Brink

[Healey]

I really like how Splash Damage is trying to do something different with the FPS genre. The parkour integration is really the sell point for me – it seems very organic and flexible. 8-player co-op doesn't hurt either. I'll probably get it, but to be sure I'll read plenty of reviews just in case it flops like MAG. Scratch that, I will get it, and I'm going to write my own review within the week so I can get some journalistic practice in before I start on the school newspaper next year. I'd really love some constructive criticism.

PSN better be back up Tuesday.

[m3nace]

Yep, can't wait to get a load of that freeruninng.
Already preordered and preloaded.

[Zhukov]

Let me begin by saying that I shall be buying this game.

I say this to give context to the rest of my post. Because, regardless of all the nasty things I'm about to say, I still think the game will be worth my time and money. I enjoy the odd bit on of online FPSing and I think Brink will do a decent job of scratching that itch.

Right then. Now that the disclaimers are done with, it's time to start hurling monkey turds.

- First thought: "Hey, it's like Mirror's Edge and Team Fortress 2 had a kid. Nice."

- Second thought: "Oh, wait... it's an online FPS. Another one. -50 points right there."

- I don't buy the whole "blurring the line between single and multi player" schtick. I suspect the single player is just going to be MP maps bookended by cutscenes and filled with bots. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the sentiment, but but trying to blend narrative-driven single player with the chaotic teabag frenzy of online multiplayer is like trying to blend wine-tasting with kickboxing.

- I am loving the colourful and thematic level designs.

- I like the exaggerated character designs. However, they are trying a bit too hard to be "cool" and/or "badass".

- They are really making a big deal about visual character customisation. I fail to see the point of this. It's a first person game, so you'll hardly ever see your meticulously customized fighter guy. And none of the other players are going to be paying any attention to your awesome design either. They'll only be looking at you for the fraction of a second that is required to go through the whole friend/enemy-aim-shoot thought process.

- 20 seconds is a painfully long respawn. And that's not even counting the time it takes to run back to the action. Yes, I know medics can revive you, but let's face it, how many good medics do you think you are going to see in your average online match?

- Lastly, I think that their freerunning system will make for good, or at least interesting, gameplay. However, the person who decided to call it the "S.M.A.R.T. system" ought to be beaten senseless with a sack of dead weasels.

PS. $90 AUD. Seriously, fuck Australian prices.

[Uberbeard]

Beaten until it s.m.a.r.t.s.

[Renegade_Turner]

- First thought: "Hey, it's like Mirror's Edge and Team Fortress 2 had a kid. Nice."

Ditto, that's what I thought at first. I'm sure there's more to it than that, though. Definitely things like "Bringing colour back to first person shooters." and the whole parkour system rang alarms for Mirror's Edge, and the character design and the ability for different classes with deployable turrets and so on rang definite alarms for Team Fortress 2, which I've never actually played.

- Second thought: "Oh, wait... it's an online FPS. Another one. -50 points right there."

I assume you're being jocose in saying this, because if you're being serious that's an incredibly petty gripe.

- 20 seconds is a painfully long respawn. And that's not even counting the time it takes to run back to the action. Yes, I know medics can revive you, but let's face it, how many good medics do you think you are going to see in your average online match?

20 seconds IS painfully long...what part did they say that in? I skimmed through segments of it. Is it definitely going to be 20 seconds for respawning in all gametypes? That would be gay. The default 10 seconds you have to wait in Bad Company 2 even gets annoying...it sometimes provokes yells of "RESPAWN YOU FUCK" from friends when playing...

- Lastly, I think that their freerunning system will make for good, or at least interesting, gameplay. However, the person who decided to call it the "S.M.A.R.T. system" ought to be beaten senseless with a sack of dead weasels.

I know that was a more tongue-in-cheek remark than anything else, but I think it has a ring to it. Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. Sounds neat. You can tend to be oversensitive sometimes. But I agree, I can't wait to get a chance to do some slide-shots and some from-behind executions after quickly scaling something and popping up behind an adversary. I wish to be a sneaky assassin...but everyone wishes to be one of those. Oh god I hope there's katanas. <---- Caution, that's a trap for all the assholes who are going to go "KATANAS AREN'T AS AMAZING AS MODERN SOCIETY THINKS THEY ARE." And yes, I'm aware they're overdone in video games and modern fiction in general. They just look pretty, so up yours.

[Uberbeard]

SMOOTH MOVEMENT ISN'T AS AMAZING AS MODERN SOCIETY THINKS IT IS, REN.

[Zhukov]

- Second thought: "Oh, wait... it's an online FPS. Another one. -50 points right there."

I assume you're being jocose in saying this, because if you're being serious that's an incredibly petty gripe.

I think we've been over this before. To clarify: Yes, I am being flippant. But only to a point.

Sure, taking the path well trodden does not automatically make something bad. However, in my experience, taking said path rarely results in anything that isn't completely interchangeable with any of a hundred other products.

To put it another way, I think that it would still possible to make a truly brilliant and exemplary game about a space marine in powered armour who fights aliens. But the chances of that actually happening? Nigh on zero.

Besides, if I may torture the analogy, this particular path isn't just well trodden. It's been trampled into a quagmire knee-high mud.

- 20 seconds is a painfully long respawn. And that's not even counting the time it takes to run back to the action. Yes, I know medics can revive you, but let's face it, how many good medics do you think you are going to see in your average online match?

