
collapse on top of them. It has its limits, and only works in areas with
dirt bottoms, which covers a large section of the area. In more extreme
instances, players can use spikes to violently change the landscape with
sudden force. This technique obviously has a lot of uses, and the ability
to change the level on the fly allows you to create paths to high areas
you couldn't previously reach, which can be quite helpful, or to burrow
underneath barriers to make paths to hidden sections previously
unreachable. Obviously, this gives Fracture a unique feel unlike many
other FPS titles on the market, and since its an integral part of the
actual gameplay in terms of combat and puzzle solving techniques, it
doesn't feel like a gimmick. It's a bit strange at first, but once you get
used to the structure and techniques, it becomes second nature, and a
solution you can turn to if you run into trouble. While it might not seem
like a huge innovation, it effects most elements of play and gives the
game a distinctly different feel that helps to keep you interested
throughout.
One of the most player-friendly changes
in FPS titles over recent years has been on the fly energy rejuvenation,
and in Fracture it works well to help keep the flow going. You can still
lose your life, but you have the option of hiding behind cover for a few
seconds, which helps you continue your mission. It's not intended to make
the game a cakewalk, and Fracture definitely poses a challenge, but it
helps keep the learning curve shallow, especially in the initial phases.
The game's level design and maps are smartly designed and give a good
balance between open-ended, nearly sandbox areas and closer quarters
combat, which helps to make things interesting throughout. Fracture's
enemy AI is a bit smarter than you'd expect - while offing individual
enemies isn't that difficult, they tend to attack in groups and call in
reinforcements, which makes it harder to keep up with them. There are
several types of foes in the game and most of the standard issue soldiers
are fairly predictable, but here and there you'll have to take out a
smarter and more powerful foe. Fracture isn't the hardest game on the
market, but the mix of puzzle and combat is good, and it also benefits
from frequent save points which makes progression steady. The
single-player experience is smartly designed and quite challenging, but
the game's extensive multiplayer, online modes offer more interesting
play. There are several different maps to play on and Fracture's unique
terraforming weapons help to keep things a notch above the usual capture
the flag and death-match modes.
Obviously, the game's physics engine is
impressive, with player alterable environments and destructive abilities
that help to set Fracture apart from the pack. It's levels look quite
impressive and there's loads of detail evident throughout. Excellent light
sourcing, smooth player animation and impressive enemy design help to make
this an immersive experience. However, unlike many FPS titles, there is
only a single behind-the-player viewpoint, which is annoying.
Additionally, the camera movement isn't as smooth as it could be, and its
frequent changes in zoom and perspective cause you to become disoriented
easily. This leads to disastrous results all too frequently, and there are
many times where you can't turn the player around fast enough to avoid
enemy fire. The sub-par camera system makes for a game that doesn't feel
as polished as it could have, and undermines what should have been an
otherwise impressive shooter. Fracture's voice-acting and music is decent,
but nothing that's going to make you jump off your seat. Despite some
flaws in its presentation and camera, Fracture is still an impressive game
in many aspects. It's unique terra-forming weaponry allows for some
interesting approaches in level design that helps to keep it from feeling
too derivative. It's easy to use this system, and allows you to do things
that simply can't be done in other games. The combat itself ranges from
predictable to intense and there's a solid balance between combat, puzzle
and exploration sequences. Fracture isn't the earth-shattering experience
many gamers might have hoped for, but it while it falls short of the mark
in many sections, the game lives up to its promise in enough areas to
deserve a look if you want something a bit out of the ordinary.
- Michael Palisano
