Fracture

Does Fracture ultimately come together for LucasArts?

	Version 360, (PS3, PC)	Developer Day 1 Studios	Publisher LucasArts	Genre Action

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Entrencher aside, there are a dozen other gizmos that Jet has access to. Whilst the number is plentiful, the weapons seem to be rather dull and all can be traced through to another gaming heritage such as Gears of Halo. Yes, the sniper rifle check box is ticked, as is the RPG, the grenade launcher, the assault rifle and so on with special 'honouring' of Master Chief's shielded suit. The only respite to the rather uninspired gadget set is the lovely grenade selection for you to tinker with. By utilizing the D-Pad, young Jet can get busy by lobbing terrain-altering bombs.

Again, there's nothing spectacular here in the destruction, but special mention has to go to the Vortex grenade, which is without doubt the star of the show and just a hint to what might have been with Fracture. Detonating one of these bad boys has the same effect as chucking a tornado at a busy bus-stop. Anything not nailed down in the surrounding radius will be sucked up and thrown about in a frenzied, slightly comical manner. It's fun to deploy and visually quite tasty.

Technically, Fracture is something of an enigma. At any given moment, taking the time to look around and take stock, the game looks solid and pretty enough and can hold its head up relatively high. What's confusing though is that the art direction and scenery never really grab you by the balls and demand your attention. There is no doubt that the pseudo cartoon imagery are very 'next gen' but at no time will you take a sharp intake of breath and care about the next area of sci-fi loading bays or robotic plants. When compared against the likes of (LucusArts' own!) Force Unleashed or EA's Dead Space, you can see the lack of an overall engaging theme detracts away from the graphical experience.

Carrying on that theme is a very standard score, and sound accompaniment that rarely registers along your journey. Fracture's vital stats do not make for a particularly immersive or engaging experience; the technical aspect supports but never enhance the overall feeling, with the generic just leaving you numb.

To give the single player a break for a while, the multiplayer may help to keep Fracture afloat. There's no denying that this game can be quite fun when the frustrating AI is replaced by trash talking teenagers. Great moments with the Vortex Grenades are plentiful, and Day 1 has kindly thrown in eight decent maps for up to twelve players to duke it out. At times, the ground warping desecration can be extremely chaotic with areas taking on a kind of bouncy castle or waterbed feel, with players flying left, right and centre.

The multiplayer includes standard deathmatch and capture the flag modes, and also a rather interesting game where the aim is to lower the opposing teams defensive positions, whilst preventing them from mining your own. The servers will no doubt be empty in a month's time, but for this next couple of weeks, the multiplayer is worth a peek.

It's difficult to be over critical with Fracture as there is no doubting the great scope and potential here. The deformable terrain is certainly creditable, but nothing (cough) ground breaking - and that's symptomatic of the whole game. The AI will irritate and the are targeting issues when shooting around or near cover, but for many shooter fans, Fracture will prove a reasonable distraction.

When comparing against the big boys in the sector, one can be blunt and label Fracture trivial and chod, but bear in mind that many games are - and compared to the middle echelon of titles, Day 1's efforts stands true. Like its name, Fracture will split and divide opinion, so the safest option is to try before you buy. You never know, you might be a fan of trivial and chod yet.

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