Brink Review

[ace_of_something]

Damnit man, I was on the fence about this game and that didn't help me!

The terrifying puppets in question. Those about made me cry as a kid...and I loved the muppets.

Is it just me or do all the guys in this game have TF2 Scout's head? Sure the faces are different enough, but they all seem to have the profile of a Neanderthal.

No sir, they are all terrifying melted puppets.

 

[psivamp]

Judging by this, you have pc or mac copy . Does it run ok? I dont have an amazin gaming computer, and the specs reccomend an i5 processor, and I only have an i3.

I installed it on a MacBook 6.1 and it worked, mostly. Considering that it's below the minimum specs and at minimum settings, I forgive it the slowdowns. It's more important what your video card is, really.


My issue with Brink is the AI (I can't play online). Around level 10, the enemy AI becomes much better than the friendly AI -- who you can't give direction to, and is therefore impossible to work with as a team. I end up having to lone-wolf stuff -- particular tasks that require a specific class -- and that's really not how Brink is meant to be played.

I think the interface is pretty decent -- even at 640x480, it didn't crowd my vision. I don't really know where Mr. Butts is coming from on the cluttered UI.

The learning curve isn't as steep as TF2's -- where veteran's will tell you that you need 100+ hours with a class to know what you're doing. I will argue that the weapons aren't presented well. Most of the weapons start out unlocked, then you have to do solo challenges to unlock the rest. You should do that first because it's a solo thing against the AI and the AI ramps up as you level.

SMART is neat, unless you run into the corner of something you can climb -- then instead of quickly stepping past the obstacle, you slowly mantle up onto it.

I might really get into the online play if I build a gaming PC later this year.

 

[teebeeohh]

good review, one of the few ones that actually did look at the game from several angles.
i have to agree with almost everything except that i don't find the hud confusing(then again, i also have never been overwhelmed by a Hearts of Iron game) and that the SMART system only works really well with a light body, when you can get almost everywhere while for the others body forms it's more of a glorified jump button(the quake arena jump button, not the CoD jump button)

 

[The Wykydtron]

I'm on the "love it" side of the line, they just need to fix the lag and the occasionaly retarded AI.

Also the slide in this game is stupidly useful and badass... Rather than badass but unneeded like say, Crysis 2

 

[Waaghpowa]

Brink Review

If you can look past the problems, there's a lot of fun to be had here.

Read Full Article

I couldn't agree more with this review, it obviously isn't going to appeal to everyone and it's good that it doesn't. I'm playing the PC version of this, and people are doing well in terms of focusing on team play. Though time is still needed to let the "run and gun like it's Unreal/CoD" players to leave.

 

[Waaghpowa]

My issue with Brink is the AI (I can't play online).

Well there's yer problem! But seriously, play online. AI bots haven't been decent since Perfect Dark for the N64, in my opinion anyway.

 

[.[B@lL15T1C].]

I definitely agree with this review, played it at a friends house a few times now.

I would have my own copy right now but I live out in the country and cba to go to a gamestation or whatever t buy it in the nearest city.

I would have bought it on steam, but I didn't pre-order it (waiting for reviews)and it still isn't available to buy in the UK atm.

EDIT-(also I would use D2D but I heard their steam keys are not working atm aswell)

 

[Necromancer1991]

Another example of the good but unpolished games Bethesda likes to put out, most of the reviews I've seen on various sites have been positive (mostly just stuff like Zeitgeist and Totalbiscut), but they were annoyed by the lack of polish. The console version from what I've heard is a laggy mess and the PC version has had some bugs (Not to mention the whole ATI cards rendering the game unplayable thing), but the gameplay is interesting enough. Also bots have the attention span of squirrel who has had one too many cups of coffee laced with speed.

 

[Sevre]

Sadly I was hoping this would be the next TF2.

I will be getting it over the summer, I'm hoping they patch up all the tech issues I've been hearing about. It could grow on people, you never know, I think it looks like a game that will age well.

 

[Zhukov]

I uninstalled it after 17 hours.

Judging by this, you have pc or mac copy . Does it run ok? I dont have an amazin gaming computer, and the specs reccomend an i5 processor, and I only have an i3.

also, is the mission selction stuff easier do you think?

I have an iMac running Windows 7 via bootcamp, i7 processor.

It runs fine. But there's a bunch of bugs. Textures often don't load, the sound is dodgy (one level always causes sound to completely die for all players). Also, got quite a few random crashes to desktop. All versions of the game have been having these problems.

