Fracture

Thu, 03 May 2007 11:34:54 GMT

Previews: Fracture First look at LucasArts' new ground-shaking shooter.

By Nick Suttner 05/03/2007

The devastating effects of global warming leave the United States in ruins, stem-cell research runs completely out of hand and we just started a war. Doesn't sound too far fetched, does it? The fact that LucasArts set its destructive new third-person shooter Fracture in 2161 seems...well, a bit optimistic if anything. Developed by Day 1 Studios, responsible for the sublime MechAssault 1 & 2 as well as the recent console ports of F.E.A.R. (which we'll quietly ignore), Fracture will head to Xbox 360 and PS3 in the faraway land of mid-2008.

In the increasingly noble quest for "truly next-gen gameplay," Day 1 turns to a world of genetics versus cybernetics, where a civil war wages across the U.S. between the Pacifican Army (the West Coast allied with Asia) and the Atlantic Alliance (East Coast allied with Europe). You drop into the shoes of demolitions expert Mason Briggs, fighting for the Alliance with an armory's worth of terrain-deforming weaponry at your disposal. Not much more of the story has been revealed, but we know that the Pacificans can't have children thanks to their genetic tomfoolery; surely there can only be so many of them to kill then, right?

SCREENS: The gun in Briggs' hands creates a vortex that sucks in anything that isn't tied down. [Click the image above to check out all Fracture screens.]

Thanks to a mighty proprietary game engine and a little sprinkle of LucasArts magic, changing the world around you looks to be more than just a gimmick, serving as a vital mechanic behind combat, puzzle-solving and most everything else you do in Fracture. All of your weapons are equipped with secondary functions that manipulate the topography of the world around you; Tectonic and Subsonic grenades mold hills or holes, respectively, out of flat terrain while Spike grenades summon up plumes of molten rock. The Bulldog gun can carve right through solid rock, while the Bangalore rocket launcher tunnels underground, exploding at your leisure.

You're the very literal master of your domain with many combat and exploration options. Group of soldiers mowing you down in an open field? Sculpt a wall of granite for cover, and then carve some paths in it with the Bulldog for a better shot. Genetically-enhanced goons jumping superhuman distances to pepper you with rockets? Ride the undulating earth up to them and ruin their afternoon with a gun that shoots boulders. You can even slow down time with one of several cybernetic enhancements (the rest of which have yet to be revealed), just in case you need to pile one last rock on the crushed body of a vanquished foe.

The level we saw at a press event took place in the sparse, rocky basin of a dried-out San Francisco Bay laden with enemy bases and stone-strewn landscapes ripe for deforming. Fracture looks great in motion, with visually seamless terraforming, explosive physics and cinematic firefights. Day 1 seems to be sparing no expense with the presentation, and it shows in the scope of the game. Even at this early stage in development, the ambient detail of spaceships scouring the skies above while scripted events unfold definitely impresses. Unfortunately you can only manipulate the ground itself, so you'll have to find a way under or over buildings instead of just bringing them down around your enemies. We saw some clever environmental puzzles and varied approaches to combat used in the level, and it'll be interesting to see how the developers keep the landscape altering fresh and exciting for the length of the game.

SCREENS: All the genetically altered Pacificans are armored from head to toe. What could be hidden beneath all that covering? [Click the image above to check out all Fracture screens.]

As unique as the game mechanics are and for all of the politically-charged story Fracture has going for it, the lack of info at this juncture concerning the central character Briggs leaves several questions unanswered. As armored space marine-like demolitions experts go, his character design doesn't exactly stray far from the mold. There's plenty of time to spice him up though. Having an overall more inimitable look to the game couldn't hurt its appeal.

Still, Fracture has a lot to get excited about, especially for those looking to find a unique action-adventure or the more experimental crowd who just want to see how far they can push the deformation (achievements associated with similarly arcane goals were strongly hinted at for the 360 version at the press event). Multiplayer is planned, though nothing has been revealed thus far, which is understandable given the complex logistics of figuring out how to keep games stable with the environmental deformation. The competition will be that much higher a year from now, but given both companies' track records and what we've seen thus far, we could be looking at something special when it finally arrives. It's now offissureal -- next year is going to rock (oh c'mon, the LucasArts guys wouldn't stop making horrible puns -- can't we do it too?).

GTG: Games

Fracture