Brink: Hands On Impressions

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When I first received the invite to check out Brink I was excited. Now I wasn’t excited because I already made up my mind about the game, it was the contrary. I was excited to be able to play the game and get sold on it. I’m a skeptical person, I can’t help it.

Our first task was to create a character. This process is eerily familiar to setting up your starting character in an MMORPG. The tools at your disposal are more than enough to create a character unlike any other you will come across. Be careful though, some things you do will be permanent. Once you apply a tattoo there is no removing it. That’s right, no laser removal for the evidence of your last bad decision. Another permanent placement is your body type, which you have 3 options for. Skinny guys run faster and jump higher, while the heavier guys move slower but are stronger. The amount of personalization that can go into your character really blew me away. Everything you choose ends up affecting the way your character is seen and maneuvers through the environment. Of note though, I didn’t notice a way to create a female character and didn’t think to ask until it was too late.

In order for Brink to blur the line between single and multiplayer, every game played will be 8 vs 8. Doing this allowed Splash Damage to give us a seamless drop in/drop out experience. Say I see Godfree playing, I can jump into his game on either side. Brink aims to bring an experience that makes even the most frantic players seem organized and playing like part of a team. You are awarded far more points for doing your job of the class chosen, than actually getting kills. There is so much emphasis on operating as a team that kill death ratios are thrown out the window. Brink does a very good job keeping you on task with the “objective wheel,” no matter your skill level. The only thing stopping you from doing your job is the other team. The points you earn from a match will allow you to buy attachments and special abilities, which can be unlocked by completing challenges and ranking up.

I came into the event a skeptic and left optimistic. Splash Damage is making sure to craft an excellent game with tons of customization. With the playability of a level doubled due to the opposing sides having different stories and goals, my concern still lays in the amount of levels that will be available. Still, I am looking forward to the release of Brink come this May 20^th. It might just be the answer to my growing aversion of the same old first-person shooters that seem to be continuously released.

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