E3 2008 Preview
Last time on Fracture: the world was
in chaos. Terrain was being deformed. Unique gameplay ideas were shown. And we
weren’t allowed to touch the controller. Fast forward one year and it’s the same
thing all over again, with one minor difference: now we get to see if the game
has any chance of living up to its insurmountable hype.
The game stars…no, forget that. Do
any of us really care about the story at this point? I might in October when the
game is released. For now let’s stick to the gameplay, which is amazingly well
done. As previously reported, you can raise, lower, implode and manipulate the
environment to tackle the game’s most difficult challenges. But what that
hands-off report didn’t tell you was how well it performs. In the first five
seconds, Fracture is a third-person shooter. The same old thing but with
above-average graphics. In the first 10 seconds you’re running around, moving
the camera and firing weapons. And by the end of the first minute you’ve created
your first wall by raising the terrain 10 or 20 feet into the air. That last
part is the magic moment when Fracture is no longer "that shooter with
terraforming." It should now be known as the shooter that broke new ground
in more ways than one.
There are several terrain
deformation elements in the game, but only two were instantly usable: the
ability to raise and lower. If this were merely a side feature, it wouldn’t have
much of a purpose. But this is an essential part of Fracture. That fact becomes
apparent the second you start getting your butt kicked. How do you dodge gunfire
when there’s nowhere to run? How do you take cover when there’s nothing to hide
behind? By raising the terrain — a move that’s performed very easily by aiming
at the ground and tapping RB — the enemy’s aim will be blocked. He can shoot
the terrain and slowly shrink it back down, but that will buy you some time.
If you want to get really creative,
raise the terrain directly underneath the enemy. The force of the ground moving
up will push him several feet into the air, triggering the game’s realistic
ragdoll physics while stunning an enemy that had become a major nuisance.
Those are some of the fun ways you
can deal with an enemy, but they barely scratch the surface of the capabilities
of terrain deformation. After coming to an underground area that was blocked by
the natural environment, I was able to jump down in and continue progressing
through the game just by lowering the terrain. When a platform was too high to
reach by normal means, a third deformation technique became available, allowing
players to raise a pillar of terrain up into the air. This pillar rose up and
pushed a piece of a building on its side, which was now angled low enough to
jump on and climb.
The gunplay isn’t terribly
unexpected. However, the developers have done a stellar job of raising the
excitement level along with the terrain. Though you aren’t always surrounded by
enemies, this isn’t a game of frequent breathers. Fracture isn’t just an action
game either, it’s one with the potential to deliver great thrills. The E3 demo
already has, making the October release date seem too far away.
