Video Review
Title: Fractured Space
Platform: PC
Genre: Space Combat MOBA
Developer: Edge Case Games Ltd.
Publisher: Edge Case Games Ltd.
Players: 1-5
Release Date: September 22, 2016
Price: Free-to-Play
Real Life Gamer: Fractured Space Review
Fractured Space is a 5v5 Free-to-Play space combat MOBA (publisher’s designation…not mine.) In the game, you join a team and select a vessel. Once everyone has selected a vessel you are taken to the map where the objective is to capture the enemy’s base. Gain access to said base, by capturing other bases on the map. If this sounds complicated, don’t worry, here is a map to illustrate.
Another aspect of various matches is when Gamma, the station at the center of the map, becomes active. Capturing Gamma provides a team with a boost to various ship stats, which make the ships slightly stronger. Also, during the course of the game your ship will gain levels and get upgrades. Select an upgrade by returning to the main base, or to a forward base. The upgrade allows you to upgrade a particular aspect of your ship. These aspects are Attack, Defense, and Utility. It is vital that ships get upgraded during the battle, or you will lose.
Hold and Fire
The gameplay is really fun. The controls work well, aside from one thing. I really wish the developers took a cue from World of Warships and let you not have to hold down a button to get your ship moving. It gets really annoying in battle when you are holding down “W” and trying to turn, fire, and activate your point defense systems all at the same time.
That being said, if you can get past that minor issue, the controls are easy to pick up and very intuitive. The maps do not provide one side with an advantage at all, which I think is really important when it comes to these types of games.
How it Plays
Finally, we discuss how the game plays. I am the Real Life Gamer because I address the issue of playing games here and there for short periods of time, (like most people who have families or jobs play games.) Unlike before real life, where I had several hours to play games uninterrupted. This type of game is perfect for playing in short bursts. Each match takes between 15 and 25 minutes to play.
This allows for short sessions or longer sessions if you have time (or choose not to sleep.) Even if you stick to the F2P version and only own the starter ships, you never feel underpowered. In fact, the starter ships are some great ships that a lot of people use, even when they get access to other vessels. Given the wide variety of ships, there are a lot of different play styles. The best part, is that the ships feel and operate differently from one another. So you never feel like you are just buying new skins on the same ship.
Pros
The game is Free-to-Play, but not Play to Win.
Very fun and competitive game that would work well in a tournament setting
Cons
Advancement can feel slow
Controls, while well mapped, can take getting used to
Overall Rating 9.0 out of 10: When I play a multiplayer free-to-play game I look for a few things. First, is the game is fun. Second, I want it to be a game I can pick up and put down at will, but also enjoy it as well. Third, I want it to be fair. I want a game to be free-to-play, not pay-to-win. Finally, I want the game to be supported and updated. If the game gets stale it will probably end up failing. Regular updates are important to keeping a game’s community interested. This game has all of those things. If you want to play a fun 5v5 game where no two matches feel the same, this is the game for you.