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Fracture
October 6, 2008 | 2:54 PM PST
Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.
What's the Game About
You are Jet Brody, a prominent member of the Atlantic Alliance who has found himself right in the middle of a vicious civil war with the west coast Pacificans. Set 150 years in the future, much has changed: the Alliance rely on cybernetic enhancements to further their cause, while the Pacificans believe that genetic mutation will be the right path into the future. The story plays up the current global warming scare sweeping the world, but the developers deny they are making any sort of definite statement. While the story as a whole is certainly nothing special, it serves its purpose and the production values, such as the cut scenes between each of the game's three acts and the voice talent, are top notch.
What's Hot
Fracture's main highlight is its focus on a new mechanic introduced: Terrain Deformation (TD for short). Originally promised to change the way people play shooters, Day One Studios has made good on that promise. Players are made accustom to the new mechanic through a tutorial (it's the same as the demo found on XBLA) that precedes the single player campaign. The tutorial is a little stifling and hand hold-y, so it could understandably make players say to themselves "is that it?" However, once getting further into the game, players start to understand that TD really is a game-changer. Avid shooter fans know that high-ground is always advantageous. TD allows players to reach high-spots that they wouldn't normally be able to reach. It's also important to know that many of the best weapons are usually reachable through some form of TD.
The weapons have familiar functions with unique twists. Now, imagine having to take on several enemies in a wide-open field and you have the ST-4 handy. The ST-4 is a torpedo-like gun that shoots a rocket underground and is detonated by the player. Without cover, you decide to make a wall and then for good measure, dig a hole behind it to further entrench yourself. Shooting a rocket into the ground in the general direction of the enemies, you are unable to follow it on your screen, but the rocket shows up on your radar as a yellow dot (enemies are standard-issue red). Behind self-made cover, players can tactfully dispose of swarms of enemies without ever looking at them.
That makes it seem as if the AI carries the intelligence of a 7th-year high school senior, but that's not the case. While it's not groundbreaking in all respects, the developers did a good job of creating an AI that reacts to a dynamic environment. If a player uses a hill for cover, there is a good chance they will rush either side of it, or if you create a hill close to them, don't be surprised to find the enemy tucked behind it waiting for an opportune time to pop-out. It's quite feat if you think of all the games that have AI that has a hard time interacting with a static environment, much less a dynamic one.
The dynamics are made possible through the Havok engine and Fracture pushes Havok to the limits. The "Lodestone" is a weapon that doesn't directly inflict damage, but rather grabs all the dynamic objects in the environment and smashes them together to great effect. If there are a couple enemies and a bevy of crates near each other, a shot from the lodestone will handle the situation with ease. The other standout weapon of that nature is of course the vortex grenade. Throw the grenade into a similar selection and it will start to create, you guessed it, a vortex that sucks in all surrounding objects and enemies, ending in a huge explosion.
It feels like a lot of show and tell has been done so far in this review, but it's necessary to set up the core of the game so that one can start to understand and then imagine the possibilities that TD opens up. For the single player campaign, the game employs these elements to success most of the time and keeps the player on their toes, as the game is plenty difficult at the standard difficulty. Expect about 8 or so hours of gameplay from the campaign, with a second-playthrough warranted if you're an achievement whore because there are 100 data cells to collect in the game that unlock different weapons and abilities in a weapons testing area separate from the campaign. Then move onto multiplayer.
Or… start there, because that is where TD really shines. Initial worries that multiplayer would be too hectic and too much "you make a hill, I tear it down, I make a hill, you tear it down" are immediately vanquished when players enter into any of the game's eight multiplayer modes. Standards like free for all and team deathmatch are a blast to play and continue to reinforce the ideas players have learned in single-player: the best weapons are up high, create cover for yourself, make diversions for your enemies, etc. It also adds a twist to Capture The Flag because players are able to build hills in their bases entry way or surround the flag with giant spikes spawned from spike grenades, all able to slow down the opposition significantly. Flag-bearers lose their ability to directly attack but are still able to deform the terrain, making for action-filled getaways. They've also included king of the hill (called "Kingmaker" in the Fracture realm) and a mode where players conjure forth spikes by digging in the ground, and then defend them in order to obtain points towards winning. If the game is able to pick up enough steam in the busy holiday season, and a community develops around the multiplayer, Fracture could have a permanent place in many gamers' personal collections.
