When it comes to offering gamers control over their environment, nothing quite compares to the amount of power being put into the player’s hands in Day 1 Studio’s Fracture. Published by LucasArts, Fracture will give gamers a tremendous amount of impact on the terrain around them, by allowing it to be manipulated in real time in a way only comparable to the level editors found in other games. We were recently given a live demo of Fracture, and believe us when we tell you that this ability to shape terrain is by no means a cheap gimmick.

Just a little recap on the story, in a not too unrealistic future, increasing environmental disasters have caused the United States to be literally split in half by the shifting of tectonic plates. This division goes much deeper than the Earth’s crust; however, as two warring alliances have emerged from the disaster: the Republic of the Pacific and the Atlantic Alliance. You will play as Jet Brody, a soldier serving in the Atlantic Alliance. Our demo began with Brody, and a few other Atlantic troops being deployed in a high mountainside somewhere in San Francisco in order to seek out and destroy an enemy weapons cache.

Making our way into a canyon, the developers demonstrated that the terrain deformation featured in the game won’t just apply to the ground, as they shot at the walls of the canyon sending huge boulders toppling onto the enemies below. We were then introduced to the Entrencher gun, which has the ability to either raise or lower a circular section of ground. It’s also worth mentioning that the terrain alteration that occurs in the game is physics based, so if you jump while the ground underneath you pops up it can give you good boost to reach higher areas.

Raising the ground makes for some excellent cover if you happen to be out in the open, and sinking it is perfect for going underneath obstacles, or taking the terrain away from an enemy’s feet to give you the high ground. The developers did make it clear that the AI won’t just be standing there in awe at your landscaping abilities, and will know how to react to changes in the terrain around them. Another great weapon shown was the vortex grenade, which creates an impressive cyclone that pulls in any objects around it. You do have to be careful of these flying objects, as the demo player ended up taking a freight container to the head and had to restart the section. Interestingly, when we approached the same area, the cyclone grenade had an entirely different effect, sending debris hurdling into different directions than the last time.