Brink

Brink is a first-person shooter with a focus on fluid, parkour style movement similar to that seen in games such as Assassin’s Creed and Mirror’s Edge and co-operative play. Online play is also a focus of the game, allowing up to sixteen players to play online, eight on each team. The game features both cooperative and team-based competitive options as well as the ability to play against bots.

For this movement Splash Damage has developed the SMART (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain) System.⁷ It allows players to maneuver around complex environments without equally complex input by analyzing their position and judging what they are trying to do.

Players can customize characters which are based on several archetypes and additional items can be bought with experience points earned by completing objectives.¹ Unlike some similar games (the Call of Duty series for example) the same experience points can be earned in both single player and multi-player.

The player can choose to play one of four character classes, the soldier, the medic, the engineer and the operative. The Soldier class can resupply teammates and use high explosives to destroy key targets. The Engineer class enhances their teammates’ weapons and can place stationary turrets. The Medic class is able to heal fallen teammates and increase their teammates’ health. The Operative class can perform acts of sabotage, interrogate fallen opponents to provide intel on enemy locations and disguise themselves and operate as one of the enemy.

While in gameplay, both multiplayer and campaign, the player can bring up a “wheel” of sorts providing various objectives to fulfil. Each of these objectives give a specific amount of experience.

The Squad Commander system provides players with context-sensitive missions. The player’s specific position on the map, his relative skill, current progress in the overall mission, and a wide variety of factors influence the available missions.