What's Not
The game is, however, not without a few serious issues. While the story could've been interesting, it never fully delivers and keeps players on the outside rather than drawing them in. Brody is never a character you grow to care about and the main enemy has story elements introduced that could've made it more complex, but he remains one-dimensional until the very end. If fans of the shooter genre are worried about story, though, they could do much, much worse.
The game looks pretty but the framerate falls to pieces on the game's few cutscenes and the sound effects could have been more visceral. The Pacifican machine-gun has one of the worst sounds I've ever heard for a gun in a shooter, but players can stick to its identical Alliance-issued bulldog to avoid it.
The glaring issue of control is one that should've been addressed before Fracture landed on shelves. Players will find themselves frustrated often with the sticky aiming controls. Using a sniper rifle or the long-range rifle the "Raptor" highlight the fact that Fracture is without a doubt a dual-stick shooter. The imprecise nature of it will often find you dropping sniping weapons and running-and-gunning to avoid the hassle. There is also a prominent vehicle portion in the second act. While it's still a fun section and the vehicle continues the TD theme by allowing players to dig holes with the wheels and shooting a rocket similar to the ST-4 that travels underground, Day One opted for the "Halo Warthog" style driving that is only believable if the vehicle is as slide-y as the warthog. Flipping over is a constant during those sections of the game and dying happens almost as often. Day One should've learned from their Mech Assault days that controls in a shooter of any kind can make or break a game. Luckily, the game lends itself more to closer combat and the vehicle portion isn't so long or frustrating that players would quit half-way through.
Final Word
Fracture has found itself with the misfortune of being released without much hype in one of gaming's biggest holiday seasons ever. The lack of hype surrounding the title has strangely been turned into some early negative press for the title. While the game is certainly not without issue, it manages to take Terrain Deformation from gimmick to innovation.
If TD ended up a gimmick the game would flop, but Day One was able to take the idea and put it at the core of the game, rather than tack it onto the surface. This fact alone really makes Fracture a stand-out game, despite its issues. Fracture is a game that many gamers will skip over because of the packed line-up for this fall. I think it would be a mistake for any gamer to not even give the game a trial because, for once, developers actually tried something new, and succeeded in the process. Give Fracture a chance and I promise you the end product will not disappoint.
What's the Game About
You are Jet Brody, a prominent member of the Atlantic Alliance who has found himself right in the middle of a vicious civil war with the west coast Pacificans. Set 150 years in the future, much has changed: the Alliance rely on cybernetic enhancements to further their cause, while the Pacificans believe that genetic mutation will be the right path into the future. The story plays up the current global warming scare sweeping the world, but the developers deny they are making any sort of definite statement. While the story as a whole is certainly nothing special, it serves its purpose and the production values, such as the cut scenes between each of the game's three acts and the voice talent, are top notch.
What's Hot
Fracture's main highlight is its focus on a new mechanic introduced: Terrain Deformation (TD for short). Originally promised to change the way people play shooters, Day One Studios has made good on that promise. Players are made accustom to the new mechanic through a tutorial (it's the same as the demo found on XBLA) that precedes the single player campaign. The tutorial is a little stifling and hand hold-y, so it could understandably make players say to themselves "is that it?" However, once getting further into the game, players start to understand that TD really is a game-changer. Avid shooter fans know that high-ground is always advantageous. TD allows players to reach high-spots that they wouldn't normally be able to reach. It's also important to know that many of the best weapons are usually reachable through some form of TD.
The weapons have familiar functions with unique twists. Now, imagine having to take on several enemies in a wide-open field and you have the ST-4 handy. The ST-4 is a torpedo-like gun that shoots a rocket underground and is detonated by the player. Without cover, you decide to make a wall and then for good measure, dig a hole behind it to further entrench yourself. Shooting a rocket into the ground in the general direction of the enemies, you are unable to follow it on your screen, but the rocket shows up on your radar as a yellow dot (enemies are standard-issue red). Behind self-made cover, players can tactfully dispose of swarms of enemies without ever looking at them.
That makes it seem as if the AI carries the intelligence of a 7th-year high school senior, but that's not the case. While it's not groundbreaking in all respects, the developers did a good job of creating an AI that reacts to a dynamic environment. If a player uses a hill for cover, there is a good chance they will rush either side of it, or if you create a hill close to them, don't be surprised to find the enemy tucked behind it waiting for an opportune time to pop-out. It's quite feat if you think of all the games that have AI that has a hard time interacting with a static environment, much less a dynamic one.
