Brink First Impressions -- We Can Talk Now

When Bethesda Softworks today announced that its acclaimed first-person shooter, Brink , is now available in retail stores across North America and in Europe on May 13th, it actually meant more than just being able to go out and purchase your own personal copy of the game -- it meant that we can finally talk to you about Brink.

As games journalists we are used to being tied down by product embargo -- that is when a publisher sends us the game but notes that there is a publicity embargo attached that does not expire until a certain date. We have the game, we can play the game, but we cannot talk about it or write about it. That is usually easy to deal with, but when they send you a game that you play and then you want to talk about and write about, it can be an especially egregious burden to be under. Brink is such a game.

A Little Background

We first learned about Brink at last year's E3, and had our first taste of it at this year's PAX East -- so it was not as if we did not know what it was, right? We even interviewed the game's Art Director , who it turned out was a really great and brilliant guy. He told us we were going to like the game -- but hey, they all say that, and just because they say it doesn't mean it is true.

The thing is, we like the game. We really like the game. And not for the reasons you are probably thinking.

Brink was developed at Splash Damage, and it was taken through a development process that placed a very high emphasis upon the game world, which as most gamers are aware is not always the case. This was a very important decision for Brink, because the game world is as important to the story as the characters in it, being as it is a post-apocalyptic survivor story in which the have's and the have-not's oppose each other over what is at once an issue in crisis: the future of both groups.

In the past decade we have seen a fair number of post-apocalyptic survival games. So many in fact that when Brink was first announced I heard a lot of my colleagues groaning and uttering snide remarks about one-trick ponies and creativity coming from under rocks. They were, of course, making reference to Bethesda's most recent hit game series, Fallout. Let us make something clear from the start: Brink is most assuredly NOT a repackaged Fallout game!

It Came in the Mail

On an otherwise ordinary Monday, a package made its way to my desk, dropped there for me to open. From the outside there was no way of knowing what was on the inside, but that is the magic of packages, and we would not want it any other way, as if we knew what was inside where would the surprise be?

Using my reproduction miniature Klingon Blade of Honor to open the package -- as I always do -- I reached in and felt the hard square feeling that says "game!" inside. This must have shown on my face.

"Is it a game Leroy?" the newest intern asked.

"Yes it's a game! And don't call me Leroy!" I snarled.

The intern rushed away in tears, saying something about how the other Interns told her I liked to be called Leroy... A likely story. And I withdrew the contents from the package, surprised to find myself holding a copy of Brink for the 360.

No, I wasn't surprised that it was for the 360! We ask for games on that platform because we have more of those in the office than we do PS3's and Wii's -- I was surprised that it was Brink. You see, I had forgotten that in a little over a week that game would release.

The game was wrapped in a piece of paper that told me this was my copy of Brink -- right -- and it would release on May 10th -- I already knew that -- and oh yes, it was under embargo until May 10th. Gar!

With nothing pressing on my plate, I rolled over to the 360 and popped it in, and hit the start button. The music that began to play was almost hypnotic, and I was told that I would receive an extra 1000 XP if I sat through an orientation video -- hey, I like an extra 1000 XP just like the next guy, so sit I did.

When it came time to make my first character I made the meanest, ugliest, nasty bad-guy-you-don't-want-to-meet-in-an-alley-after-dark that I could, because why? Just because, that's why!

I tossed a coin and it said I was going to play as the Resistance -- cool -- and then I started the first mission, appropriately called "Day 1: Getting Answers" that had me performing several tasks -- I needed to stop the Operative, defend the door, and defend the Lift Generator. I could do that, I muttered, and hit play.

On the Brink

As the first mission began I assumed that, like most games, there would be a rail you followed, going from step 1 to step 2 and so on to complete the mission. Man was that wrong. The world is dynamically spawned and you can complete each mission pretty much any way you can -- and there are a lot of ways to use the time ticking off that timer before you win -- or lose.

Game play in Brink is as intense -- or as relaxed -- as you want it to be. Go in with the team as part of it and have yourself a toe-to-toe gunfight with Security, or hold back in the read manning a machine gun nest, maintaining access control over the agent, who you have incapacitated right below your nest so you can keep a close eye on them while the timer runs out.

It is one game when you are playing alone, and a completely different game when you are playing with mates -- or with strangers -- as you will quickly learn.

