This will be the first ever 2 part article that I have written and the decision comes after realizing how much content that I need to cover to give you my readers an accurate scope of the game I am going to be talking about in it.
Brink launched in May 2011 with a significant amount of hype surrounding it although at street level it was still a largely unknown game. This is a nasty trait associated with new franchises and is sad that many new games get swept under the carpet because gamers dont broaden their horizons once in a while
The game was released and faced heavy criticism for various things ranging from server lag to unpolished graphical assets in some areas of the game. It was praised for its ambition and ideas but in the end review scores and early impressions cast it into the discount bin pre maturely. I have always held onto my copy knowing that it was a fabulous game that just needed some time and patience to learn its systems and unique style of gameplay. In an industry where FPS games need to be pick up and play within the first 10 seconds and the same player needs to well on his way to a positive K/D ration in order to keep them entertained…well Brink wasnt most people’s game.
The biggest hurdle that needed overcoming was a shift from simple Team Deathmatch style gameplay to true blue team oriented and a class based über objective oriented FPS. Thats a mouthful but the short and sweet of it is that you needed to embrace a game that relied on teamwork ( more than any game I have ever encountered including BF3) and had a learning curve that was off the charts! Now you can see why it got discarded by the time summer 2011 rolled around.
In part 1 of my Brink coverage I will be taking you on an introduction to the world of Brink and how to play the game at a basic level. My hope is that it will help you ( and me by writing it) understand some unique elements to this wonderful shooter and possibly send you running to the nearest game store discount bin to scoop up a copy ( I’m so glad I kept mine)
Lets start with the basics…
Story: Brink takes place in a post apocalyptic earth where the worlds oceans have risen up and engulfed humanity without prejudice. During the course of all this humanity began to flock to a once Utopian city called the “Ark”. The Ark was never meant to house the bulk of an entire civilization and as a result the city soon began to bust at the seams. By adding and adding to the once beautiful city as new refugees came to live it soon fell to squalor and eventually the gargantuan city was divided into two distinct zones housing the Ark Security,the Arks government/police force and the Resistance,those who felt that the Ark was no longer a suitable home and wanted to seize control of it to explore the possibility of life outside the Ark.
It is during these troubles times that your story in the world of Brink begins.
It’s all about your Character: The first thing you will be asked to do once you start Brink is to create a unique looking persona in the world of Brink. This is where the game begins to incorporate its RPG elements in the form of a leveling system and character customizations. You will be able to choose from a variety of pre set options for faces, body types, clothing and even to the point of choosing what colors your clothing are. As the game progresses you will unlock more and more options for character customization that will serve to keep you bonded to your growth. Further toi the above you will be able to choose whether you are siding with the resistance or the Ark Security . This is a nice touch that gives you a stake in the story to come.
Gear up: After you have finished creating the look of your character its time to head over to the weapon customization screens. Here you will select from a list of unlocked guns and attachments. You are able to further customize your weapons by completing challenges in the game menu. These challenges will give you access to such things as silencers, scopes, extended magazines and barrels for your prefered gun. As well as customizing your weapon loadouts you will be able to choose various skills and ” perks’ for your character based on his level and how many points you have to spend on your abilities. You get more points as you go up in levels but you still want to give som thought as to what you are going to do with them instead of randomly buying anything you see. You are PURCHASING these skills not unlocking them like other games. You could be a tremendously high level but fail to have a skill that a lower level player has because you didn’t purchase it during your progression.
All of this customization serves to make you more attached to you’re in game character while you play and for the most part it does just that. Once you get into the game you will not be looking at your character at all because it is a first person shooter but rest assured if you look bad ass then your allies and enemies will see just how much so when you’re in a match. Not only that but the game will insert you into the beginning and ending cut scenes of each mission, usually as a background character much like an extra in a movie so there is those times that you can feel special. It never gets old for me to see my customized character pop up in a story cust-scene. It’s a nice touch because otherwise your character really doesn’t get seen by you once you finish customizing him.
Spending time in these stages of Brink is well spent. The game menus even has a series of videos that you can watch on how to effectively play the game in the various classes you can choose from.
Class based multi player: Brink doesn’t stray to far from the mark on having a tuned class based gameplay system. The 4 classes you can choose from are Engineer, Soldier, Operative, and Medic. These classes are all equipped the same as far as your weapons that you chose in the beginning part of the game but your special abilities is what sets each class apart from each other. Each class will take on a different physical look based around your chosen colors and equipment but for the most part it is your special abilities that set each one a part from each other.
Choosing a class at the beginning of each ,match is not a final verdict and you can constantly flip out your class for another one at the various command posts you and your team will occupy once the game gets underway. In fact the game will HEAVILY recommend you play as a certain class in order to achieve victory conditions on each map but that is something that I will be covering in the next part of our article.
Like I said this game has tremendous depth and now that we have covered off the background and the ” getting started” section of the game we can dive right into the gameplay and the game modes in our next article.
Stay tuned for part 2 of “Back from the Brink”
Dwayne”EVO Knight” Morash
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