Fracture cracking in October

LucasArts has been at the epicenter of an industry tremor in recent weeks with its decision to follow Activision and Vivendi out the door of the Entertainment Software Association. Fitting, then, that the publisher would also have news on Day 1 Studio's terraforming third-person shooter Fracture. In addition to announcing that the game's Web site and community portal have launched, LucasArts said today that the game will ship for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this October.

As detailed in GameSpot's just-published preview, terrain-deforming weapons play front and center in Fracture. The game offers a wealth of ways to render the ground asunder in a far-future world in the midst of a conflict between the Pacificans and the Atlantic Alliance.

Several weapons were shown off in Day 1's recent demonstration. The entrencher instantly creates a mound of earth that can be used for cover, whereas the spike grenade erects a narrow column of earth for strategic deployment. The terraforming weapons also have elemental properties, including the ALM-37, which freezes the ground--and any enemies--caught in its path.