Splash Damage struck gold back in
2003 with Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory.
style=""> It was a super fast paced
teamplay shooter
that emphasized objectives over frags, deception over headlong charges,
and had
a goddamn sweet looking flamethrower. With
the game both being pretty damn awesome
AND free to download and play, it created quite a following.
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The follow-up, Enemy
Territory: Quake Wars was a commercial attempt at a sequel
to the
formula. It
retained the critically
acclaimed gameplay, while mixing things up with radically different
sides and
aircraft. While
the reception from
editors and reviewers was positive, the community felt otherwise and it
never
caught on to the same degree.
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In Brink, you spend your
time fighting the enemy, not the environment. The advanced
SMART system enables sweet movement and scaling of objects with little
to no input on your part.
Now Splash Damages newest foray into
team shooters is
back and sporting more of the same.
Youve got classes, youve got objectives,
and youve got a team between you and said objectives that you need to
mow
down. This time
around weve got an
original setting focusing around good guys and bad guys, with a
passable story
and challenge maps to test your mettle when your friends arent around.
Does a fresh coat of paint help
restore the luster of Splash
Damages wonderful formula? Or
does this
title send you to the brink of madness instead?
Cautions
Gameplay - 75 / 100
Because everyone loves playing
dress-up apparently, even
Splash Damage has given in and established a character creator for the
game. You can
create multiple types of bodies once
youve gained some in-game experience, and these actually have a slight
impact
on gameplay via speed and endurance.
No
female characters can be created which might miff some fans of freedom.
Once thats done, you have your
typical array of weapons and
unlockables via experience, and special abilities that can be purchased
for
each class as you level up. These
range
from extra ammo capacity for special abilities, to a variety of turrets
for the
Engineer class. Speaking
of classes,
there are four of them, each being fairly explanatory.
They are the Soldier, Medic, Engineer, and
Operative. Each
class has specific
objectives that only they can interact with, so its important to have
a good
mix or some objectives are downright impossible!
Teamplay is downright
essential. You're completely immobile and unarmed when
disarming or dismantling objectives, so cover your Engineers!
Single and Multiplayer maps and
objectives are almost all
the same, and involve objective capture, escort, and destruction, often
multiple types all in the same mission.
If youre playing alone, the Bots are fairly good at
covering you and
using their special abilities to support the attack.
Objectives are often approachable from
above, below, and the sides, which requires a lot of running, or
liberal use of
the SMART system.
Smooth Movement Across Random
Terrain, or SMART, is Brinks
coolest feature. Anytime
youre moving
towards objects, terrain, or trying to get over or under things, its
all done
automatically with the push of a button. This can lead to some epic
escapes and
entrances, and above all else its a hell of a lot cooler than just
having crouching,
prone, and standing as your options for movement.
Don't be afraid to circle around
or approach from a different angle. The terrain in Brink is
hardly an obstacle to your mobility, and can often aid you to reach
places you'd never
Challenge maps exist as well, that
give you special
objectives and seemingly insurmountable tasks.
These are well worth the risk though, as they unlock the
majority of the
weapons and accessories for said weapons.
You can also set special objectives and go through the
campaign again in
any way you prefer in Free Play. Even
if
youre alone, youll have a good time with Brink.
Or so Id like to say.
Despite all of the variety and the SMART System, some guns
and skills
just plain suck. The
radius of grenade
explosions is pathetic. The
supply
system of using special abilities takes forever to recharge, and I
ended up
killing myself a few times just to have access to more skills than your
average
Counterstrike player. In the end, Brink
could have greatly benefitted from a beta that helped point
these glaring flaws out and give the game some more polish.
Graphics - 70 / 100
Sound - 60 / 100
Multiplayer - 87 / 100
Since the single and multiplayer
share a lot of the same
maps and objectives, youll be hard pressed to get a truly original and
breathtaking multiplayer experience from Brink.
Thats one of the major downsides to integrating the single and
multiplayer
campaign into the same package. The
other downside is that theres a grand total of seven maps. I understand that these
are varied and full
of objectives, but it gets stale fast.
You can even slide
tackle your opponents to knock them to the ground and eliminate them in
style.
Aside from some learning curve
related issues with class
understanding and weapons, the multiplayer is solid if a little generic. VIP escorts have never
been so much funthey
can be revived by Medics on the spot to give the attackers another
chance at
victory!
Value - 55 / 100
Lasting Appeal - 65 / 100
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- We've been waiting for Splash Damage's next product for a
long time, and it still has that classic Enemy Territory feel. - Good variety of abilities and weapons, which will hopefully
become more varied and balanced with patches soon. - SMART is amazing and needs to be in every game.
Cons
- Feels like it was rushed, with silly bugs and zero female
models. - Terrible value for the money. Desperately needs
more maps in multiplayer. - Leveling characters in FPS games needs to go away.
We're not playing these games for immersion or progression,
we're playing them to blow people up!