Splash Damage's Brink wants to change your mind on multiplayer
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/11/brinkheaderimg580px4242.jpg)
Are you one of these folks who don't even realize there's a "multiplayer button" in your first-person shooters? After spending hours with the single-player campaign, you shelve the game and press onward, eschewing time with multiplayer for other, more solitary experiences? Splash Damage head Paul Wedgwood wants to change your attitude, telling Eurogamer in an interview that his studio's upcoming FPS Brink will do just that.
"It's our goal from the outset to incidentally teach people to be good at multiplayer shooters while they're playing our single-player shooter," he says. Apparently, Brink will offer in-game rewards (double XP, for instance) to players willing to take their game online. "At a certain point in the game we say to them, 'Why don't you just try co-op and see how you go? For this next mission we're going to give you twice the number of experience points if you play co-operatively with somebody else.'" Thankfully though, he assures the internet-less among us (how are you reading this?!) that there's plenty of game in Brink without having to go online. "Your experience through it, imagining you have no internet connection should, for us to have achieved our goal, be as compelling as any other triple-A shooter." We'll find out if his plan works when Brink arrives sometime next year.
Sounds good ... sort of. If i enjoy the single player, then i'll hit up the MP for a bit. Some people would never know how good MP is in some games if they only ever played single player, i feel sorry for the people who never bother with Red Faction MP which is awesome!
Brink moved to Fall 2010; watch its S.M.A.R.T. system now (http://www.joystiq.com/2009/11/30/brink-moved-to-fall-2010-watch-its-s-m-a-r-t-system-now/)
Brink now delayed until spring 2011
Bethesda Softworks has confirmed to Eurogamer that Splash Damage's upcoming multi-format shooter Brink has been delayed until spring 2011.
Brink has been put together by an all-star cast of developers hired by Splash Damage to bolster its ranks with experience in a number of genres.
The result looks enormously promising, not to mention attractive - a bold blend of single-player and multiplayer shooter principles, clever systems that allow you to move stylishly through the environment without having to recall 48 buttons in the heat of the moment, and stunning visuals.
I want to like this game, but the art style does absolutely nothing for me.
Brink UK pre-order deals revealed
The pre-order deals for Splash Damage shooter Brink are out.
They're available now at participating UK shops GAME/Gamestation, Play and Amazon.
GAME and Gamestation have the DOOM & Spec Ops Packs; Play has the Fallout Pack; and Amazon has the Psycho Pack.
The DOOM Pack contains:
* Unique "Hellspawn" body tattoo
* Exclusive UAC (Security) and Cacodemon (Resistance) customised skins for the Bulpdaun SMG
* Exclusive UAC Marine Body Armour (Security) and Lost Soul Screaming Skull (Resistance) t-shirts
* Exclusive UAC beanie cap (Security) and DOOM bandana (Resistance)
The Spec Ops Pack contains:
* Exclusive weapon: the "Hockler" Machine-Pistol
* Exclusive "GreenEye" Combat Optical Scope
* Exclusive Security "Sloani" Combat Mask
* Unique Dogtag body tattoo
The Fallout Pack contains:
* Unique Fallout Vault 101 body tattoo
* Exclusive Vault 101 (Security) and Fallout New Vegas Vault Boy (Resistance) customised skins for the CARB-9 SMG
* Exclusive Fallout Vault 101 (Security) and Fallout New Vegas Vault Boy (Resistance) t-shirts
* Exclusive Vault-Tec beanie cap (Security) and Fallout bandana (Resistance)
The Psycho Pack contains
* Exclusive weapon: the "Caesar" Revolver
* New attachments: The Resistance's improved Soda Can Silencer and Security's ArkTactical Silencer
* Exclusive Resistance "The Grin" Combat Mask
* Unique "Tortured Soul" body tattoo
New Trailer (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/293539/news/new-brink-gameplay-trailer-is-a-class-act/)
I'm picking this up tomorrow. I pretty much have to as one of the computer desktop backgrounds I've been using is This Image (http://images.idgentertainment.de/images/idgwpgsgp/bdb/2196841/5120x1600.jpg)
Hopefully it turns out fun :P
Team Fortress meets Mirror's Edge.
