Let’s cut to the chase.  Fracture was doomed to be a mediocre game right from the very beginning, there, I said it.  The game is based around, and barely held together by, game physics which I found to be suspect from the start.  I don’t have a major problem with the physics itself, this is perfectly fine, I take issue with the fact that this aspect has been marketed as revolutionary.  How it works might be described as new but the outcome most certainly cannot.  A game was released many years ago by the name of Populous and in it you were able to mess around with the landscape in “realtime”, “on the fly” or whatever else you want to call it.  I really wish Fracture had more in common with that great game.

I’d love to continue writing about Populous but sadly I must return my focus to Fracture.  I wonder if anyone would mind if I wrapped up this review early and wrote about some games I actually enjoyed.  Fine, I’ll take one for the team.

The graphics are nice but the Area 51 game also boasted some quite impressive visuals and both titles should be used as evidence that if a game is to be enjoyable it needs to do much more than look pretty.  I mention that the game physics are perfectly fine in their execution but I do have reservations when it comes to their very inclusion.  As you play through the game you’ll find that the physics offer a solution to the problems you face but it is painfully obvious that these “puzzles” were an afterthought and are merely used as a means to justify the powers you have at your disposal.  Something I found to be quite frustrating is that terraforming battles can suddenly erupt between yourself and enemies and the landscape can sometimes change so much that it introduces an additional element of confusion.

This game makes me feel ill.  I’m not talking about the gameplay, although that doesn’t exactly make me feel like dancing either, I’m referring to the vomit-inducing effects which are used throughout the game.  I suffer from motion sickness and, while I try to ignore that fact as much as possible while playing a good game such as Stronghold, poor games such as Prey and Fracture are made all the more difficult to endure.

I would love to write about the story and characters but it seems that these points were missed whenever the developers had a group meeting to discuss the progression of the game so I am going to follow their lead and skim over those.  I have a pretty good imagination and, based on the slight similarity with armour found in this game, I actually attempted to fool myself into thinking I was playing Mass Effect.  This lasted for all of a minute until the poor gameplay slapped me across the face and snapped me out of such positive illusions and back to the world of shiny mediocrity.

I’m sorry this review is so short and if you’re familiar with my writing you’ll know that this is a rarity for me, but I do pride myself on my honesty and, to put it bluntly, I don’t want to waste any more of your time.  If you buy this game you will only encourage developers to be this lazy in future.  Don’t do it.  The end.

3/10

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