G4TV

Like a Frankenstein monster made of gun games, the third-person shooter Fracture plays like someone stitched together elements of Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Gears of War. The main protagonist looks like he frequents the same clothing store as Effect's Commander Shepard, his battle-scarred face and deliberate (read: heavy) movement are reminiscent of Gears' hero Marcus Fenix, while his rechargeable shields and super jumps would make Master Chief smile underneath his helmet. Even Fracture's distinguishing element, the ability to reshape the landscape, has been done before, most notably in the Red Faction series. There aren't enough colored bins to sort the game's recycled parts. And therein lies Fracture's chief problem: by relying on so many ideas from so many other games, it ultimately feels like a knock-off.

Rocky Mountain Sigh

Ravaged by global warming, the central region of the United States is little more than desert and rubble. Survivors on the East and West Coast have a rivalry the likes of which haven't been seen since the days of Tupac and Biggie Smalls. Two factions, the Pacificans and the Atlantic Alliance, are vying for control, and as a card-carrying (and cybernetically-enhanced) member of the Alliance, you must quell a Pacifican uprising by entering enemy territory and disabling their super weapon: a giant robotic spider. Yet before you can accomplish this, you'll need to battle waves of genetically enhanced soldiers in futuristic compounds above and below ground.

The single-player campaign consists of eleven linear but multi-part levels in three locations: San Francisco, the Midwest, and Washington D.C. Unfortunately, the levels all tend to blend together and follow the same basic format: underground tunnel, open square, underground tunnel, open square, lather, rinse, repeat. You may be involved in a war, but because the environments often feel cramped, this never feels epic in scope. And just as the campaign starts showing some promise, with a level set in a bombed-out, snow-covered Washington D.C.,  it ends. The second act is shorter than the first, and the third act is shorter than the second. As a result, you can expect to be done with this game’s story mode in about six to seven hours.

The big thing in Fracture, of course, is the terrain deformation, which is fun because it's quick and responsive, though it's still gimmicky. Shooting at terra firma causes the ground to erupt like a zit or disappear into a crater, while doing either repeatedly can help you reach higher areas or dig tunnels beneath walls. You can also crush enemies by smushing them against ceilings, or use it to form bunkers and barriers for cover. You'll connect energy beams by rising and lowering the terrain to manipulate reflective materials, carve out paths so explosive spheres roll into electrified fences, and lift up stationary objects so they short-circuit or malfunction. The developers even added some instances where you'll use terrain deformation to solve puzzles, though few of them actually make sense from a practical standpoint. Essentially, the device ends up being a fancy substitute for a ladder and rocket launcher.

Grenades add to the terrain-shaping concept, as you can create spikes that shoot up like elevators, or raise and destroy chunks of land. One fires sticky grenades, one launches an underground missile that burrows its way toward enemies, and another freezes people in place so you can smash them into ice cubes. There's also a Vortex Grenade, which sucks nearby foes and spins them around like they're tops, while the Lodestone fires a projectile that acts as like a powerful magnet to move objects. But while certain weapons are also fun to use, many are largely unsuitable for the campaign. The best weapons have limited ammo that is not easily replaced, and most are too dangerous to use in close quarters, such as the aforementioned underground tunnels. As a result, you mostly use the boring machine gun or shotgun equivalents, simply because they’re the most effective.

Good Vibrations

While the single-player campaign is problematic, the same complaints cannot be made about the multiplayer modes. While the eight different game types won’t be much of a surprise to multiplayer veterans -- with variants on capture-the-flag, deathmatch, king of the hill, and so forth -- they are still enjoyable. Up to 12 combatants can turn the battlefields into futuristic motocross courses, filled with hills and valleys, and the eight included maps feature larger environments, which cuts down on the often cramped feeling of the story. The entrencher device can also be used in several creative ways, from forming stepping stones over toxic ooze to strategically walling off buildings to protect a coveted flag. Sadly, there's no character customization or experience system in place, while some of the more fun weapons, which are here more useful than they were in single-player, are oddly hard to aim.

Piecing it Together

Ultimately, Fracture is an aptly titled game, since many of its components don't fit well together. The single-player campaign seems unfinished, boss battles lack ingenuity, an awkward controlling vehicle sequence seems to have been tossed at random, and the automatic augmentation system offers few meaningful enhancements. The game's high production values aren't enough to make you want to revisit the campaign, leaving Fracture's long-term appeal in the hands of the multiplayer community. Still, while it features less depth than Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, there is plenty of chaotic fun to be had with Fracture's online modes, especially for those looking for something new before Gears of War 2 ships. 

Review by: Scott Alan Marriott