Mirror's Fortress?
Team Edge
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I've been playing this game on the PC since the midnight launch last night. Pretty nifty. I especially like how they incorporate the story into the multiplayer. At the beginning and end of each mission you get to see a little cutscene starring you and your buds (and your enemies) that advances the story a bit.
Besides that, the shooting and the movement is very good. Sliding around while shooting is epic and never gets old, and climbing the environment can make for some interesting tactical decisions.
The guns feel pretty good, with a good mix of spraying and bursting for accuracy. My one complaint is that the guns, visually, just aren't interesting. You have a huge selection of firearms, but they almost all look the exact same. On the plus side you can customize your guns and that helps give a feeling of ownership, but it just isn't enough. In a firefight you can't distinguish any particular gun's silhouette, so aesthetically speaking you might as well choose your guns by "eeny meeny miny moe". This might seem like nitpicking, and I guess it is, but it really does bug me and I think it is a really badly missed design opportunity.
Quote from: Handshakes on May 10, 2011, 11:12:52 PM
I've been playing this game on the PC since the midnight launch last night. Pretty nifty. I especially like how they incorporate the story into the multiplayer. At the beginning and end of each mission you get to see a little cutscene starring you and your buds (and your enemies) that advances the story a bit.
Besides that, the shooting and the movement is very good. Sliding around while shooting is epic and never gets old, and climbing the environment can make for some interesting tactical decisions.
The guns feel pretty good, with a good mix of spraying and bursting for accuracy. My one complaint is that the guns, visually, just aren't interesting. You have a huge selection of firearms, but they almost all look the exact same. On the plus side you can customize your guns and that helps give a feeling of ownership, but it just isn't enough. In a firefight you can't distinguish any particular gun's silhouette, so aesthetically speaking you might as well choose your guns by "eeny meeny miny moe". This might seem like nitpicking, and I guess it is, but it really does bug me and I think it is a really badly missed design opportunity.
Good input.
Do you think the difficulty in distinguishing one firearm from another make tactics more difficult? Meaning, if I can't see what gun the other guys has, I don't now how to approach the fight.
Or is the combat so fast and chaotic that tactics are moot?
Quote from: nCogNeato on May 11, 2011, 01:37:50 PM
Quote from: Handshakes on May 10, 2011, 11:12:52 PM
I've been playing this game on the PC since the midnight launch last night. Pretty nifty. I especially like how they incorporate the story into the multiplayer. At the beginning and end of each mission you get to see a little cutscene starring you and your buds (and your enemies) that advances the story a bit.
Besides that, the shooting and the movement is very good. Sliding around while shooting is epic and never gets old, and climbing the environment can make for some interesting tactical decisions.
The guns feel pretty good, with a good mix of spraying and bursting for accuracy. My one complaint is that the guns, visually, just aren't interesting. You have a huge selection of firearms, but they almost all look the exact same. On the plus side you can customize your guns and that helps give a feeling of ownership, but it just isn't enough. In a firefight you can't distinguish any particular gun's silhouette, so aesthetically speaking you might as well choose your guns by "eeny meeny miny moe". This might seem like nitpicking, and I guess it is, but it really does bug me and I think it is a really badly missed design opportunity.
Good input.
Do you think the difficulty in distinguishing one firearm from another make tactics more difficult? Meaning, if I can't see what gun the other guys has, I don't now how to approach the fight.
Or is the combat so fast and chaotic that tactics are moot?
Mostly no, for two reasons. One is that the fights are, as you say, fast and chaotic, but that alone doesn't rule out strategery. Team Fortress 2 is incredibly fast paced, but with each class and each weapon extremely easily identifiable the combat tactics can hatch and fire at a speed that can keep up with the pace of the gameplay just fine. Which brings me to the second reason: 90% of the guns in Brink behave the exact same way. Most of the guns in Brink are either SMGs or Assault Rifles, and both of those types behave almost identically. Stats like damage, rate of fire, clip size, and accuracy are different across all of the different guns, but none of that changes the way you shoot an Assault Rifle of SMG. So in the end you just approach every encounter assuming everybody has an assault rifle bullet hose.