The world of Brink is one of extremes, with each person playing their designated role so that the group will survive, and this more than anything else is brought home to you when one of your comrades hands you his last pack of ammo because you are out. It is not about survival of the individual anymore, it is about survival of the group.

In the corner of the screen are one or more time counters -- one for the game mission, and one for each of the objectives -- the timer is life and when it expires, something good -- or something bad -- will happen.

A Lot of Character

Brink uses a leveling system for abilities -- but you would expect that -- and also for kit. Level up, you get more points to spend on abilities and special items, and you have more options for customizing your character. In my case that meant changing his uniform after winning the first mission to a more military one, though the Resistance is not really a military or para-military outfit.

There is not a lot of depth in the character design process -- in fact other than superficial appearance differences, the main distinction for your character is their body type -- a thinner more flexible character is going to be much better at Parkour-like play, while a heavier muscle-bound character is going to be much better at shooting heavier machine guns.

Which body type you go with will also dictate the jobs you choose -- though in theory any body type can do any job. On the missions you can use the Command Posts found in the area to change jobs -- from Soldier to Operative, Medic to Engineer -- and you can change your weapons as well. It us not unusual to find yourself changing jobs in mid-mission when the goals require it, and this is even more frequent when you have other human players dropping in and out.

First Impressions

After just a week of casual play -- and on a few of those days not so casual play -- we discovered that the AI in the game is not as stupid or as easy as it usually is in this sort of game. Sure, there are the odd enemy characters that walk past you allowing you to shoot them in the back, you have to expect that, but for the most part the enemy AI played well together and approached their role with solid strategies. If they can get your agent into a choke point, they will, and then they will hold that choke point to let the timer run out, causing you to lose.

The enemy may not be all that interested in you after you are down and wounded, but they are pretty good at making you down and wounded, which means that Brink offers players a challenging single-player game, and that is almost amazing when you consider that it was not designed primarily to BE a single-player game, but rather a co-op and PvP multi-player title whose bells and whistles were all weighted in that direction.

The constant radio chatter from Splinter -- err.. from your commander -- combined with the radio chatter from your NPC team mates means you have a pretty good idea of the tactical situation at any time in the game. Is the enemy trying to take a Command Post? You know that because you are told -- and how much time is left? You don't have to look at the timer, you only need to listen to the updates on your comlink.

Our first impressions of Brink are that it is a solid and well built shooter with all sorts of extra elements built in that blur the line into RTS, Action-Adventure, and RPG. The story line is rich enough so that you do not have to imagine too much, though is not what you would call deep and involved in the sense that there really is no character development outside of the battles. It is easy to imagine what it means to be part of one faction or the other thanks to the cut scenes that you are treated to at the start and end of each mission -- and while it would have been nice if there had been more to the game, like activities that take place outside of battle, we get why there was not. Brink is a fighting game, and the point is to get into the action as fast as possible.

Gamers who enjoy playing games online, with other people -- either cooperatively or versus -- will get a lot more out of this title than gamers who only play the single-player side of a game and then put it away. Of that there is no question -- but the ease at which you can drop into games makes this one a very good candidate for gamers who are just exploring the world of online gaming.

The story -- and there is one -- basically covers the reason why you are fighting -- the world is covered by water, and the people who are in control of The Ark want the status-quo maintained -- they have no interest in finding land or a place for the population to grow -- outside of The Ark -- because The Ark is where their personal power base rests. As the Resistance finding land, and all that it can mean for you, is a matter of survival and improving your lot in life. Naturally if you play as the Resistance you will do whatever it takes to make that happen, and the story in Brink is about that. If you play as Security, your goal is the opposite, to stop the Resistance and maintain the present order that rules the city.

We suspect that Brink will get a mixed reception -- but for reasons that are not entirely the games fault. A lot of players are going to pick this title up expecting it to be as involved and complex as the Fallout games simply because it is also a Bethesda game. And they are going to be disappointed. Other gamers will pick it up because they understand that it is a no-frills battle game, and they will be happy. Hopefully there is also a middle-ground where casual gamers can also find a fun and entertaining play here... But we suspect not.

Available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Games for Windows, Brink is sure to be one of this Summer's big games. All that you need to do is pick a side.

For more background on the game, read the Gaming Update Brink Preview from PAX East.