How Good Is The Xbox 360 & PS3 – Brink

Brink’s world exists upon the Ark, which is a floating city. The city is all that is left after certain events destroyed the planet. It is the only hospitable place left on the planet and hence cause of clash between two rival groups to conquer the Ark and make it their own. The two rival groups are the security forces and a group resisting them. The security group wants to control and the resisting group looks for ways to end the tyranny of the security forces. Neither of the groups is evil or good; they are just rivals who want the Ark for themselves.

At the start of the game players have to select the side they want to represent. Once the players successfully accomplish the first mission in the game, they have access to all the missions and maps of both the groups. The reason why all missions and maps are made open to players is that the game is actually an online multi player game. In the offline mode single players can play the game till the end without any problem. As an online game with all missions and maps available it is easier to select the desired missions and maps to play.

Splash Damage the British Studio has successfully managed to design a game focusing on multi players. The game can easily be categorized as being an ambitious attempt which has given rewarding results. The USP of the game is that it is unique in every sense of the way. Brink manages to merge the concept of single and multi player FPS into one amazing game. Though it is being touted as a solo and multi player game its main feature is the exciting and tense strategies which are a result of the eight to eight adversary play that outshines all available games.

Players face specific targets that can be accomplished only if the skills of certain characters are adopted. Overall there are 4 characters – soldiers, operatives, medics and engineers.

· Soldiers – These restock the ammunition stocks of team mates and also place explosives.

· Operatives – These are hackers and hack networks of adversaries, search for concealed mines and masquerade themselves as the opposite team players.

· Medics – They have the power of healing. They heal themselves and members of their team.

· Engineers – They are good at fixing things and laying turrets.

Credit must be given to Splash Damage for creating a game that works with teamwork. Points need to be collected to move up the rank and improve the power of the character the players endorse; by shooting down adversaries and carrying out ‘class specific’ tasks such as replenishing ammunition supplies or building turrets. Each time a player gains experience points, a notification of the order shows up immediately. Points are high for doing tasks that are class specific.

The use of Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain (S.M.A.R.T) is what sets Brink apart. Players can easily scale verticals walls by pressing the ‘sprint’ button. The ‘jump’ button can be used for scrambling over difficult terrain on the map. The scaling and climbing takes some learning; however it comes as a big advantage when mastered, as it is easy to aim at the enemies sitting from high up.

In the beginning of the game players can only represent medium body build characters, which have average skills. As the rank in the game improves players can represent the light weights as well as heavily built characters. Lighter characters have the ability to fly about at supersonic speeds and reach inaccessible regions by jumping. They are otherwise weak and can use only light weapons. The heavily built characters on the other hand are slow to move, but can withstand heavy attacks, they can use heavy artillery but are easy targets because of their slow gait.

When one thinks about creativity, features and worthiness of the game Brink has all the right elements. The most appealing feature is the highly animated characters that resemble cleverly done caricatures. These add character to the characters. There is the option of customizing characters, though this feature needs to be unlocked. There are total of 112 quadrillion character arrangements that can be used. It will take a life time and more to try them all. The customization can create unusual characters running all over the Ark. The menus too are designed with clinical precision, with a lot of detailing which makes the complete gaming experience enjoyable.

So what is the final verdict? The game has been created after a lot of deliberation, and this is obvious when it is played. The story, the characters, the background, the graphics are all above par. The different levels of the game hold the attention of the players wanting them to continue. The customization of characters adds a different kind of fun element. The game makes players scale new heights of excitement.