‘Fracture' and ‘Mercenaries 2' offer solid gaming action — and fun

By JUSTIN HOEGER - McClatchy Newspapers Sometimes a good, dumb action game is just what the doctor ordered. Take these two. First up: "Fracture." It's nothing earthshaking, but it has a few neat twists. The game is designed around terrain deformation: Players' weapons, grenades and a special instant-grading tool can make the land bulge and sink at will to create cover or disrupt fortifications. The story is a futuristic tale of East vs. West - that is, what's left of the Eastern and Western United States after severe global warming has left much of the center of the nation submerged. The terrain-altering technology that's key to the game play was originally developed to hold back the oceans. But now it's being used for less constructive purposes. The crux of the matter is the Western region's focus on genetic engineering that... [read full story]