For the first time out here at Pop Culture Beast, I’ll be looking at “Fractured Space,” a Free-to-Play MOBA set in, well, space.

Oh goody. Here we go with games again…

Great. I thought I left you behind on my personal WordPress page.

Nope! Wherever you go, there I am. Are. Be. Whatever.

Great. Anyway, the little voice in italics is whom I refer to as the “Nameless Voice in My Head.” He’ll pipe in from time to time, hopefully not too often.

Meh. Whatever.

Fractured Space came onto the scene a little over a year ago, and I’ve played it off and on since then every time an update was announced. Unfortunately, there’s been a server wipe, so my progress is lost in space. Edge Case! Y U take my Captain Jingles away?! You gave him back at level six, but still!

Like I mentioned above, it plays a lot like your standard MOBA, save for one thing: three dimensional play. Now I will admit, my MOBA experiences are rather minor, Heroes of the Storm, a very brief attempt at League of Legends – I’ll be honest, I’m not good at them. But, this one’s definitely my speed – as an older gamer with neurological issues and a slower reaction time, it’s a lot less stressful. It’s rather forgiving, at least in the beginning. When I first started, there wasn’t much in the way of any tutorial, you pretty much got dumped into a trial by fire. Since then, there’s been a server reset, some various graphics and gameplay changes added, as well as a very welcome series of starter matches to allow new players to get into it.

A Quick Look at Fractured Space:

For a starter ship, you’ll wind up in the Pioneer, a medium class ship. It’s your basic Swiss Army knife in space. With decent firepower, average handling and armor, it’s a good way to learn the basics.

 

Ooooh. She’s kinda pretty.

Why yes, yes she is. The Pioneer is what’s referred to a support ship – a dreadnought, she isn’t. She’ll do a good amount of damage alone, but it’s really not advisable. She’s reasonably agile, but don’t expect tight turning and lightning speed response.

Play a game or two, and you’ll wind up with the Venturer.

 

Haweh? What IS this thing? A lunchbox with thrusters?!

Yeah, she’s a little…boxy. Okay, a lot boxy. But, she’s got a lot under the hood (I quite frankly, love it). This is another medium ship, but this one is a major support ship. Going out on your own is tantamount to committing suicide. You might as well blow the airlocks and get it over with if you find yourself alone (although I DID sneak into the enemy base and capped it alone in an AI battle). Period. Keep your distance and make use of the mining laser. A ten kilometer range weapon is going to be your friend, so make use of it.

The Venturer is not as nearly as forgiving as the Pioneer, and suggested after you’ve got a few matches under your belt, at least in my limited experience.

And to round out our newbie ships, we have the Enforcer.

Um…

Yeah. This one’s a bit odd looking. Yet another entry into the medium line, this one’s packing one hell of a punch, but it’s an up close in your face kind of punch. Coupled with somewhat less than stellar armor, you need to husband your skill set in the Enforcer. To quote from her statistics page;

“The Enforcer is built for hit-and-run strafing attacks, not sustained dogfighting. If you find yourself up against a faster or more durable opponent, think twice before engaging. Your slow fire rate and relatively weak armor will cause you problems.”

Or, in my preferred phrasing, “shoot and scoot.”

 

Gameplay:

Fractured Space has three play types; Solo (battle with and against AI opponents), Co-Op (battle against AI with other players – think a PvE match) and Ye Olde PvP.

Solo Play is pretty straight forward – it’s a Frontline battle between you and your AI teammates against a team of AI controlled opponents. Decent for trying out a new ship. And finding out what ship doesn’t suit you.

*coughhackEnforcerwheeze*

Shut up, you.

Co-Op is gives you a choice, Conquest or Frontline battles, this time with over living, breathing (I hope) people. I don’t advise this mode, you’ll be waiting a long time for other people to join. PvP is of course, Player versus Player. Once again, Conquest or Frontline battles. It must have been a slow night when I opted in for it, because I never did get in a game.

 

Overall:

Pros: It’s a fun game to play. It’s got decent graphics, the UI is informative without being obtrusive, and is relatively easy to get the hang of.

Cons: It’s your standard WASD control scheme but with two extras – while the Space key is a no brainer for going up, left Ctrl requires a rather odd twist of my hand to get to in the thick of battle. But, I have rather small hands. Your mileage may vary. Ship design is…eh. Some ships bring to mind Battlestar Galactica and Babylon 5 designs, others look like something out of Lego Digital Designer. Of course, this is just a personal aesthetic thing. I’ve tried doing digital modeling. I think they’ve got examples of my work on file from when I was in college for comedy tours. Like “How Not to Do It” lessons.

Small hands, eh? Heh. You know what they say about small hands!

Yes. I buy small gloves. Your point?

But I’d definitely say it’s worth a try. If you’re like me and have issues with reaction time, like space combat with a plethora of ships, this one’s for you.

Are we done? Can we read a book or something now?

Eh…I’m going to take a look at Dreadnought again. I’ve got to write something on that next.

Ugh. Oh the joys of being stuck in a Gamer’s head…

Yeah? Tell me this doesn’t look good to you.

Ooooooo. Pretty…

Yeah, that’s what I thought. Anyway, that’s it for me, folks. Hopefully you found the read informative!

Thanks for stopping by.