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Brink review: Jumping high and falling flat
In decades past, when the first-person shooter genre -- hell, when the whole of three-dimensional gaming -- was still very much in its infancy, shooters could scrape by on nothing more than their inclusion of amusing, oftentimes absurd innovations. Combat didn't have to be perfectly tight, weapons didn't have to be balanced to a T, and developers didn't need to worry about character progression to retain their audience. Some might argue that the genre's formative years produced some of the greatest shooters of all time. What they cannot argue with, however, is this: Those days are over. Brink is built on the back of some very unique ideas, the most notable of which being its fluid, parkour-inspired movement and its procedurally generated player objectives. They have promise, to be sure, and even manage to realize some of their potential -- but unfortunately, any innovation Brink brings to the table is mired in its habitually imbalanced nature, as well as its sometimes stupefyingly flawed gameplay design.%Gallery-96252%
Brink trailer launches a revolution
With Brink launching tomorrow, Bethesda has released a new trailer featuring the game's revolutionary storyline (noun, not adjective). Our review of the title will be up when the clock reaches the midnight hour in the Eastern states.
Brink's parkour video will probably make you hurl
That headline's no exaggeration -- the trailer posted after the jump compares the exploits of real-life parkour artist Daniel Ilabaca with the virtual wall-runnings of Brink. It's all shot in first person, and, as you might imagine, it's all super nauseating.
Brink's battlefield amenities explained in final SMART trailer
Brink's SMART series of instructional videos concludes with a description of the battlefield, including the on-site "command posts" where players can change loadouts and classes. The game will be available next Tuesday, May 10.
Brink trailer offers a master class on classes
Still a little foggy about the various functions and goals of Brink's four player classes: the Soldier, Engineer, Medic and Operative? Though previous trailers have shown off their strengths and weaknesses, the latest trailer posted below gives the best explanation of each role's responsibilities.
Brink trailer introduces HUD on cusp of launch
The latest Brink video gives the heads-up on the HUD, telling future combatants how to interpret all the on-screen data that will be present during games of "Team Floatress." The multiplayer-focused title will be available next week, on May 10.
Bethesda details how Brink's dedicated servers will work on PC
The official Bethesda blog has posted an in-depth FAQ detailing exactly how the PC version of the upcoming Brink will make use of dedicated servers. Interested players will be able to download the free standalone server on Steam prior to the game's release (the game itself will also pre-load on Steam, according to Bethesda), then configure and run it right through the Steam client. The setup will come with a few standard settings, but players will be able to customize their games as much as they'd like, setting up certain game modes, and customizing things like time limits, team sizes, passwords, and even the availability of certain buffs and friendly fire. In short, Splash Damage is going old-school, and allowing players (as well as third-party server providers) to run whatever games they'd like on their own. That's much more generous than the less open options some high-profile multiplayer games have offered recently, so PC gamers should appreciate it.
Brink preview: Team Floatress
Brink, the frantic first-person shooter being brought to us by Splash Damage, has so much going on that at first I struggled to stay alive. During my hour-long playthrough I had a game developer over my shoulder helping me along the way and, by the end, I almost couldn't leave. For anyone who has played Team Fortress 2, Brink will feel very familiar. This isn't surprising as Paul Wedgwood -- the CEO of Splash Damage and the game's director -- ran a Team Fortress clan for years. Other Splash Damage games such as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars have followed the same class-based combat of Team Fortress. Brink is set up much in the same manner with four classes: a soldier, medic, engineer and operative. But Brink takes that formula a step further than TF2. And then 10 more.%Gallery-121456%
Bethesda bumps Brink up a week, now coming May 10
You probably don't need us to tell you how rare it is for a video game release to be moved one week earlier than its original target, as opposed to, you know, twenty weeks later. Still, that's the case with Splash Damage's upcoming, multiplayer-centric shooter Brink -- its May 17 release date in North America and May 20 release date in Europe have been bumped up seven days, to May 10 and May 13, respectively. Bethesda's Pete Hines explained, "Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn't see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready." Couldn't think of a reason, huh? How about this tattoo we got last weekend, which reads "On The Brink: 5/17/11," and then there's a picture of one of the dudes from Brink? That seems like a pretty damn good reason. Oh, also, the new date deftly avoids competition with LA Noire -- a policy which we've elected to nickname "The Alan Wake Maneuver."
Brink's latest trailer is hacking your mainframe
You don't have to be Zero Cool to hack mainframes -- at least not in Splash Damage's Brink. The latest trailer shows one such player doing just that, sans Angelina Jolie.
Brink gets classy in latest gameplay clip
Rather than donning a tux and renting a limo, Brink's latest trailer actually just shows off the game's class-based multiplayer. For lessons in the subtle differences between a medic and a soldier, head past the break.
