Game Review: Brink – PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 (Part 1)
Developed by Splash Damage, Brink is the latest addition to the first-person shooter genre for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The game has already been released in America on May 10 and will be releasing in Australia and the European Union
on 12th and 13th of this month respectively. The game has been rated Teen for blood, language and violence.
Brink offers a unique experience as it blends single-player and multiplayer game-play to present a completely innovative and immersive first-person shooter. The game enables the player to develop his character and customize him while playing alone, with
friends and other players online.
The story of the game revolves around the Ark, a once-utopian floating city, that serve as a refuge for humanity after the earth got flooded twenty years ago. With the passage of time, the city got split into two zones. One zone was controlled by the security
forces, while the rebels, known as the Resistance, took control of the other zone. The Resistance view Ark as a prison where the authoritarian forces, referred to as the Security, is used to oppress them and keep them isolated from the human societies that
my still exist on the dry land outside the city.
The player is given a choice to both become a Security member and impose order in Ark, or to join the Resistance in their fight against the oppression of the Security and the authoritarians and take control of the remaining sources in the city. While the
choice is dramatic, it turns out to be rather pointless as the player gets to play both sides of the campaign regardless of the faction chosen in the beginning. The player gets to play through a total of 16 missions, eight for each faction.
A really interesting feature of the game is the four character classes that the player gets to choose from. These include the Soldier, the Medic, the Engineer and the Operative. Each class has its own set of benefits and role. However, the classes can be
changed during the game and in fact need to be changed in order to successfully complete different missions. This also prevents a player from picking a favourite class and sticking to it.
The players are given the liberty of customising their character and using the experience points earned during the missions by killing an enemy, helping an ally, or completing a mission objective to buy items.
There are various almost 50 abilities to unlock, though only 20 abilities have been assigned to a specific character. The skills are not set in stone and the player has the option to substitute them for another skill.
The most stunning aspect of Brink is SMART, which is an abbreviation for Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. Holding down the SMART button allows game to dynamically evaluate where the player is trying to go and gets him there by sprinting across the
ground and climbing over obstacles that get in the way. The movement speed depends on the body weight of the character, though the difference is less noticeable in the first-person view.
One of the most innovative aspect of the latest first-person shooter by Splash Damage is that there is hardly any difference between the single-player and the multiplayer game. When the player starts the game, he is given an option to decide whether he wants
to play alone, play with human allies, or play with human allies against human-controlled enemies. The two teams then participate in a mission where one team is try to and accomplish an objective while the other team tries to stop them. The entire campaign
can be played with the two human-controlled factions for a total of 16 missions.
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