20 seconds IS painfully long...what part did they say that in? I skimmed through segments of it. Is it definitely going to be 20 seconds for respawning in all gametypes? That would be gay. The default 10 seconds you have to wait in Bad Company 2 even gets annoying...it sometimes provokes yells of "RESPAWN YOU FUCK" from friends when playing...

The gameplay clips in the above video showed a respawn of 20 seconds. I have since seen some that showed 10 seconds. So some hope yet remains. Although ten seconds is still a pain. Especially when you consider that you still have to jog back to the frontline.

[Renegade_Turner]

I think we've been over this before. To clarify: Yes, I am being flippant. But only to a point.

Sure, taking the path well trodden does not automatically make something bad. However, in my experience, taking said path rarely results in anything that isn't completely interchangeable with any of a hundred other products.

To put it another way, I think that it would still possible to make a truly brilliant and exemplary game about a space marine in powered armour who fights aliens. But the chances of that actually happening? Nigh on zero.

Besides, if I may torture the analogy, this particular path isn't just well trodden. It's been trampled into a quagmire knee-high mud.

That would be a reasonable point of criticism if the game was about a space marine in powered armour who fights aliens. Then I'd say "I can see where he's coming from. He doesn't want another Halo! What an original opinion." (Hey, sorry, had to get that snipe in! )

However, your criticism is based on

1. It's an FPS.
2. In it you play online.

Those are some fairly general and non-specific attributes for a computer game. There is the potential for a LOT of variation there. So saying that those two facts mean the game is derivative is a fairly, yes, petty gripe. You could say any game is derivative in that case. Company Of Heroes is derivative because, well, (insert previous modern combat real-time strategy game here). And Bioshock is derivative because (insert previous single-player FP-Action-RPG here).

[Zhukov]

However, your criticism is based on

1. It's an FPS.
2. In it you play online.

Those are some fairly general and non-specific attributes for a computer game. There is the potential for a LOT of variation there. So saying that those two facts mean the game is derivative is a fairly, yes, petty gripe. You could say any game is derivative in that case. Company Of Heroes is derivative because, well, (insert previous modern combat real-time strategy game here). And Bioshock is derivative because (insert previous single-player FP-Action-RPG here).[/color][/b]

Like I said, being derivative doesn't automatically mean something is bad. It just raises the chances of it being indistinct.

As for your examples, I've never player Company of Heroes. I heard it was about American soldiers fighting Nazi German during WWII and instantly lost interest. I am therefore not qualified to comment.

Bioshock, as much as I love it, is derivative. Extremely so. It derives System Shock 2 to within an inch of it's life.

See? Derivative =/= Bad

[Renegade_Turner]

However, your criticism is based on

1. It's an FPS.
2. In it you play online.

Those are some fairly general and non-specific attributes for a computer game. There is the potential for a LOT of variation there. So saying that those two facts mean the game is derivative is a fairly, yes, petty gripe. You could say any game is derivative in that case. Company Of Heroes is derivative because, well, (insert previous modern combat real-time strategy game here). And Bioshock is derivative because (insert previous single-player FP-Action-RPG here).[/color][/b]

Like I said, being derivative doesn't automatically mean something is bad. It just raises the chances of it being indistinct.

As for your examples, I've never player Company of Heroes. I heard it was about American soldiers fighting Nazi German during WWII and instantly lost interest. I am therefore not qualified to comment.

Bioshock, as much as I love it, is derivative. Extremely so. It derives System Shock 2 to within an inch of it's life.

See? Derivative =/= Bad

So what you're saying is that deducting something points for being in any ay derivative is in fact petty and senseless. Thank you.

[Zhukov]

So what you're saying is that deducting something points for being in any ay derivative is in fact petty and senseless. Thank you.

...

Petty? If making educated guesses at the quality of a video game is petty, then yes.
Senseless? I think not. I have explained my thought process at length in the above posts.

...

Blaaarrrggg...

[zoidberg rules]

It's true, it is quite annoying that everyone seems to be getting in on the FPS action right now, even indie companies *nods to Breach*. But I have no problem with that, as long as they don't end up making a steaming pile of not working awkward to play shite *nods again to Breach*.

It would be refreshing though to see a big budget famous release that isnt an FPS (Come on Gears 3 and Mass Effect 3!)

[Renegade_Turner]

Oh jesus come on, you say the amount of FPS games out there is annoying and then say you're excited about ANOTHER Gears Of War game. Nothing of note changed from the first to the second game.

Mass Effect 3, however, I can understand.

But honestly, what's the issue with the FPS genre? You wouldn't give out about a game and pre-judge its quality based on it being a role playing game.

Anyway, Saints Row 3 will kick all your asses.

[Vibhor]

Oh jesus come on, you say the amount of FPS games out there is annoying and then say you're excited about ANOTHER Gears Of War game. Nothing of note changed from the first to the second game.

Mass Effect 3, however, I can understand.

But honestly, what's the issue with the FPS genre? You wouldn't give out about a game and pre-judge its quality based on it being a role playing game.

Anyway, Saints Row 3 will kick all your asses.

Gears of war is a third person shooter and its more of a peekaboo simulator(with guns) than a shooter game.

[Ragdollmaster]

I've heard mostly average-ish to good things about the game so far, both from friends and critics, so I don't know if I'll be getting it. Seems like its main problem is a lack of polish, really, which I could overlook if the attempted innovations flow well with the gameplay.

But yeah, to date, I haven't seen or heard anything especially extraordinary that would make me want this. I might borrow it from someone and see if I like it, though- it's innovative enough to at least merit a try.