Brink review [360/PS3/PC]

Posted May 17, 2011 by Jen Allen.

[Reviewed on Xbox 360]

What’s the most annoying aspect of a game? Is it friendly AI so moronic that players will spend much of their time cursing at their computer-controlled pals? Or is it an online experience as laggy as playing a game on dial-up once was? It’s a tough decision, and one that Brink players will frequently find themselves facing.

Brink is an odd one. Initially it seems similar to 2007 shooter Shadowrun, but it’s quickly apparent that Brink focuses much more on providing a context for all the killing. It’s a team-based multiplayer shooter with a story – and while there is a Freeplay mode that offers more typical multiplayer options, such as the number of players per match and friendly fire, the campaign mode is the one that everyone’s talking about.

The idea is that you’re offered the exact same experience whether you’re playing with friends or bots, which has been touted as the future of team-based gaming. It certainly needs some work if this is going to be the case.

Presumably to allow for the drop-in nature of the game, there’s no lobby system. You choose a level, load it up, play alongside other people, then once the map ends you each go your separate ways. Inviting friends is a matter of waiting ‘til you’re already inside the game. If there aren’t a sufficient number of players available, then bots make up the numbers.

The bots are supposedly meant to prioritise human efforts, but they very rarely do. Instead, they run around committing pretty much every mistake you can envisage. They don’t really guard you, they don’t help complete objectives, but they do seem to have a fantastic time messing things up for everyone else.

If a match comprises all human players, another problem arrives. More often than not, I found it made for alarming lag and an extremely stuttery experience. The connection would often drop or the host be migrated elsewhere, thus resetting the map. Currently, having a balanced group of part-bots and part-humans seems to be the best idea – although at least Splash Damage appear to have appreciated this problem, and are working on a way of improving it.

Fully understanding Brink is more of an undertaking than you’d initially assume. Upon first loading the game, there’s a tutorial video. A non-interactive tutorial that admittedly won’t make full sense until you try it for yourself. It’s a bit overwhelming, and I still found myself not confident of what to do. This is where the Challenges side of the game plays a significant role. Although looking more like something that’s been thrown in as an afterthought, the Challenges help introduce key concepts such as the class roles, the objective wheel and the SMART system.

It really should just be named the ‘tutorial’, as once played Brink immediately makes a lot more sense. Plus, any unlocks or experience acquired during the Challenges section transfers over to the rest of the game, making things that bit easier.

Bypassing these foibles, Brink is a pretty solid game once you understand it and when everything is working well. Each mission comes with its own set of objectives, ranging from defensive operations to having to hack, destroy or escort your way to victory. In turn, players are given the choice of four classes, easily swapped around during the game. The Soldier class enables players to destroy certain objectives or barricades with HE charges, as well as the ability to hand ammo out to other players. The Medic rarely features in terms of mission specific uses but they can use health buffs to increase teammates’ health as well as revive them. Operatives can hack various objectives as well as disguise themselves as the enemy, while Engineers have the ability to improve weapons, build barricades, turrets and form the crux of many objectives.

The beauty of each class is that you’re never restricted to certain gun or body types. These are all available to adjust separately from the class choice screen, adding a fair amount of customisation potential. Body type in particular is an interesting one, with the heavy builds able to withstand huge amounts of damage but cursed with limited mobility, and the lighter builds being weaker yet more agile.

Agility plays a part here thanks to the SMART system – a parkour-style fluid movement that has been much talked about previously. Sadly, it doesn’t play quite as big a role as one would hope. For every time you feel smug as you leap around, dodging bullets here, there and everywhere, you find another platform that you’re not allowed to climb on.

Still, it wins credit back. Unlike other online shooters, Brink rewards team play with experience points favouring those who aid their teammates and work towards objectives, rather than those who shoot anything that moves. Having played online with strangers, I’m confident in saying it clearly works, with the majority working together much more so than I’ve seen in other titles.

The satisfaction of completing an objective is fantastic, akin to the golden days of old when I used to play Counter-Strike and Team Fortress Classic on a regular basis. It’s things like this which make it so easy to think fondly of Brink, even despite its many flaws.

With the right players, it’s easy to focus on the positives. The maps are well-designed, with choke points limited thanks to an abundance of different paths to take. The visuals could be spruced up a tad, with character animations looking great in the menus but severely lacking in-game, but that’s not the end of the world. It’s just that Brink, despite providing some great moments, isn’t a great game.

It wants to be, and maybe it could have been if a few things had been corrected. As it stands, it’s a game with a great many flaws that will cause you to curse and mutter. But it’s also a game that manages to be immensely enjoyable when played alongside the right people.