Brink

 I'm calling it!  This is the best FPS to come out in 2011.  I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking "But Mr., Modern Warfare 3 comes out later this year!"  I would respond by saying Black Ops came out last year, Modern Warfare 2 the year before that, and World at War the year before that, etc.  Essentially, I've seen it before.    Brink is an brilliant new take on the genre. Borrowing bits and pieces from the likes of Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, Mirror's Edge. (And maybe Shadowrun, but I no one played that so I won't mention it.)

     It had a bumpy start with a few game breaking bugs, but what game doesn't.  Splash Damage has been quick to patch said bugs and the game now runs like a dream on my rig. (i7 930, HD 5770, 6GB DDR3)   The character customization options are extensive and are likely to grow with the free DLC pack coming in June 2011. The game's storyline is minimal, but interesting nonetheless. You choose to play as either Security Forces or the Resistance Rebels. You are fighting for control over the Ark, a floating city in the middle of the ocean that has lost contact with the outside world after an apocalyptic flood.  I really wish they had fleshed it out more.  Maybe they'll put out a novel to fill it in.  (Someone get Drew Karpyshan on the line!)   The player can choose from four classes: Soldier, Engineer, Operative (Spy), Medic. In addition to team objectives, each class has their own class based objectives, which allow lone wolf players to contribute to the success of the team overall. For example, Engineers can build machine gun nests for other players to use, upgrade Command Posts which give a health or supply buff to the entire team, or defuse mines planted by enemy Engineers. Splash Damage has also included four challenges which allow you to unlock weapon upgrades, such as expanded magazines, silencers, and different scopes.

    It's not all sunshine and rose petals though.  I do have a few gripes.  To start with, there are only eight maps and each map has the same objectives each time you play it.  The previously mentioned forthcoming DLC pack is said to include "new maps" so hopefully this will mitigate this issue assuming they actually are new maps and not just reworked versions of current maps.  Secondly, the weapons all feel very similar.  Brink has the usual subsets of weapons: rifles, sub-machine guns, shotguns, and pistols.  SMGs are obviously different from shotguns, but there is little difference from one SMG to the next.  The weapon customization doesn't help this fact.  There are three different red-dot scopes that literally all do the same exact thing.  The game's bots are decent, but are no substitute for human players. Unfortunately many servers are only populated by four or five humans and the rest are bots.

    Brink is the most fun I've had playing an FPS in several years.  And I don't hesitate for a second to recommend it.  It has minor problems, but it's refreshing to play something besides a modern military shooter. Splash Damage has a history of making good online shooters and Brink is no different.