Lucas Arts released two games last year that would be noted by a gamer, first of which was the extremely overhyped Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. The game depicted an entirely new chapter to the Star Wars saga through the eyes of Vader’s secret apprentice. Though the game managed to sell rather well worldwide; its gameplay was flawed, its visuals timed, and the overall result just fell short of great. I don’t know if Lucas Arts has a knack of making these kind of games which are slight under-achievers, but hot on Force Unleashed’s tail last October, came Fracture, a third person shooter to include production values you would expect from a Lucas Film.

          The actual story behind Fracture is something that can be looked on as a bit laughable, or dead serious. The game is set on Earth, only a few decades into the future, where realities of global warming have divided the United States. As the gradual erosion of the country’s shores reached critical point, two forces known as the Atlantic Alliance and the Pacificans began to quarrel. The Atlantic Alliance believing that the only way to overcome and survive the climate change was to cybernetically enhance themselves, the Pacificans instead believing that mutation and genetic modification was the solution. As things continually heat up, the President renders genetic modification as unconstitutional, forcing the Pacificans to either surrender and join the alliance or declare war.

          You assume the role of Jet Brody, a bog-standard space marine-type, who is caught in the middle of things, as his squad are sent to suppress the Pacificans. Things escalate as they encounter General Sheridan, who blames the Alliance for the death of his two daughters after genetic enhancing medicines were banned. In a sudden ambush Sheridan flees, and begins to rally the Pacificans against the Alliance, and Jet is sent to fight the war, hoping to decimate the Pacificans “One shot at a time...”

          Just like so many other protagonists, you never really get to like or learn about who Jet Brody really is, he is just there to slaughter a horde of genetically amped soldiers, which is a shame beings Lucas did a splendid job of developing the Apprentice’s character in Force Unleashed. Apart from Jet there are other minor roles including Captain Lawrence, Juice, and a mysterious telepathic female.

         

Third person shooters are up there as one of my most beloved genres in gaming. Unlike first person shooters, you can never really get as much meatiness as taking things from an over-the-shoulder perspective. Fracture includes the conventional running and gunning, with the option to crouch manually behind objects for cover which may not sound as much until you uncover the various other features the game harbours beneath its crusty surface. As well as having your weapons in the game, you will always be armed with the unique Entrencher, a gun that has two modes of fire when aimed at the ground; raise terrain or lower terrain. That’s right, shooting the ground with the Entrencher will allow you to manipulate the battlefield, creating your own cover and gaining yourself the high ground. It’s a great tool, and doesn’t just let you grab some easy cover, it will also be used in puzzle solving and path finding too. Some pathways will be too high to reach or dug underground, meaning you will need to adjust the terrain in order to advance. The occasional puzzle will also feature, mainly requiring you to dig out a path for a ball to roll through which can be fun but very difficult at times. It may all sound like a good gimmick, but the Entrencher has its flaws too:

. The Entrencher can only raise or lower dirt terrain, so there is no chance in creating bulges in the sides of buildings.

. The Entrencher only raise a pre-set radius of turf to a pre-set height after every use, meaning you will not be able to raise huge or tiny chunks, only medium sized areas.

. You can raise or lower a patch of ground as much as you like, but there are pre-set boundaries in place, forbidding you to dig yourself to the centre of the Earth.

. Accuracy is everything, when you are low on health and try to raise the ground in front of you for cover; often the ground beneath you will be raised instead, giving every enemy a clear shot on you.

         

Apart from the Entrencher, the many different unique weapons you can obtain in the game can even match that of Ratchet & Clank. Apart from your bog-standard machine guns and missile launchers, you will also encounter tools such as the Lodestone, which sucks enemies in, The ALM-37 Deep Freezer, and even a gun capable of blasting out earthquakes, all having their own impact on the environments around them. However, the weapon I had most fun with were the Vortex Grenades, powerful little capsules which, when detonated, unleash a huge whirlwind, sucking everything in within a certain radius, the end result being a pile of dead bodies and rubble, but stand back when using.

          Despite having all of these amazing weapons and features, it always feels as though Lucas never really capitalised on this fact. Instead of having you sort through mindboggling puzzles or having to entrench your way through a whole sewer tunnel, you are simply pitted against hordes of Pacificans at every turn, making the game feel like it’s on a constant loop, with little variation. However, the Pacificans come in all shapes and sizes as you will realise as you progress. You will be fighting hordes of Light and Medium soldiers to begin with, but when they start throwing in more enhanced soldiers such as the tank-like Sherman, and the impervious Cheetahs, you will always need to be on your toes, and constantly watching your rechargeable shield gauge.

          Apart from the campaign mode, you can also take the fight online with Playstation Network access. A number of game modes will be available including your average Death and Team Deathmatches, with slightly tweaked modes such as Break In (a headquarters game) and Kingmaker in which you defend an objective to gain points. The online component is fairly good and plays out smoothly enough, but without any customisation whatsoever, and not even a ranking system, you can tell why gamers are always flocking to the Call of Duty series.

          As far as presentation goes, Fracture is a mixed package. The CGI animations are great and you will notice a great amount of detail to the background level designs. However, frame rate will constantly be an issue, even when watching the in-engine cutscenes. Character design is a thumbs up, but there could have honestly been a bit more variation. As far a sound goes, Lucas always gets it spot on, the soundtrack will undoubtedly remind you of Star Wars and the character voicing is good on the whole.

          Fracture is a game that sounds great on paper, but the execution was a little disappointing, most parts of the game dragging on instead of grabbing gamers’ attentions, and terrain manipulation can get exceedingly boring too. A sequel is most unlikely, but Lucas Arts would only have to make a few changes to get this title into the hall of fame.