Brink

 The plusses in this game:

- advanced character customization

- Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain

The minuses in this game:

- only one multiplayer mode

- only 8 maps

- poor A.I.

Final Rate: 7 / 10

System requirements:

Fully functional Xbox 360

Review:

In the long line of futuristic post-apocalyptic games that Bethesda brought over in the last couple of years, Brink is their newest addition and it promises some new and unique gameplay features that will leave you raising your eyebrows every now and then.

Hardcore shooter fans will definitely get a dose of adrenaline and uncalled for violence that only translates into an overwhelming will to survive (and, perhaps, to get the highest score, in multiplayer mode).

Story:

Just as you start off the game you are presented with a choice (classic red pill vs blue pill), which is either to save or escape the ark. This is to be interpreted as choosing to play either with the Security forces that protect The Ark or the Resistance (so called freedom fighters).

Basically, there’s no good or bad side and the only difference between the two is their global agenda and what they’re willing to do in order to survive. While The Ark has proven to be an effective way to avoid destruction by means of a global cataclysm, the survivors are now torn apart by their differences and lack of supplies.

What first started off as a haven for all those that tried to avoid the rising tides of global waters, ended up in becoming a home for future generations.

With moral decisions that span across every cinematic scene, the definition of right and wrong is slowly replaced by blindly completing objectives that seem to be motivated only by the choice made when you started off.

As the story plays out, both the Resistance and the Security forces are made up of simple people that are left holding the gun and fighting for an idea that their leaders blindly (even fanatically at times) believe in.

Although soldiers from both sides have their doubts about their objectives and the path they take, they’re still left with an obligation to their cause (questioning orders is not an optional).

 

Gameplay:

With eight campaign maps you can scroll through even as you start the game, each of them has its own set of objectives that are more or less asymmetrical, based on the team you’re in. While in one campaign you have to defend an objective, in the other one you have to capture it.

The game excels in giving you tons of ways to go for experience points and boosting up your level, which ultimately leads to unlocking new weapons, appearances, voices and even special abilities that are unique for each class.

This being said, you should be aware that there are four types of troopers: Soldier, Engineer, Medic and Security Operative. It goes without saying that the secret to a successful mission is team work and that you can’t pull it off without having all the classes working together in complete synergy.

Admittedly, it can become a bit frustrating if you’re a medic standing near a door that needs to be blown up and all your team mates are somewhere far behind fending off the capture of a control point. It serves you right! What are you doing behind enemy lines as a medic when you’re supposed to be patching up and health boosting your team?

This goes to prove that although all classes can carry a weapon and shoot bullets at the enemy, the objectives also need to be thought out before blindly rampaging through the opponents. This is best experienced in multiplayer mode when you’ll have to leave all personal agendas aside and choose a class that is best suited to the team (there’s no “I” in team work).

The Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain (aka. SMART) system is one of Bethesda’s aces and it brings a really nifty concept to the gameplay experience. Not only that you can slide under or jump over obstacles in single player mode, but even in multiplayer mode you can perform the same acrobatics.

Sliding can definitely prove beneficial when taking enemy fire (especially in multiplayer mode), but it also backfires if you’ve ran into a wall you just can’t jump over. The downside is that you can never be sure as to what obstacles you can or can’t interact with and you’re left with making live and death decisions on-the-fly, hoping for the best out of a worst case scenario.

Often I’ve found myself jumping over small ledges and gaps (effortlessly, might I add), but when it came down to taking a leap of faith and jumping from one railway to another, needless to say that I failed miserably and plunged right into enemy territory (I won’t do any sneaking up any time soon).

Still, depending on the class and body type (medium, heavy and light) you can pull off some interesting wall runs and crate-to-crate leaps that will surprise the enemy and give you a strategic advantage (until you take one right in the kisser).

The only downside to this is that the level design for each map is a bit haywire and you often find yourself wandering tight corridors or other narrow spaces that just won’t give you enough room to experiment.

Each mission (again, all eight of them) can be played in both single player and multiplayer mode, but the A.I, as well intended as it may be, doesn’t seem to bring the right challenge for a veteran FPS gamer. I distinctly remember standing face to face with three bots and none of them seemed to be interested in taking me down. I had to fire a couple of rounds at them in order to get their attention and focus on me.

The weapons are not half bad, although I was expecting something a little more futuristic. From SMG’s to all-out assault rifles and grenades (that seem to have only a two feet radius and no particular limb-tearing effects), everything can be customized by adding scopes, extra mags and so forth.

It may take a while to get used to firing them and compensate for the recoil, but thank God for the special abilities that you can unlock and use later on. Running and reloading or shooting while you’re lying on the ground (how’s that for dramatic effect?) can spice up the game and give it an extra kick in the rear as your character becomes more and more killing-efficient.

 

Audio and Video:

Voice acting is definitely dramatic and it looks like everyone has some serious life-altering decisions to make even if it’s a simple “Thanks for the ammo!”. Of course, new dialogues and comments can be unlocked as you progress through the game (that you can use on your character), but cinematic scenes hammer down with moral convictions/dilemmas that stress out the gravity of the situation.

Honestly, I found it hard to stay focused on the dialogues because of what appears to be a really funny Jamaican accent that some of the characters have (mostly the Security forces). I kept hoping for one of them to drop a “we be jammin’ man” bomb so that I would have a good excuse for laughing instead of quietly grinning.

Character design on the other hand is pretty good and with the wide range of customizations that you can add (face expression, outfits, tattoos etc.) it’s something that gives you that extra feel of uniqueness and personal touch. You can even go crazy and strap on a pair of fluorescent army pants and a grenade vest. That will certainly get you noticed (and shot for bad fashionable choice)!

The in-game world on the other hand is filled with textures that sometimes blur out a couple of details, but apart from that it’s safe to say that it achieves a smooth gameplay. Frame rate is steady even in the fiercest battles where grenades blow up around you like in a Michael Bay movie and there are no obvious texture glitches or weird bugs.

Multiplayer:

The Freeplay mode is surely the way to go if you’re interested in some real challenge. All you have to do is pick out a map (or leave it to random chance) and you’re well on your way for some real action. Still, if you’re unfortunate enough to spawn on a server that has more bots than real opponent, it’s like playing the game in single player mode all over again.

Just like any other team based FPS multiplayer game, the trick is to work together and cover your backs or else you’re a recipe destined to fail.

There are no other game modes available and multiplayer mode only brings back the single player campaign missions with the twist that now you can play them with or against your friends. I don’t mind having an extra hand every now and then, but the lack of map diversity is not particularly appealing nor is it something that I would want to get back to very often.

Conclusion:

Brink is a nice reinterpretation of the team-based gameplay mode and it has its strong suits in terms of character customization, skills and background story. With a presentation that is meant to focus your attention more on the bigger picture (read: plot) rather than providing a long-lasting team gameplay experience, Brink is a bit limited in terms of multiplayer replay value and a lot more in terms of single player gameplay.

The Freeplay mode is nothing than a co-op extension (if you face-off bots) and no derivation of classic PvP modes (such as Domination, Capture the Flag etc.) is made available, piling up to an overall experience that will leave you wanting for richer multiplayer mode.

 
by -Tricker