As for the mission selection thing, it's easy as pie. I honestly have no idea what the reviewer was talking about. You just hold down a button and it brings up a radial menu with different options depending on your class.

For example, some maps require your team to escort a bomb-disposal bot to an objective. So the primary mission will be "escort the bot". Selecting it causes the bot's location to be highlighted on your screen with a glowing outline (like in L4D).

But if the bot gets damaged and you are an engineer, the primary mission will change to "repair the bot". If you are a soldier, who cannot repair stuff, the mission will be "guard the bot".

Then there are secondary missions. Stuff like "capture a command post" or "destroy a barricade". Medics can choose "revive team members" which will cause all incapacitated team members to be highlighted. Sometimes the game will suggest that you escort a teammate. So if you are a soldier and an engineer on your team chooses the "repair the bot" mission, you will be able to choose "escort player X". You get the idea.

I never had any problems with the mission thing. I have planty of complaints about the game, but that certainly isn't one of them.

 

[GLo Jones]

I'm having great fun with it on PC, I just wish they'd fix the lag issues with the 360 version so I can play with more of my friends.

 

[DarkShadow144]

When I played this game, I saw that there was a great game here. But it was buried under the flaws. I just couldn't get over how dumb the A.I. was.

 

[psivamp]

I have an iMac running Windows 7 (aka a "hackintosh"), i7 processor.

Hackintosh is actually the other way around, running Mac OS X on a machine not built by Apple. By the way, Apple's protection is easily the stupidest thing ever. A proprietary chip on the motherboard that decrypts a few chunks of the kernel?

 

[Sebster 105]

My ATI works fine, solid 60 with AO off.

I love brink, I love it from it's art style to it's team based gameplay

I also hate brink, I hate it from it's (occasionally) buggy movement, to it's confusing in-game interface ( the menus are top-notch)

I'd give a 85/100


However, I hope the DLC adds loads of content as it took me 15 hours to max out 1 character with 1 class.

 

[Hristo Tzonkov]

I wish I could like this game. I really do. If only to justify the $90 AUD I paid for it.

I mean, there's some really good stuff in there. I like the visual design, I like the setting (to the extent that it matters), I like the objective-based missions.

But on the other hand, the good stuff is overshadowed by the bad. The game is sorely lacking in variety. All classes play the same. The customization is amusing but useless because it has almost no effect on gameplay. S.M.A.R.T. doesn't really do anything that a jump button couldn't. Worst of all, the maps are unbalanced, always giving a huge advantage to the defenders.

I uninstalled it after 17 hours.

Shame mate.You know at first I just played soldier cause all the classes played the same.Then I noticed the very very different classes.As an operative you just run around revealing locations and being a menace,the engineer holes up chokepoints with those damn turrets and mines, the medic and soldier play roughly the same but they compliment each other.

OT:Quite fine review sums up my points.Also I wanna try your optics AR seemed to perform really well.Bet it's gunna be shit with me .

 

[Zhukov]

I have an iMac running Windows 7 (aka a "hackintosh"), i7 processor.

Hackintosh is actually the other way around, running Mac OS X on a machine not built by Apple. By the way, Apple's protection is easily the stupidest thing ever. A proprietary chip on the motherboard that decrypts a few chunks of the kernel?

Oh.

I did not know that. Better do an edit before I confuse somebody.

As for Apple's protection... I have no idea. I'm really not computer-savvy. To me, "kernel" means a grain of corn or wheat. I just use Macs because I like OSX a lot more than Windows.

 

[cainx10a]

After 40 hours, I don't think I will be bored anytime soon. I love the bots for one since I always wanted a MP game with bots, and the bots ain't that bad, once you get used to their aptitude to always do secondary first then the primary, if the weather is good. They care about the weather these damn bots.

 

[SoulChaserJ]

I like this game...not love but like. It's fresh and it's not COD. So I'm still giving it a chance to mature. Worse come to worst Splash Damage will learn and come back stronger next time.

 

[rsvp42]

A balanced and even-handed review, Mr. Butts. Brink definitely isn't perfect, but for some people (like me) is the perfect mix of slick aesthetic and (mostly) cooperative gameplay. And it actually makes me want to play against real people, so maybe the dodgy AI is actually doing exactly what it's supposed to...

 

[Vanbael]

I'm glad you got to play into it more, because I've been having hopes for this game and you have convinced me that on my first paycheck (which isn't far out) I'm going to get this game. And thanks for the headsup on the SMART controls, I'll try to be a little more careful.