I don't think Sebastain Coe had the game Brink in mind when he said his quote. I also don't think he'd do a cheesy Asian accent while saying it either.
What does a first person shooter have to do with an Olympic gold medal runner?
Oddly enough tons.
BRINK.
I'd been excited about this game for some time now, and when they announced that it would be arriving a week ahead of schedule, that could only mean one thing- Bethesda had a treat for us.
And sure enough they did. Now let me preface this with "Brink is not for most people". It's a combination of the less popular shooters. Sorry, it's true. I personally love the games that inspired Brink, however the sales prove I'm one of the few people.
Take one part Unreal Tournament, one part Mirror's Edge, and mix that with equal parts of Team Fortress. Add a dash of the modern COD xp ranking/upgrade system and you have Brink.
Basic story- There's an island, there are security forces on it, there is a rebellious group on it. The security wants everyone to stay on the island, the rebels want to search for better lands.
Honestly they could have scaled back on the story a bit, and it wouldn't have changed much. It's nice that there are in-game cut scenes. Killzone had the same elements. Honestly I think I just enjoy it because it lets the entire match take a break for a few seconds. That's my segway into how fast paced the action is, did you like it? Good.
The action is fast-paced. Moving on.
Jokes. Here's the deal. Your team is fighting another team. You both have a list of objectives. One might have to defend a door, and the other destroy the door. If the door is destroyed you might have to escort something through it, unless you let the door be destroyed, then you might have to start building up a secondary barricade. As the match progresses you find yourself either backpedaling to save your bacon as the defense gets cut more lean, or adding more fat to the fire and boaring your way through the defense. Pig jokes aside, this concept isn't new necessarily. Team Fortress and Unreal Tournament both had these, just not in the same scale that Brink pulls it off.
who am I, and what am I doing here? Well, you can pick from 4 classes. Solider, Medic, Operative, Engineer, and have 3 size modifiers (light, med, and heavy).
So if you're annoyed they left out the heavy and medic combo from TF2, simply get a heavy solider, and a light medic and ta-da.
The different sizes are a nice change to the standard plan. You can be a successful light fast-moving operative, but change your character to a heavy operative and the game takes a more sneaky swing.
Soliders use guns, and can pass out ammo to their friends. The medics heal and can revive, the engineers set up turrets, and the operatives dress up like enemy agents. A well-known and well-enjoyed format. Snipers and Pyros wouldn't fare well in the environments, so they aren't too missed.
Now for the twist. You can climb, sprint, slide, and jump to your hearts content. Why's this useful? Let's say you respawn on the other side of the map? You have dozens of ways to take. Sprint over a walkway, only to jump down two levels and slide down a staircase, or do the opposite. Whatever. The new controls allow you to escape danger quickly, or pull off a "last second save" to your objective once you start using the parkour elements of the game to your ability.
The characters? They look weird right? Quadrillions of combinations. Seriously. With each level you complete you unlock more and more apparel and swag for your guy. I've played about 10 hours so far, and have yet to see anyone who even looks remotely like me. It's a nice change to the cookie-cutter looks of the COD/MOD/BBC games out there. Your character (which you play as in the single player, the challenge modes and the online mode) becomes a personal thing. You select your favorite weapon load-outs, you select your special skills, and you choose how he looks. It's a small detail, but makes for a more dedicated play. You can instantly recognize the teammates you work well with, and the ones who are good for a health boost or some extra ammo.
One of the best reviews I've heard about this game so far "It's like if someone was willing to re-create Team Fortress, and that someone was Bethesda, and they just wanted you to have fun".
Excellent game. I'll be playing it for quite a long time. Might not be for all, but if you're looking for some online fighting that isn't deathmatch based, or if you want to get into online gaming but aren't the best at KTD ratios, come on over to Brink.
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