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View Full Version : Brink - What it is, and why you should be excited about it.


Jason
02-04-2010, 02:55 AM
Official Site (http://www.brinkthegame.com)

Brink is a FPS. It's coming out on all the 'big three' platforms - Xbox, PS3 and PC. It's developed by Splash Damage, a group of proper gaming nerds (how nerdy? According to a recent interview, the staff canteen has 'Om Nom Nom' on the door. THAT nerdy. ;)) - their previous work includes Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (aka the last good Wolfenstein) and the excellent but under-appreciated Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, so they have FPS pedigree.

The interesting features are many, but a versus campaign where two teams play a campaign against each other - the game uses misinformation and ambiguous moral choices to keep the players guessing whether the side they're fighting for are actually the 'good guys'.
Missions aren't linear either. In one mission that is very similar in structure to 'payload' maps in TF2, one team is trying to get an objective from A to B, whilst the other team attempts to stop them.
However, there's a twist. At any point, players can choose from a selection of mini-missions such as capturing a specific command point to force back the enemy spawn points, or fighting through a heavily barricaded roadblock to open a shortcut for the rest of the team.
Speaking of TF2, there are also different classes to choose from, including the 'Operative', who is similar to the Spy in TF2. He can interrogate wounded (ie downed but not dead) enemies to get a real-time map of where their teammates are, and (once you've got enough XP) can also disguise themselves as their enemies to get about.
Interestingly, if you're playing an operative class and an enemy operative is disguising himself as your teammates, you will actually get the chance to accept an optional mini-mission which will charge you with rooting out and killing said turncoat.

Brink also features an 'action' button, which is essentially a flashy 'sprint' button that when held down allows the player to almost free-run across all kinds of terrain (check the video at the end for a better idea of what's possible with that).
It's not just a multiplayer game though, as Splash Damage have stated that they will deliver an excellent single-player experience as well as a multiplayer one, and if early reports are to be believed, even at this early stage the AI is looking promising, apparently using alternate routes if it encounters particularly heavy resistance on a particular path.

As if all that wasn't enough, there's also a plethora of unlockable weapons, modifications, new skills and costumes, which are unlocked by spending XP
you achieved in-game.

All in all, this game is probably best described as Team Fortress 2 meets Mirror's Edge after a drunken night with Timesplitters. And if that doesn't at least pique your interest, then you're clearly dead inside. Or just plain don't like FPS games. :p

SMART system
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2miDEafpwQ

Gameplay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juTZZj93cY8

Lance
02-04-2010, 05:10 AM
Damn

I seriously want that game

And hell, I'd even play it online as well

I like the Assassin's Creed style free-run - if only you could destroy the enviroment like Red Faction and it'd be almost... perfect.

Let's just hope it doesn't disappoint.

MyNameDidntFit
02-04-2010, 07:09 AM
Intriguing... Q3/4, they say? Intriguing indeed...

nilihanth
02-05-2010, 02:53 AM
Definitely a new flavor of FPS, which is nice. I'm intrigued by the SMART system enough to hope that there's a demo for the game near its release. I love class-based multiplayer games as well. The addition of the mini-missions is just adding icing to the cake.

Did anyone else get annoyed with the over-exaggerated movement bobbing even when the guy was walking? It's like he's wearing springy boots. I hope they fix that because it will bug the crap out of me if it stays in.

Jason
02-05-2010, 02:57 AM
Yeah. I have the feeling that if it isn't fixed, there'll be plenty of people fixing that through the dev console in the PC version. :p

Have to agree that it looks like a potentially fascinating game though.

Konrad
02-08-2010, 01:52 AM
It looks interesting, but I'm not sold on it immediately, especially since this thing can very welly well turn out to be utter chaotic fail unless they keep the free running in check somehow.

I hope there is a demo to try out, because I really want this to work out.

Jason
02-08-2010, 02:27 AM
I agree - it has the potential to go bad, but there's plenty of time to work it out.

Oh, and I'm surprised no-one else has pointed it out, but this game looks gorgeous. Check out that 'gameplay' video. That looks impressive.

MyNameDidntFit
02-08-2010, 12:43 PM
Eh. It doesn't look that great, IMO. It's reasonable, but by no means spectacular.