Board the 'Ark' at PAX East for an early demo of Brink
Listen up, PAX East attendees -- provided you're not already on some form of transit to Boston that's preventing you from accessing the internet. Splash Damage and Bethesda are hosting a demo event for their upcoming shooter Brink this Friday at a fairly unique location: At a cruise terminal on the Boston waterfront. Guests who attend the party at "The Ark," will find themselves awash with refreshments, goodie bags, and opportunities to participate in 8 vs. 8 multiplayer matches. You'll have to catch a shuttle running from the convention center to the event from 8 - 11 p.m. ET if you want to attend. Sure, that sounds like kind of a hassle, but considering that folks aboard the Ark are also guaranteed safety once the raging floods consume the Earth, we think it's worth it. Wait, it's not that kind of Ark? Well, what's the point, then?
Brink preview: Return to Enemy Territory
Players of Splash Damage's Brink will probably notice its similarities to the company's previous Enemy Territory titles -- while the game is set in an all new universe pitting Security and Resistance forces against each other, the gameplay is both familiar and fresh, combining class-based warfare and team objective gameplay with a helpful interface. But the relationship might be closer than you think. "I'll be honest," said Richard Ham, creative director at Splash Damage to Joystiq during a recent press event in Los Angeles. "Brink is Enemy Territory 3. Let's not mince words here." Well, okay then. %Gallery-117557%
Latest Brink dev diary has a few exaggerated features
The latest dev diary for Brink focuses on the game's innovative art design, largely conceived by designer Olivier Leonardi, who has a total artist name. What's so innovative about it? Two things, mostly: there's lots and lots of color, and also, everyone's arms are super long.
Brink's latest dev diary shatters genres
The first dev diaries for Brink explained game mechanics , but the latest one has Splash Damage engaging a more amorphous subject: the game's inability to be defined by genres. It may also be about the studio's choice to make XP persistent between single and multiplayer. Maybe.
Brink's second dev diary explains the S.M.A.R.T. system
The latest Brink dev diary shows us the game's "Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain" system -- or "S.M.A.R.T." for short -- and how it allows players to deftly traverse environments while firing bullets at enemies. This is the system that allows players to practice their totally sweet parkour moves while murdering fools. Perhaps those smooth moves will inspire you to get some freestyle walking in as well -- in real life? Good thing, then, that Brink is sponsoring "champion freerunner" Daniel Ilabaca on a European parkour tour. The tour kicked off today in London and will hit a handful of major EU cities before ending in Paris on September 2. We might also suggest you buy lots of padding and, depending on your level of fitness, a membership to the local gym before trying that "freerunning" yourself.
Brink pre-order bonuses include Doom and Fallout equipment
Brink developer Splash Damage's Quakecon 2010 panel played host to a few neat announcements about its FPSRPG, the highlight of which being the reveal of the game's cameo-tastic pre-order bonuses. Folks who reserve the game through GameStop will unlock the Doom pack, giving their Brink characters access to armor, guns, hats and a tattoo based on id's seminal FPS franchise. Those who pre-order the game from Best Buy will receive a similar pack based on Fallout 3. Of course, if you're looking for more unique duds for your Brink avatar, several online retailers will offer "Psycho" and "Spec Ops" equipment, which will make your character resemble a psycho and special operative, respectively. Neither of those sound quite as enticing as "Space Demon Fighter" or "Nuclear Wasteland Savior," but we suppose they'll do.
Brink's first dev diary delves into the plot
You may have gotten the impression that Spash Damage's agile FPS, Brink, is all about lanky mercenaries shooting each other in the face. But did you know that the plot actually explores concepts of diminishing resources and environmentalism? You will after you've taken a look at the first developer diary, embedded after the break.
Preview: Brink
In Brink, Splash Damage has created a world of two perpetually warring sides: the Security and the Resistance. Each is fighting for its own slice of a very small pie called the Ark, a floating city that remains the last bit of "land" on a flooded Earth. It was built to safely support a few thousand, but its ranks have swelled into the tens of thousands -- overpopulation and the two warring sides naturally brought about a conflict. Each side has four different classes. There's the Medic, the Engineer, the Soldier and the Operative. The Medic doles out health and revives downed teammates, the Operative can disguise himself as a person on the enemy team, the Soldier can replenish his teammates' ammo, while the Engineer is tasked with maintaining the hardware. Every in-game action nets you experience points, which can then be used to purchase specific abilities (things like damage buffs, extra ammunition, etc.) and customize weapon loadouts -- quests are accessed through an in-game radial menu, which allows players to choose from a set of ongoing objectives on the fly. %Gallery-64854%
New Brink screenshots arrive (thanks, Eyjafjallajokull!)
The recent eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull (pronounced as ... uh ... never mind) may have prevented Splash Damage from properly showing off its latest game at a Bethesda press event, but at least the internet remained functional. We've got some new screenshots of Brink in our gallery below -- just think of it as a collection of "I'm sorry I couldn't be there" cards. Brink, which promises to embed player customization, first-person shootering and elements of parkour into a futuristic world, is due on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC this fall. %Gallery-92196%
