Fracture is one of those games that almost nothing exceptionally but manages to stay afloat. The game feels very marginal in almost every single regard, which is unfortunate because there are some neat concepts, in both the idea and the execution, that were just never fully realized. The game revolves around the political and militaristic struggle between two factions with very different ideals.
This is the game’s first letdown. The idea here is that there are two warring sides with polar perspectives on human evolution. One side advocates genetic and biological advances, while the other side supports the notion of mechanical and computer driven progression. The former faction originates and resides mostly in the Western hemisphere of the US and the latter group is based in the East. So there is a geographical disparity as well. This, in and of itself, is a pretty good framework for a good narrative arc and some really neat development. This potential is largely abandoned though and the story barely pulses along, driving only the point of a violent coup and the resulting actions. Throughout the course of the game, you come into contact with only two other real characters and neither of them are particularly well fleshed out. One of the characters seems to have some strange ability to tap into your thoughts, which gave me the impression that there were going to be some really cool supernatural developments. But guess what? Nothing happened. Literally nothing. The characters was never explained, given a distinct personality, nothing. It was frustrating.
Your character, the oddly named ‘Jet’ is on the mechanically enhanced side. As such, you fight against genetically altered enemies, many possessing skills like extra speed or biological fortitude. The enemies are generally unimpressive though, coming in massive waves and chaotically running around the screen. Speaking of which, the game really does just throw too much at you at any given time. It’s not that it’s too difficult because of that, it’s more that it gives the game a very cluttered and clumsy feel. By the end of the first stage, you are already tired of the hordes of enemies and mundane gunplay that comes with their presence. There are a decent variety of weapons to play with but the caveat is that there are very few with which they provide enough ammo to consistently use. One could utilize certain weapons then simply swap out weapons as they destroy the enemy, but the sheer volume of combat in the game makes this strategy difficult to implement. Jet carries only two weapons at a time, so choosing between consistent and powerful becomes a chess match. It could be construed as strategy, but instead, I took it as annoying as shit.
Let’s get to the gimmick of Fracture. The selling point in this game is that your character can manipulate, to a certain extent, the environment around him (the ground, mostly) in order to accomplish certain goals. These goals can be getting around or under obstacles or even creating temporary cover from enemy fire. This aspect of the game was actually decently realized. The ability to create cover on the fly is a cool addition, though it seems less novel when you factor in the ridiculous amount of fire you’re taking at any given moment… The developers have also crafted some pretty decent “puzzles” of sorts, that involve some creative mastery of the earth-manipulating variety. Especially towards the end of the game.
The sound in the game is generally lackluster. The enemies make strange noises, and since there are about 1 fuckdillion of them in total, it gets to be a bit much. The guns sound awful IMO. The voicework is OK, not good or bad really, just… well…. average. I don’t even recall the music.
So with all that, you’d think this game was one of the worst titles I’ve yet to play. Oddly enough, it was not. Despite so many shortcomings, I was still able to romp through it the better of two times. Once you get through it once and understand some of the inherent flaws, it gets considerably easier and smoother to play. It’s still nothing to compare to the other LucasArts title I’ve played recently though. In the end, it’s a rental, pure and simple. Buying this game would be a gross mistake but playing it isn’t necessarily the torture I’ve painted out. The biggest problem is that it’s just so damn average. There is almost nothing, outside of the neat integration of the environment manipulation, that will draw a player in. There is strong potential for a sequel here and I would welcome that if they could create a well-ironed out product that builds on top of the truly interesting concepts they’ve created and subsequently abandoned.
Overall Score (out of 10): 6.2
Graphics/Presentation: Just realized I didn’t even touch on this in the actual review. Why? Well, probably because the graphics are just like everything else in the game. Average. Not an eyesore, by any means but not amazing either.
Gameplay: The majority of it is unimpressive. The combat is frustrating and mundane. The earth-manipulation, however, is clever and well-done. There are some fun puzzling aspects with it too.
Story/Narrative: Two sides, one has a general that goes overboard and wants to take over. You have to stop him. The end.
Sound/Music: Again, nothing worth mentioning here. Poor gun sounds and forgetful music. Decent voiceover.
Replay Value: There isn’t a whole lot of reason to come back but I have to admit that the game’s flow ramps up tremendously with one playthrough.
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