Global warming’s influence over the future landscape of America is threatening and Fracture colors a startling picture of the result. While the hyperbole of the game's dabbling in genetic engineering and cybernetics keeps the experience in check, it's a world where climate change has set the stage for intense combat. Several unbalanced sequences mar an otherwise inventive and dynamic shooter.

Fracture suits you up as Jet Brody, an operative in the Atlantic Alliance fighting an unexpected war against the genetically modified forces of the ceding Republic of Pacifica. Led by the rogue General Sheridan, the Pacificans have launched a full-scale attack against investigating Atlantic Alliance troops. Sheridan's genetically enhanced army proves powerful when squaring off against the cybernetic warriors from the eastern half of the continent. Speedy soldiers zip across the battlefield and bulked up officers make for imposing foes. The odds are evened thanks to augments downloaded to Atlantic Alliance soldiers that boost their natural abilities. Even more, both sides possess terraforming weapons capable of raising and lowering terrain, inciting vortexes, and summoning rocky spires from the ground.

These weapons dramatically change the nature of combat. The game ties terrain deformation into the story at several key points in the plot, but it’s how it develops combat scenarios around altering terrain that makes the game compelling. It's simultaneously the game's greatest strength and weakness, a double-edged sword that limits depth and yet adds a level of dynamic combat rarely seen in other shooters. You're never restricted to just shooting enemies to progress; instead, you have an arsenal of firearms and terrain deforming tools that offer plenty of freedom in tackling each combat situation. You may decide that riddling your enemies with bullets is your preferred method, but you could just as easily fling them off a cliff by suddenly raising the ground beneath them or launching them into the air using a ground spike. There's even the option of avoiding combat completely (in some areas, not all) by creating cover and running past foes.

All of these options make it easier to eliminate enemies than in a more traditional action game. As a result, Fracture throws opponents at you that are tougher than the average gaming baddie and come at you in greater numbers. This ensures a healthy challenge if you're a veteran player, but casual players are going to find these foes quite difficult. The issue is the number of enemies that flood the battlefield, as you often succumb to a flurry of bullets or a disorienting mix of terrain weapons fire. Unbalanced sequences like these exist regularly throughout the campaign and are a source of frustration.

The advent of terrain deformation is a bane and a boon to battle because of its unpredictability. In those situations when gads of enemies are breathing down your neck, sometimes altering the landscape helps you and others it ends up hurting you. It's often difficult to determine what makes the difference--usually a session of trial-and-error. Of course, this makes certain sections tedious and destroys the dynamism that characterizes the rest of the game. Ironically enough, some battles are best waged without deforming the terrain because it adds a layer of complexity that makes it more difficult to defeat whatever enemies are standing in your way.