The dynamics are made possible through the Havok engine and Fracture pushes Havok to the limits. The "Lodestone" is a weapon that doesn't directly inflict damage, but rather grabs all the dynamic objects in the environment and smashes them together to great effect. If there are a couple enemies and a bevy of crates near each other, a shot from the lodestone will handle the situation with ease. The other standout weapon of that nature is of course the vortex grenade. Throw the grenade into a similar selection and it will start to create, you guessed it, a vortex that sucks in all surrounding objects and enemies, ending in a huge explosion.
It feels like a lot of show and tell has been done so far in this review, but it's necessary to set up the core of the game so that one can start to understand and then imagine the possibilities that TD opens up. For the single player campaign, the game employs these elements to success most of the time and keeps the player on their toes, as the game is plenty difficult at the standard difficulty. Expect about 8 or so hours of gameplay from the campaign, with a second-playthrough warranted if you're an achievement whore because there are 100 data cells to collect in the game that unlock different weapons and abilities in a weapons testing area separate from the campaign. Then move onto multiplayer.
Or… start there, because that is where TD really shines. Initial worries that multiplayer would be too hectic and too much "you make a hill, I tear it down, I make a hill, you tear it down" are immediately vanquished when players enter into any of the game's eight multiplayer modes. Standards like free for all and team deathmatch are a blast to play and continue to reinforce the ideas players have learned in single-player: the best weapons are up high, create cover for yourself, make diversions for your enemies, etc. It also adds a twist to Capture The Flag because players are able to build hills in their bases entry way or surround the flag with giant spikes spawned from spike grenades, all able to slow down the opposition significantly. Flag-bearers lose their ability to directly attack but are still able to deform the terrain, making for action-filled getaways. They've also included king of the hill (called "Kingmaker" in the Fracture realm) and a mode where players conjure forth spikes by digging in the ground, and then defend them in order to obtain points towards winning. If the game is able to pick up enough steam in the busy holiday season, and a community develops around the multiplayer, Fracture could have a permanent place in many gamers' personal collections.
What's Not
The game is, however, not without a few serious issues. While the story could've been interesting, it never fully delivers and keeps players on the outside rather than drawing them in. Brody is never a character you grow to care about and the main enemy has story elements introduced that could've made it more complex, but he remains one-dimensional until the very end. If fans of the shooter genre are worried about story, though, they could do much, much worse.
The game looks pretty but the framerate falls to pieces on the game's few cutscenes and the sound effects could have been more visceral. The Pacifican machine-gun has one of the worst sounds I've ever heard for a gun in a shooter, but players can stick to its identical Alliance-issued bulldog to avoid it.
The glaring issue of control is one that should've been addressed before Fracture landed on shelves. Players will find themselves frustrated often with the sticky aiming controls. Using a sniper rifle or the long-range rifle the "Raptor" highlight the fact that Fracture is without a doubt a dual-stick shooter. The imprecise nature of it will often find you dropping sniping weapons and running-and-gunning to avoid the hassle. There is also a prominent vehicle portion in the second act. While it's still a fun section and the vehicle continues the TD theme by allowing players to dig holes with the wheels and shooting a rocket similar to the ST-4 that travels underground, Day One opted for the "Halo Warthog" style driving that is only believable if the vehicle is as slide-y as the warthog. Flipping over is a constant during those sections of the game and dying happens almost as often. Day One should've learned from their Mech Assault days that controls in a shooter of any kind can make or break a game. Luckily, the game lends itself more to closer combat and the vehicle portion isn't so long or frustrating that players would quit half-way through.
Final Word
Fracture has found itself with the misfortune of being released without much hype in one of gaming's biggest holiday seasons ever. The lack of hype surrounding the title has strangely been turned into some early negative press for the title. While the game is certainly not without issue, it manages to take Terrain Deformation from gimmick to innovation.
If TD ended up a gimmick the game would flop, but Day One was able to take the idea and put it at the core of the game, rather than tack it onto the surface. This fact alone really makes Fracture a stand-out game, despite its issues. Fracture is a game that many gamers will skip over because of the packed line-up for this fall. I think it would be a mistake for any gamer to not even give the game a trial because, for once, developers actually tried something new, and succeeded in the process. Give Fracture a chance and I promise you the end product will not disappoint.
February 8, 2010
