Mirror Edge was the first game that introduced Parkour (a philosophy that consists of moving from one point to another as fluidly as possible, mainly using the abilities of the human body) to the world of First Person Shooters (FPS). It seemed incredible that a shooting game could contain so few shots in its plot, and even reward the player with an achievement for managing to finish the game without shooting a single time. Splash Damage knew how to see this concept and give it a new twist, bringing it closer to the FPS genre and combining it with something that I love: strategy.
Brink, will be available from May 13 for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Priced at 54.95⏠for the console versions and 45.95⏠for PC.
Expectations were very high, could they have met or even exceeded them?
The first thing you will experience in Brink is a total cleanliness, the menus, scenarios, and videos are very careful. The opening video shows in a very minimalist way the situation before the start of the game in the Ark (A floating city where the action takes place). Right after this video, we are offered to be part of one of the two sides of the game: the resistance, or the security. It is not an irreversible decision, since each character we create will have their alter ego on the other side, so that we can play both campaigns. In truth, the only irreversible decisions in the game are: the shape of our characterâs face, his voice and tattoos.
Before going any further, the game will suggest that we watch a video-tutorial that will explain each section of the game in a very complete way. Additionally, for viewing it we will be rewarded with extra experience for our first character. This video lasts approximately 25 minutes and is very dense, so it can overwhelm all the information that is offered to us as soon as we insert the disc. You can see a part of the video (with the most basics of the game) below.
The game is not very complicated, 2 sides fight to complete a series of objectives, one side will be on the offensive, and the other on the defensive. Among all our objectives, there is always one main objective, which will allow us to continue advancing in the mission, and several secondary ones that will help us complete the main one, or annoy the adversaries to complete theirs. Depending on the objective, only one of the 4 possible classes can do it, with the rest of the classes having to defend and help you. The 4 classes are: Doctor, who has no main objectives, so his main task is to cure and resurrect the rest of the characters. Engineer, on whom the repair and bomb deactivation objectives will depend. Soldier, who will be in charge of demolition targets. And Spy, who will be in charge of the hacking objectives.
One of the great strengths of the game is that we have a lot of customization. The player will receive experience, with which his level will increase (up to a maximum level of 20). Two important levels are 5 and 7, where the strong and agile character builds are unlocked respectively. These builds will completely change our character, being: The strong build, a bulk with little mobility but a lot of life and a greater repertoire of weapons to choose from. The agile player is a stripper, who runs a lot and takes full advantage of the SMART system that we will talk about later, but in exchange he severely reduces his repertoire of weapons, and has a much smaller life. And the complexion means a balanced shape between the two.
The personalization is also complete in the stylistic section. More than 10 different options for each part of the body make the most diverse characters possible. We can even customize the appearance of the weapons with different accessories that will give them different improvements. Additionally, each time we level up, we are rewarded with a skill point to buy extra skills for our character (out of a total of 52). At most, therefore, we can have 20 active skills, but if one does not convince us, we can sell all our skill points in exchange for lowering our character one level.
One of the main assets of the game is the S.M.A.R.T. system. or âSmooth Movement Across Random Terrainâ, which is what gives it the parkour touch that is so fashionable lately. This will allow us, as long as we hold down the A button (X on PS3), to climb all kinds of obstacles. The speed at which we do it, and the number of obstacles we can overcome depends on the build that our character has, with the agile being the one that takes advantage of this mode the most, being able to even walk along walls and jump from them. Itâs a shame that such a good execution is relegated to the background and is only really used in the agility challenge, since in online play, generally, the SMART system will only be used in a way similar to the jump button. There is no advantage to climbing to a high point, nor do you have any tactical advantage, especially in the delivery objectives, in which speed and jumps will come as no surprise.
The campaign mode consists of 7 missions per side, plus 2 extra missions in âwhat-ifâ mode or in Spanish âwhat would happen ifâŠâ. Each mission usually lasts about 15-20 minutes if you complete it the first time. So only in this mode we will have about 6 hours of content. We can play the missions alone, allowing people to come in to help us, or allowing people to come in to fight us. In truth, the campaign and the online mode do not differ much, since the online mode consists of playing these missions taking control of a player from one of the sides (8 vs 8). In the event that there are not enough human players, the game will be filled with bots that will try to do their best.
Regarding bots, they always seem to do better when you have them against you. Even so, they are quite predictable, for example they will always try to attack the main objective all at once when there are a few seconds left to destroy the defense. When you have them as companions, many times you cannot trust them to complete a main objective and it always ends up being more comfortable to change classes. For example, some stupid AI bugs Iâve come across:
- A medical bot will arrive where the incapacitated target to be escorted is, but it will do so without enough supplies so it will not be able to revive it and it will remain standing there until it dies.
- A spy bot will hack the target, but will stay right in front hacking, so that it is clearly visible from afar and is killed quickly.
- A medical bot will be at your side with supplies to revive you, but since it is shooting someone it will not help you.
We also have 4 different challenges that we can play solo or with up to 3 companions. Each challenge has 3 possible difficulties of 1-3 stars and will unlock weapon accessories as you overcome them. For my part, except in the case of the agility challenge, I find the 3-star challenges really difficult to do alone. One drawback of this is that we cannot do them with a friend at home, since the game does not allow split screen, in any way. So if we want to play with a friend it will have to be from a distance.
The sound section is incredible, the music, although brief, totally matches the environment. Both the voices of the characters and the sound of the different weapons are very well done. Perhaps some voices do not have the most appropriate tone for the narrative, but the great effort of dubbing so many different voices is greatly appreciated. It is a shame that the narrative in the story mode is relegated to the background, since the scenes that tell the story are short and their content is quite poor.
The maps, although not giant, are quite large, but they suffer from a somewhat typical problem in this genre, the concentration of people in some areas. Normally while you are walking to the main objective, you do not find any enemies and the 16 players are usually concentrated in the area of ââsaid objective. Even so, the maps are very well made, have very careful details, and totally match the general aesthetics of the game.
Of course, Brink being a team game, is not intended to be the same as CoD and the like, so at the end of a game, we will only know who killed the most and who was the best in each of the classes. At no time will we be shown the K/D factor to prevent people from winning, and force players to collaborate as a team with the objectives. Playing as if you were Rambo on your own will only lead you to get angry, lose and die a lot. If all you care about is standing in a corner waiting for someone to pass by so you can kill them and raise your K/D, clearly put Black Ops back into the console and forget about Brink.
Note
- Presentation: The story is quite filler, and where the game really takes advantage is in the online mode. The characters are very careful and the customization possibilities are very wide. 8.5
- Graphics: The graphics are good. The somewhat cartoonish aesthetic fills the game completely. Although a simplicity reminiscent of Mirrorâs Edge is also visible in the intro and its menus. 8
- Duration and Engagement: The game lasts many hours, if you can play it online, the story mode is a simple training session and you will probably play it only once and then go online. It is clearly a game focused on that, with a fairly poor story but complete fun while playing online. 7.75
- Final Note: Brink is sure to cause blisters. Some critics will praise it, while others will criticize it. Clearly itâs a game that you either like or hate. In my case, I clearly place myself on the like side. After many hours playing online it seems like a breath of fresh air in the genre, very reminiscent of the great Team Fortress. It is not a good buy if you are looking for a deep and intense single player experience, that is what L.A. is already there for. Noire next week. But if youâre looking for a good multiplayer game, a complete team gaming experience, cool customization of your character, and fun shooting left and right, then Brink is your game. 8.3