Other weapons include the Bangalore, which fires a charge into the ground that travels in a straight path until you detonate it; the Bulldog rifle that makes small pot marks with its bullets; and a devilish concussion rifle that doesn’t deform terrain, but can ricochet off walls. One of the more intriguing weapons called the Vortex, triggers a massive whirlpool that sucks up any objects and enemies in the immediate vicinity. Thorley explains that later in the game you will be able to load a Vortex charge into a grenade launcher and shoot it long distances—as if it weren’t satisfying enough.

More than just visually intriguing, being able to deform the terrain in these ways promises open-ended gameplay. Thorley explains that you might use a tectonic grenade to create cover or access a high platform or even deal damage to an enemy. In the demonstration, for example, Thorley was able to enter into a locked building by using a subsonic grenade to crawl underneath the structure and inside. Further in the level, Thorley used a spike grenade which summoned a molten pillar directly under the grate, consequently lifting it up. While much of what we saw looked geared for use in combat, but there certainly appears to be potential for other applications within the game.

Fracture's focus is being placed on the single player campaign, which will feature more than just the aforementioned action. Alluded to only in brief, Fracture will incorporate an augmentation system to allow customization of Briggs’ abilities. Exactly how this works or what sort of abilities you can mess around with wasn’t divulged.

The same can be said of the game’s multiplayer component. Coyly responding to queries about multiplayer Thorley said, “We’re not discussing it at this time, but we’re counting on multiplayer to be robust. It’ll rock—literally.” It’s safe to assume Fracture will support full online gameplay via Xbox Live and PlayStation Network; although, it would be great to see some split-screen action co-op play, both on- and offline.

With a release set for summer 2008 on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, there are loads of questions and too much time to become fractious waiting for them to be answered. If anything, Fracture itself addresses questions regarding the direction LucasArts is heading—up. - Tracy Erickson