It wasn’t much more than a year ago when I first saw Brink. I got to see a demo at E3 2010 where I customized a character, shot some bad guys, and spilled my drink all over the carpet in Bethesda’s booth. Not one of my finest moments and one that I would rather forget. I did not, however, forget about Brink.
Brink is a post-apocalyptic team based shooter most often compared to Team Fortress 2. For some unknown reason the oceans are rising and humanity’s hope lies in the Ark, a self-sufficient floating floating shelter. With humanity on the… Brink, the inhabitants of the Ark do what comes naturally: grab some firearms and start shooting each other. The two factions duking it out are “Security” and “Resistance”, which is at least more creative than Red vs Blue.
But Brink isn’t really about why you are killing each other, but how you go about it. Players can choose to play Brink by themselves, cooperatively, or against other players. The game will be the same team-based experience no matter what you pick, with bots filling in the holes for absent players. Each side will have multiple context sensitive objectives that will help them work towards their overarching goal of the match. You can change your objectives and even your class on the fly to make sure you are bringing the best tools to a given job.
Brink is a complex and fast paced shooter. It’s no surprise then that your character has the ability to quickly navigate each level. The SMART system gives you a single context-sensitive action button that will allow you to jump, slide, or duck under various obstacles in your path. No longer will you be stopped by an impenetrable waist-high wall in your path!
One other notable feature of Brink is the deep customization system. The longer you progress in Brink the more customization options you will unlock. You might dawn a full tactical suit as a member of Security or pull together an outfit made of car scraps while fighting for the Resistance. Brink’s unique art direction is one of the game’s strongest features and character customization really shows this off. Each character will be unique and and the same time quickly identifiable as a member of their given faction.
I don’t know if Brink will be able to carve out an audience for the long run, but if nothing else it will be something to help shooter addicts get through the summer. The vibrant art style might even steal a few fans who are sick of the endless browns and grays that make up the majority of AAA shooters.
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