The game is not entirely about a cool cover system; Fracture features a good array of weapons and grenades, some which affect the terrain and others that do not. Everything from your average machine gun to a cannon that shoots sticky grenades (detonation by pressing another button) is available in the game so action fans should have a good time playing around with the creative arsenal. There are also some really cool grenades to choose from, the coolest being one that causes a jagged rock to protrude from the ground creating a bridge or ramp. This helps move terrain deformation past a neat novelty during gameplay and into something that can be used to strategize against the opponent or to solve terrain specific puzzles throughout the story.
Something completely out of left field is how good the multiplayer portion of Fracture turns out to be; insanely fun and addictive - complete with leader-boards and a slew of game types. Players can face off with up to eleven (twelve total) other players in eight different game types (capture the flag, death-match, king of the hill, etc.). The real shining star of multiplayer comes under the name of Excavation, a unique game mode built entirely from the ground up for Fracture. Basically players must enter the other team’s base and either raise or lower the ground to connect/disconnect a number of electronic columns. This mode takes the best parts of Fracture and molds them into one hell of a multiplayer battle.
Not surprisingly everything is not perfect in the up and down world of virtual landscaping. The graphics in Fracture are somewhat a hodgepodge of the good, bad, and ugly. The developers scored major points with the terrain; the way it fluidly raises or lowers on the fly is something truly amazing. At the same time some of the textures are pre-1990’s material. Other aspects of the graphical department that stood out were the character models and lighting effects, both continually wowed us while bring this post-apocalyptic universe to life. The sound effects and music in Fracture do the job just fine, adding atmospheric elements just when needed.
We came into our playtime with Fracture with no expectations, totally unbiased and ready to experience whatever the developers had prepared for us. It was a bit surprising when we completed the game and found ourselves wanting more, lucky for us the multiplayer delivers just that. LucasArts really created something special with the “terrain deformation” aspects of Fracture and the way it is implemented into so much of the gameplay mechanics was inspiring. Unfortunately a few small bugs and graphical over-sights along with what some may consider repetitive gameplay, the game is unable to move past a certain point range. If you are a fan of third-person action games and want to try out something completely unique we suggest you give Fracture a chance, soon enough you will be digging holes and making mountains with the best of them.
