Fracture (2008)

I am on a journey to beat 360 random Xbox 360 games. Here's my next adventure

Game number 46 was Fracture. This is a 3rd-Person shooter that includes the interesting mechanic of raising and lowering the terrain. Other than that, it is an extremely average game for the time with minimal story.

Graphics/Sound: The graphics in Fracture look pretty poor. The levels in this game only include minimal details and honestly look like something that would come out on the original Xbox. The only way I can describe it is that it’s the type of game where every game model that exists is important. There is little detail and only background visuals. The sound isn’t much better. The music in this game is extremely average and the same goes for sound effects and voice acting. I was unimpressed from both the graphics and sound here. (3/10)

Story: The story of Fracture involves a dystopian future where North America was split in the middle and there is now an ocean where middle America once was (Texas to North Dakota). This geographical split has also split the USA into two separate nations. The main conflict between the two sides of the US is centered around genetic modifications. The Eastern States (the good guys) want to live with minimal genetic modifications and the Western States want to turn all humans into giant reptilian supersoldiers. After this is initially told to the player in the intro cutscene, there is essentially no plot from then on out. You are basically just a soldier shooting down bad guys… the most bare bones plot points show up and nothing interesting really happens. (3/10)

Gameplay: The gunplay here is done decently. It is extremely standard and nothing is terribly done… but there is very little to make Fracture stand out from the pack. The main mechanic allows the player to raise and lower any part of the ground that is made of dirt. This is a surprisingly good mechanic. You can create cover from enemy fire and do some light platforming by creating mounds of dirt. I really liked this mechanic and it was really the only reason to play Fracture. Enemy variety is also decent. While most enemies are just standard soldiers that need to die, there are also variants that need to be shot in specific weak points and ones that jump around and have mechanics. Furthermore, there are boss fights and I am a fan of real boss fights. Any shooter that is able to create decent bosses did a good job in my book. Overall, the gameplay is fine and really the only reason to play this… but it adds up to nothing special in the end. (6/10)

My Experience: Yeah, I didn’t really have much fun playing this game. I was constantly looking for the end of the levels and pretty much couldn’t wait until I could call it quits. Maybe its because I have played a lot of other 3PS games recently, but I was pretty bored most of this game and only a few moments really required me to think and focus. Not much fun playing this one. (4/10)

Overall: Fracture is a standard 3PS game with essentially no story and average gunplay. The only thing that even slightly makes this game interesting are the boss fights and the terrain manipulation features. I don’t really recommend this game to anyone. Its not a horrible game, nor a great game… just kinda boring. (4/10)

I spent 5 hours, 50 minutes, and 38 seconds on Fracture

I have spent a total of 454 hours and 53 minutes on the Road to 360 so far.

Next game: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance