Brink (video game)

"BRINK" redirects here. For other uses, see Brink.

Brink
Box art
Developer(s)	Splash Damage
Publisher(s)	Bethesda Softworks
Designer(s)	Paul Wedgwood (game director) Neil Alphonso (level design)
Engine	id Tech 4 (modified)
Version	1.0.23692.48133
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows PlayStation 3 Xbox 360
Release date(s)	NA May 10, 2011 AUS May 12, 2011 EU May 13, 2011 JP June 16, 2011
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T PEGI: 16+ USK: 16
Media/distribution	Optical disc, download
System requirements Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz processor or equivalent Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8800GS / ATI Radeon HD 2900 Pro or equivalent OS: Windows XP (SP3)/ Vista / Windows 7 Space: 8 GB hard disk space PS3 version requires Firmware 3.60

Brink (stylised as BRINK) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Splash Damage for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released in North America on May 10, 2011, in Australia on May 12, in Europe on May 13 and in Japan on June 16.

In Brink, two factions, Resistance and Security, battle in a once-utopian city called The Ark, a floating city above the waters of a flooded Earth.

Brink has Steamworks integration, including Valve Anti-Cheat. It runs on id Tech 4 and has an updated rendering framework with improved support for multiple CPU cores. Brink is a first-person shooter with a focus on parkour-style movement. Online multiplayer servers hold up to 16 players; players can play cooperatively or competitively, or against artificially-intelligent bots.

Gameplay

Splash Damage developed the SMART (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain) System. By noting a player's position and predicting what he is trying to do, the system lets players navigate complex environments without equally complex input. By holding down the SMART button, a player will automatically clear obstacles without having to use complex controls such as in Mirror's Edge. SMART allows for more adaptive parkour and freerunning, similar to Prototype.

There are four character classes: Soldier, Medic, Engineer, and Operative. The same class system could also be found in the previous titles Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. The Soldier resupplies teammates, can throw molotov cocktails and flash-bang grenades, and can complete destroy objectives by using explosives. The Engineer buffs his teammates' weapons and can supply them with armor, builds stationary turrets and plants landmines, and can complete repair and build objectives. The Medic heals teammates, revives downed teammates, and buffs their teammates' health. The Operative interrogates fallen opponents to get intel on enemy locations, performs acts of sabotage, and disguises himself as the enemy. Players can customize their characters and buy special abilities with experience points, which are earned by completing objectives. The abilities that the player can buy for their character are either "universal" (abilities that the player will be able to use regardless of their class during a mission) and class-specific (abilities that the player can use only when they are in that class). All characters in the beginning will have the "basic kits" of each class so that they can perform the essential objectives only. The class-specific abilities that they buy, however, can enhance their ability and their role in a certain class, potentially making objectives easier to complete and allowing for a greater gain in experience points. The same experience points can be earned in both single-player and multiplayer, adding a special "online bonus" to the player's experience points after completing a mission online. Bethesda claims that players can create a total of 102 quadrillion unique character combinations, if minor variations are factored in.

There are several appearance combinations that a character can have. One of the most significant appearance categories is body type. There are three distinct body types in Brink: heavy, medium, and light. Each body type has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Heavy body types are very bulky and have significant muscle mass. They can handle all weapons in the game. Their primary weapon can be as powerful as a heavy machine or gatling gun, and their backup weapon can be as powerful as an automatic rifle. Heavy body types also have the highest health. However, they have slowest sprint speed, and their parkour abilities are only limited to vaulting over small obstacles that are at waist height or below.

Medium body types have less muscle mass and are thinner than heavies. They can handle most weapons. Their primary weapon can be as powerful as an automatic rifle, and their backup weapon can be as powerful as a sub-machine gun. A medium's health is lower than heavy body types, but their sprint speeds are much faster and their parkour abilities allow them to clear most obstacles at head height.

Light body types have even less muscle mass and are thinner than mediums. They are also very limited in the weapons they can handle. Their primary weapon can be as powerful as a sub-machine gun, and their backup weapon is strictly limited to a pistol (however, handling a pistol, regardless of body type or class, will allow the player to use a knife as a far more damaging melee attack). They also have the lowest health. However, they have the fastest sprint speed, and their parkour abilities allow them to wall-hop so that they can clear obstacles at greater speed and reach areas that other body types cannot.

The Squad Commander system gives players context-sensitive objectives. A variety of factors—where the player is, how skilled he is, his overall mission progress, etc.—determine what objectives will be available. During both on- and offline play, the player can defend one of his faction's command posts or capture an enemy's command post.

There are two types of command posts: health and supply. Each team will have 1 command post where reinforcements will start. That command post cannot be captured by the other team and any enemy that tries will be killed by indestructible turrets. However, there will be a few health and supply command posts that can be captured. If a player captures a command post, it will buff all of their teammates' health or supplies. If a player buys certain abilities for their character, then upon capture they can upgrade the command post (an engineer's special ability) or firewall it (an operative's special ability).

