LucasArts' new shooter "Fracture" tries admirably to be different.
"Red Faction" and "Battlefield: Bad Company" have introduced ways for players to change the environment in battle, but not on the same level as "Fracture." The geometry can change every step you make.
I recently spent about an hour playing the multiplayer side of a near-finished "Fracture." As I'd never played "Fracture" before, my time was spent playing catch-up, but the dynamics of the ground play were immediately apparent.
By tapping either the right button or left button on an Xbox 360 controller, you fire a bullet that pushes the ground up or down wherever you aim. It's possible to alter the ground a handful of times before the gun needs to recharge, but in concentrated blasts, it's enough to significantly alter the landscape. And it makes for some pretty interesting strategies to multiplayer:
* You can leap over large walls by jumping and lifting the ground simultaneously
* Someone chasing you? Duck under a building and block off the entrance by pushing the ground up'
* Throw off someone's aim by altering the dirt beneath him or her
There were many moments where I should have died but managed to extend the battle by messing with the environment. I can foresee "Fracture" multiplayer teams devising strategies where some players are solely tasked with manipulating the ground to their side's advantage. There's real potential there.
It was difficult to understand all of the options available to me in just an hour. In addition to having various weapons scattered around the map, there are secondary selectable items (accessed via the d-pad) that can further complicate matters for the opposition. The most deadly of which proved to be a vicious tornado that whipped those in its path into a circular frenzy before killing them. You'd hear a loud groan whenever it appeared.
I was useless in the standard deathmatch or capture the flag modes. I didn't know the maps, weapons or controls to be of any asset to my team. For that, I was sorry for the LucasArts testers forced to play alongside me. However, I did excel at "Fracture"'s take on the land-grab concept. Hidden throughout the map are underground crystals that players must unearth with their guns and defend from the enemy's bullets. The longer you control a point, the more points added to your team -- you've seen this before.
The addition of environmental manipulation, however, proved refreshing. When I left LucasArts offices, that's the mode I wanted to play again. They told me I should have a copy of the game in just a few weeks. I'll let you know if "Fracture"'s ground-altering holds up with extended play.
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