Brink Review




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Developer: Splash Damage Publisher: Bethesda
Release Date: May 10, 2011 Available On: PC, PS3 and Xbox 360

I am a huge fan of Bethesda and all of their games. Naturally, when I first heard of Brink nearly a year ago I was intrigued. As additional information on the game was released, I became more and more interested in the new ideas that were being brought to the table. I have also heard a decent amount of feedback on the game’s developer Splash Damage. Release day finally came. What happened to this promising title?

I’m very bothered by games where the single player campaign is the exact same as the multiplayer offering. Repetitive objective-based gameplay that is the same in each and every mission can lead to a very bored gamer. Unfortunately, this is the style that Brink brings to the table. While you can pick what side of the war of the Ark you want to fight on, you’ll find that you are playing the same missions with slightly different environments and very monotonous objectives. Hack a door, escort (or take down) a hostage, run a briefcase to a goal without getting killed. All of the objectives are just very run of the mill and do not add much to the replay value.

On a positive note, the boring and painstakingly linear shoot ‘em up gameplay has a nice distraction in the way of complete customization of your character. Given the nature of Bethesda’s standard fare, character customization is not in the least surprising, and in fact, is part of Brink’s core gameplay. After playing through a decent sized chunk of the campaign, I was able to unlock enough stuff to get a really cool-looking character.

Also central to the mechanics of the game is the parkour style of movement when navigating the varied terrains. This has been done before in games like Mirror’s Edge and is honestly a great idea. However, a great idea is only as good as the execution. Taking advantage of the parkour engine feels more like a chore than a seamless integration into the chaotic gameplay.

There are three body types: Light, Medium and Heavy. Each body type has different abilities in terms of parkour and weapon use. One thing I have a problem understanding is why there isn’t much of a difference between them when it comes to overall speed and ease of movement. Of course, Light characters have the most maneuverability and low health, whereas Heavy players are slower and have a massive amount of health and can carry bigger guns. This seems balanced, but when you have 3 Lights vs. 3 Heavy guys, well, you can imagine the brutal outcome.

Perhaps the biggest original draw for Brink was the super deep multiplayer that was promised. As with most of the other great advertised things in this game, the multiplayer is a letdown. The “missions” you complete are little more than the single player missions with other people. Honestly, it is better than the single player because the AI in this game is absolutely horrendous. It’s nice having an enemy chase you around a window rather than simply stare at you through it. While it is slightly more fun to play with people, there is pretty much an insurmountable amount of lag when playing a public match. When the lag dies down, you will notice people like to abuse the slide technique and kill you without thinking twice. Whether online or offline, however, it takes more than a clip of ammo to drop an enemy and that is infuriating.

The visuals are the most disappointing thing about Brink. At times, even when in full HD, I felt like I was looking at a 10 year old movie on a VHS. Think about watching a streaming movie on a very unstable Internet connection; that’s what happens when playing Brink. Somehow when things get hectic the graphics quality just degrades dramatically and then slowly improves once the gun fight calms down. For a modern video game trying to make its own way in a competitive first person shooter environment, this is just not acceptable.

The way the game looks is nowhere near as annoying as the way it sounds. Multiple recycled audio bits during a match can really wear on your nerves. For instance, if I hear “five minutes left brothers!” one more time in that way too dramatized Scottish voice, I will probably shoot my speakers. Explosions and gunfire do not sound like they would in real life and do not really make you feel like you are in a crazy battle zone.

Brink is one of the most disappointing games that I have played in a while. I was looking forward to this game and it let me down so much that I was literally shaking my head at times. I will admit that once I started unlocking more weapons and abilities I began to actually have fun with the subpar gameplay, even though that feeling was fleeting. I like to get the full experience before I write my game reviews, and I feel like I got that within the first hour of gameplay. Some people do seem to like the game, so I would borrow it from a friend or rent the game to see what you think, but I will warn you that the replay value will not be high unless you love everything about this game. I like to tell people that Bethesda has never released a bad game, but I think with Brink, I’m not able to truthfully say that anymore.

Graphics: 7
Sound: 6.5
Gameplay: 7
Creativity: 7.5
Replay Value/Game Length: 5
Final: 6.3 out of 10
Written by Evan Wilson Write a User Review

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