An Objective Wheel shows the main objective in yellow and will show a checkpoint which the player will need to go to to achieve that primary objective. The primary objectives are essential to completing the mission. Depending on what side the player is on and what mission the player is doing, there are only a certain amount of primary objectives that you can allow the opposing team to complete before you fail the mission. There are also secondary objectives. Secondary objectives are non-essential to the mission but can make the mission easier to complete. These include capturing an enemy's command post, constructing/destroying a barricade, hacking a door to flank the enemy, or repairing a lift to provide an alternative route. Each player has an objective wheel in his inventory and will, on certain missions, be timed to achieve the goal that must be completed. Each Objective gives Experience points (xp) upon completion. During Game play you earn the experience and unlock new abilities/Custom gear to put on your custom character.

Release and marketing

Bethesda and Splash Damage originally planned to release the game sometime in spring 2010, but pushed it back to fall 2010, before delaying it again. They later announced a release date of May 17, 2011. In April, a month before release, they pulled the release forward a week to May 10, citing early completion of the game and a desire to get it in players’ hands as soon as possible.

Pre-order bonuses

At QuakeCon 2010, Splash Damage announced Brink's digital pre-order bonuses for several digital retailers in North America as well as Europe. These bonuses will help expand the players starting customization options, with the Doom (GameStop), Fallout (Best Buy), Psycho (Amazon.com and Direct2Drive) and Spec Ops (Walmart and Steam) packs. The "Doom" and "Spec Ops" packs are both available in Nordic retailers. All the pre-order bonuses were later made available to purchase. In the United Kingdom, where Walmart does not operate, GAME released a "special edition" which, while costing more than the normal edition, included the Spec Ops and DOOM packs.^{[citation needed]}

Patches

Bethesda released a day one patch to solve graphical problems experienced in the game. A patch was released a few days later in an attempt to fix the connectivity problems by limiting the number of human players allowed in a game.

Agents of Change

The first DLC for Brink, released on 3 August 2011 for the Xbox via Xbox Live and 4 August 2011 for the PlayStation 3. The Agents of Change DLC will cost nothing on all platforms for the first two weeks of release to stimulate more players into the online servers, however after the first two weeks the DLC will cost $9.99 USD to download.

The pack contains additional content for the game, including new maps, abilities, attachments for weapons, and clothing and also raise the level cap from 20 to 24.

Reception

Two Resistance characters in the docks area, looking out to The Ark

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	(PS3) 69.63% (X360) 69.38% (PC) 69.33%
Metacritic	(PS3) 72/100 (PC) 70/100 (X360) 68/100
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	D
Eurogamer	8/10
GameSpot	6/10
GameSpy
GamesRadar	8/10
IGN	6/10
Joystiq

Brink received mixed to average reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 69.63% and 72/100, the Xbox 360 version 69.38% and 68/100 and the PC version 69.33% and 70/100. Eurogamer gave it an 8/10, saying that Brink was "an exceptional team shooter, smart, supremely well balanced and with a unique, exciting art style." GameSpy gave Brink 4 out of 5 stars. Saying that "Brink has the potential to become your new favorite FPS." Videogamer.com gave Brink a 8/10 saying that "Splash Damage achieves the impossible: a game that feels fresh in the stalest of genres." The Guardian gave Brink 4 stars out of 5, they praised Brink by saying "Brink deserves to be ranked among the finest co-op games available." Official Xbox Magazine UK gave Brink 4 stars out of 5, saying that Brink is "A meticulously designed Live shooter." Gaming Nexus gave Brink a B+ saying that Brink is "the most solid and well-balanced core gameplay yet from Splash Damage." Other reviews were very positive, calling Brink the best multiplayer FPS since Battlefield: Bad Company 2 or saying that "Brink is no less than an excellent multiplayer game".

The game was also, however, criticized as being incomplete or unpolished, with GamePro saying that "Brink is about two or three updates from being one of my favorite shooters of all time, but I'm not reviewing the game I want it to be. I'm reviewing the game that it is, and what it is is something just short of being the awesome experience that I want".

Some reviews were very critical. Joystiq gave the game a score of 2 out of 5 stars, stating that "Brink's artistically compelling soldiers can sail effortlessly over obstacles, landing acrobatic maneuvers never before seen in the genre with effortless poise—unfortunately, just about everything else lands flat on its face." 1UP gave Brink a D, commenting that "Brink is unfinished. And that doesn't mean it's full of technical problems. Well, it's got those too. But mostly, it's just an unpolished, poorly executed mess of ideas." Giant Bomb also gave Brink 2 out of 5 stars, with site founder Jeff Gerstmann noting that "Flat combat and a lack of variety are just two of the things that make Brink such a disappointment."

Other reviewers criticized the character customization system for not allowing female characters. Brad Gallaway of GameCritics.com said, "...there's something very disturbing to me about having a choice between fifty different pieces of upper torso clothing or including an entire gender, and then deciding to go with the clothing. What does such a decision say about the attitude of Brink's developers, and the studio itself?" Critical Kate of CriticalHit! said, "For a company to boast how impressively customizable the characters in their first-person shooter are, only to then exclude half the population from having their character be the same gender as themselves, doesn’t exactly say to female gamers “you are welcome here.”"

External links

• Official website