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Fracture
Fracture is the latest first person shooter
epic from Lucasarts that is set in the not so distant future, the 22nd
century to be exact as humanity has split into two factions. The
Pacifians or those humans living on the West Coast have become obsessed
in altering their DNA in order to keep abreast of the current climate
conditions.
However on the East Cost, the Atlantic
Alliance have banned genetic engineer and use cybernetic technology to
cope with the harsh futuristic conditions of earth. The Pacificans take
this as threat and withdrawn themselves from the union and wage war on
all whom oppose them.
Fortunately for the denizens of the world,
an elite soldier named Jet Brody is recruited to apprehend the
Pacificans general and this is where the story of Fracture begins. The
story may be clichéd, however it’s quite an entertaining storyline and
Brody is a likeable character in a military “jock” way.
Although Fracture follows the stock
standard first person shooter genre template, where the developers have
raised the bar is through terrain deformation which allows the player to
manipulate the gaming environment such as creating holes or even
creating mountains to reach unreachable places or places to hide.
The player also has access to a wide
variety of different weaponry, all with a science fiction feel to them
plus a few vehicles that can be controlled by the player. To succeed in
Fracture you need to embrace the terraforming capabilities of the title
which adds a twist to your gameplay as you utilise this interesting
feature. For instance, terrain deformation allows you to kill your
opponents by crushing them with large amounts of earth or even trapping
them.
Need some cover? Why not change the terrain
in order to create a wall to prevent your enemies firepower from
impacting on you. If you do happen to get injured which all gamers will,
Fracture uses time to heal the game which allows for a much smoother
gameplay style.
The only downside to the terra deformation technology is that it does
become a little repetitive and at the end of the day, Fracture then
becomes your stock standard first person shooter set in the future where
Earth is once again on the bridge of a mass war.
The artificial intelligence of the game are
quite impressive at times, especially some of the larger enemies that
you face so you do need to be careful as you explore the gaming
environment. My favourite weapon is the sniper rifle that allows for
some great tactics as you perform headshot after headshot and if gore is
not your thing, you may want to look elsewhere as the title is quite
violent.
Once you have completed the single-player aspect of Fracture or if you
feel a need to change, the multiplayer game is quite entertaining as you
play a variety of traditional gameplay modes that include Death Match
and King of the Hill for example.
What the developers have added to the
genre, especially with their terrain deformation capabilities is a new
online mode called Excavation which has two teams battling it out for
the largest spike as they attempt to move this into the atmosphere.
Needless to say, it’s quite entertaining as you need to protect each
structure from enemies as it can be destroyed but it’s definitely a fun
part of the game.
Graphically, the title is visually
impressive on the XBox 360 with detailed gaming environment and some
great character animations. The star of the game is the terrain
deformation which allows you to move large amounts of Earth and reshape
the face of the planet.
It’s definitely one of the better special
effects for the year. There’s even some great realistic special effects
and weather effects that is pure eye candy at times.
In relation to the soundtrack,
Fracture sounds like it has been taken straight from Hollywood and suits
the genre perfectly as it changes for certain parts of the game. The
voice acting is a little forced at times but actually suits the over the
top storyline and a match that with a variety of realistic sound effects
and this game needs to be played loud to enjoy.
In conclusion, Fracture did attempt to add something new to the first
person shooter genre which works at times and at other times it doesn’t.
It’s a good first person shooter and we could happily recommend it to
the first person shooter boffin, especially if they are a science
fiction fan. Definitely one to check out! |
