A good game which needs more work
Brink isn't your average shooter. It tries to differ from the now repetitive Call of Duty clone, but some of it's concepts just fall short. It's good, don't get me wrong, but it needs a lot of work. The plot has the people of the Ark (an experimental city) placed into two factions: Security and Resistance. The game throws people right into the action, expecting them to know what to do. It's a team- based shooter with objectives. It reminds me of Team Fortress 2, but with a lot more customization. You start the game right by creating your character. This is one of Brink's good points. There is a near endless amount of options to create your character to your liking. Both the Resistance and Security have distinctively different armor, with the Security having formal, official military uniform and the resistance wearing torn up, casual armor. One of the best parts of Brink. There is an extremely loose story, basically the Resistance wants to escape the Ark and are beginning to get aggressive, so the security take action and use lethal methods to maintain control of the Ark. Both campaigns are less than four hours long and are the same, for example the first security mission has you rescue and escort a hostage when the resistance's first mission has the opposite objectives: guard the captive hostage or kill him upon his release of captivity. It's good to see a different perspective in a different campaign The graphics are acceptable but are a little buggy. Character detail is impressive, however. Gameplay uses the SMART engine, which has free running elements, climbing tall objects is made easier and seems more realistic, and you can slide when you hold the duck button. I didn't really like the combat in the game too much, as guns seemed to deal random amounts of damage and the recoil on some of the guns were insane when others were nonexistent. Bots were the main problem in the game. Your AI teammates are generally useless and are at their worst when you are in need of their help, and AI enemies are always, always directing their fire at you. The game has been patched a few times but they really need to focus on fixing the bots. The bad AI usually has an impact on the success of the mission, it's sometimes just pure luck. the 3.5 out of five doesn't mean you should avoid this game, it just means just don't expect a masterpiece with this game.