That said, there are heavy weapons, sniper rifles, and shotguns. They just aren't used nearly as often as the standard spammy assault rifles for various reasons (only the Heavy body type can use the heavy weapons, sniper rifles r hard, shotguns are so range limited). But it is hard to tell even these special weapons apart from the standard assault rifle as well, and I have on a few occasions accidentally gone a little too close to an enemy shotgun player because I couldn't tell that the thing in his hands was a close range hurt machine.
A couple of weeks ago, Bethesda announced that free DLC, titled "Agents of Change", would be coming to its Splash Damage-developed title, Brink.
Earlier this week, several details about the DLC were revealed.
New Maps
Founders' Tower – The revolution finally reaches the island's iconic spire and takes the battle for the Ark to dizzying heights.
Labs – Venture into the depths of the Ark's original research and development laboratories, a submerged high-tech facility so far untouched by the civil war.
New Player Abilities
UAV – This stealthy and lethal device allows Operatives to automatically mark nearby enemies on their radar. For more explosive fun, they can even take direct control of the UAV and detonate it near unsuspecting foes.
Napalm Grenade – Soldiers can use this new grenade to cover an area in a sea of deadly flames.
Pyro Mine – Engineers can plant these mines and leave enemies in the epicenter of a massive napalm explosion.
Field Regen Unit – Medics can deploy these units to increase the health regeneration of any nearby teammates.
Tactical Scanner – This universal ability allows players to reveal the active buffs of their opponents, allowing them to pick off enemies more strategically.
New Weapon Attachments
Bayonets – Gain the edge in melee combat and cause extra damage with these deadly blades.
Weapon Shields – Take cover from enemy fire and prevent headshot bonus damage behind riot-style shields.
New Character Outfits
The Sad Punk – Add a touch of Steampunk to your Resistance character.
The Limey – Bring order to the Ark with this outfit inspired by traditional European police lawmen.
Bethesda also noted that a patch to further address lag issues in Brink should arrive this weekend.
Finally, a new stats page will be launching on Tuesday at Brink's official site that will allow players to access "In-depth stats, including data on matches, players and the overall progress in the weekly "Battle for the Ark". In order to access this page, you will need to have your unique VIP access code which was included with purchases of the game.
No specific launch date was given for the DLC, nor was there information provided as to achievements.
Brink DLC pack Agents of Change has finally made it through certification, and is down to release on 3rd August. The pack hits Xbox Live first.
Bethesda's wired over some new screenshots and a list of Achievements for the pack, which contains two new maps, five new player abilities, two new weapons and two new character outfits.
Originally slated to launch in July, Agents of Change is free to download for the first two weeks.
Science Maven:
Win Labs as both factions in Campaign Mode
50G
Towering Achievement:
Win Founders' Tower as both factions in Campaign Mode
50G
A Burning Thing:
Kill an enemy with a Napalm Grenade
20G
Pyromancer:
Kill an enemy with a Pyro Mine
20G
Remote Control:
Kill an enemy with a UAV
20G
Mutual Support:
Have a Field Regen Unit buff more than 3 players simultaneously
30G
Ark King:
Reach Level 24
60G
(http://cdn.medialib.oxm.co.uk/screens/screenshot_20750.jpg)
(http://cdn.medialib.oxm.co.uk/screens/screenshot_20745.jpg)
Don't own the game, but that's never stopped me from downloading some free DLC. 8)
Brink is my official worst purchase of 2011.
Ok ok so i know people kept saying brink was sh*t...but i still tried to buy it in my games splash out today...however the guy in the shop wouldnt actually let me buy it...he said it really is that bad he wasnt letting me waste my money on it...is it really that bad??????????
The game itself is okay, but it was unplayably laggy at launch and now the servers are mostly empty.
Agents of Change (http://marketplace.xbox.com/Product/Brink-Agents-of-Change/9549c4e5-1b84-4c1b-b822-62d5feedaa04?cid=SLink) DLC is now available for free until ~Aug 17. Get it now!
achieves seem easy too
Seems to scream 'rental'...