Brink Hands-On Preview
Two Factions Enter, One Faction Leaves
Over the past several years, there has been no shortage of similar looking first-person shooters (FPS) vying for the attention of shooter fans. With many of these titles being nearly indistinguishable from each other, having a unique hook is one of the few ways for new shooters to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Along with being unique, a shooter’s hook also needs to either improve gameplay or be entertaining for it to be beneficial to the upcoming game. Thankfully, during my brief hands-on time with Splash Damage’s impending FPS Brink, its hooks seemed to succeed on both counts.
To enlighten any of the unaware about the story behind the game, Brink is set in the not-too-distant future aboard a floating city known as The Ark. When it was originally built, The Ark was meant to support around 5,000 people. Now that the climate of the planet has drastically changed and the oceans have risen, this floating city serves as one of the planet’s few refuges, housing upwards of 50,000 residents. This overpopulation has led to an ongoing conflict, with two factions constantly fighting to gain control over The Ark.
This is where players come in, choosing to play as a character from either the Security or Resistance faction. Upon choosing a side, players are able to customize seemingly every aspect of their character. While many games have some sort of character creation, the options in Brink’s seemed deeper and more robust than most. There were a ton of different options for changing everything about these characters’ appearances, ranging from the color and style of their clothes to their facial hair. These customization options even allow you to choose what you’d like your character to sound like.
Besides having different looks, these two factions will also have their own single-player campaigns to play through. However, this is where Brink shows off its biggest hook. The game is single-player, cooperative, and multiplayer at all times. You can be playing through the single-player portion of the game and have a friend join in at any time. In the same fashion, if you have a group of friends who want to play multiplayer, they can all just jump in and begin to play. Best of all, you’ll still gain experience from killing enemies and completing objectives no matter which way you’re playing.
Since you will be able to fluidly switch between these different types of games, you’ll also be using the same created character through the entirety of the game. The experience you earn can be used to purchase more customization options for your character as well as unlock new missions and abilities. Weapons can also be upgraded using your accumulated experience points, getting boosts to damage, accuracy, range, and stability as well as new ammunition types and components.
After messing with the character and weapon customization, I was able to begin playing one of the game’s introductory missions. Pressing up on the D-pad brought up my current objective, which involved hacking a computer. However, since I began the mission with a soldier character, I had to seek out a command post. Command posts are located throughout the environment and allow players to switch their character’s class, swapping quickly between soldier, engineer, medic, or operative. Each of these classes has their own abilities, which can be necessary for completing some objectives as well as simply changing the way you’re playing.
Once I had completed this hacking objective, I decided to run around and test the game’s other interesting hook. Of course, I’m speaking of what the developers’ referred to as SMART (smooth movement across random terrain) controls. These SMART controls work by having the player hold down the sprint button and the game figuring the best way for your character to proceed. For instance, sprinting towards an overhead bridge will cause your character to leap upward, grab the ledge, and climb over the railing. During my brief play session, the SMART controls worked remarkably well, not once misinterpreting my intentions or failing to fulfill them.
While I enjoyed the time I spent playing Brink, I do still have a couple lingering concerns about the game. One is mission variety. Many of the objectives given during my demo seemed similar. They weren’t all exactly the same, however, most involved finding something and holding down a button for a certain amount of time. My other main concern is how the game will be balanced. With the ability to fluidly switch between single-player, co-op, and multiplayer at any time, how will the game determine difficulty? If the game doesn’t dynamically balance itself based on the number of human characters playing, Brink could wind up being far too easy or difficult at times. Even so, I can’t wait to get my hands on a larger portion of this game to both check into these concerns, and to simply just play more of the game. The demo was quite fun and if these concerns I have wind up being unfounded, Brink could be a very special game once it gets released.
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