Konrad
02-08-2010, 05:24 PM
Graphically it reminds me of Mirror's Edge. It's certainly not a photo-realistic game, but it lacks that cleanliness that came with ME. I see a tidbit off confusion with the artistic direction they're heading in.

Rob
02-10-2010, 04:59 AM
Wow this game looks great. The visuals are exactly what I am looking for and the mission system is everything I wished TF2 was. Unless something horrible is lurking behind the scenes then I can't imagine this game being anything but a huge success. It should at least pull in most of the TF2 community along with some MAG players as well.

Rob
02-10-2010, 05:04 AM
Put this in your pipe and smoke it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na3p02VwfeE

Lance
02-28-2010, 06:13 AM
Got the exact date for Brink's release for those interested - September 7, 2010 (according to Amazon) ironically enough, my birthday :) I think I have to buy myself a present.

Jason
02-28-2010, 09:47 PM
Two days after my birthday as well. :)

Although Amazon release dates are notoriously unreliable, mind. :p

MyNameDidntFit
03-01-2010, 03:36 AM
Eh. Amazon tends to like guessing at release dates before anyone has said anything about them.

Rob
03-04-2010, 01:29 AM
Gameinformer did and interview (http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/02/16/interview-richard-ham-creative-director-of-splash-damage-brink-multiplayer-customization-and-a-new-era-in-online-gaming.aspx) with the creative director of Brink. Worth checking out if you are hungry for information. The best part to me was...
For instance, you might be choosing to play through the story solo, in sequence, when one evening you see a friend of yours playing in a mission you haven’t reached yet and he’s playing for the opposing side. We decided that we didn’t want ‘the story’ to stand in the way of friends playing together, so you can leave your storyline behind and jump into the mission with your friend. And after that’s over, maybe he’ll jump into your storyline and play with you.

Building a multiplayer game that looks at coop in a serious way makes me happy. There are so many games that require you to be at the same part in the story or the same character level to get the most out of coop. Brink... I want a beta.

MyNameDidntFit
03-04-2010, 03:18 AM
The issue here for me is: how will the plot work?

I'm basically imagining a plethora of barely-tied-together missions that build up a bigger picture that you can do at any point in any order and then maybe a couple of plot missions that you have to do at certain points...

Which doesn't sound good, so I hope they tell me otherwise.

Jason
03-04-2010, 08:06 PM
I read that as being kind of similar to the way Borderlands worked with co-op - you can do your own story, but also jump into anyone else's at any point as well without screwing up your campaign.
I have to say, that was one of the things I really liked about Borderlands, and I'm glad to see other games are picking up on it - hopefully they'll find a way around the loophole of speed-levelling through getting rookies to join high-level games for big XPs.

MyNameDidntFit
03-05-2010, 01:30 AM
They'd have to make a level limit/range which would, in turn, remove a portion of the ability to join any game you want.

Borderlands... yes... so... like I said, no plot? ;)

Jason
03-05-2010, 02:17 AM
Not necessarily. Because Brink is (I'm assuming) a much more multiplayer-centric game, you're not going to be fighting NPCs who have a set strength level, you're going to be fighting other players, who whilst they might have access to better weaponry etc, are still bound by human skill (Scoutzknivez players notwithstanding).

MyNameDidntFit
03-05-2010, 03:25 AM
Well, if you don't gain more experience in the higher levels... there wont be any rushing, thus problem solvered.

dimples
04-13-2010, 09:24 AM
It's definitely going to my collections at some point! Looks amazing

dimples
08-27-2011, 01:19 PM
Anyone playing it? I kind of need help with getting through some missions. The AI sucks :(

Daggers
08-27-2011, 11:05 PM
Depending on how much the price has dropped to on this since it's release, I might pick up a copy next month on payday. So yeah potentially I can play.

MyNameDidntFit
08-28-2011, 05:56 AM
I think I actually got it in the Quakecon pack from Steam a few weeks back... yeah, seems I did. Should likely play it at some point... but I have so many games to play already :/

dimples
08-28-2011, 08:34 PM
I got mine for around 15€. So it's a pretty good deal for a newish game

Jason
08-30-2011, 12:35 AM
If you can hold off a week or two, I'd potentially be up for this if I can find it for a sensible price. :)

MyNameDidntFit
08-30-2011, 07:32 AM
If you're on PC, I believe I could bring myself to install it in the name of lag-riddled multiplayer.