I have just finished the game.... It took a weekend, I didn't really leave the couch much, I only had one shower in about 50 hours, my girlfriend sent me several angry texts asking where I was and why I wasn't answering her calls, and I consumed nothing but high fat junk food all Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, but I did it. Yes, admittedly Im late. I have been over seas for almost two months without my beloved xbox to keep my afternoons exciting, although i pre ordered the game and had it in my hands all of two days before i flew off for lands uncharted, so all i could do was sit and stare at the cover of the game and re read the manual inside over and over again like an anxious teenage girl drooling over her Justin Beiber ticket stub before the concert and hope that the bright colours and awesome picture on the front of my limited edition metal game case would be just a precurser to the countless hours of highly anticipated, incredible game play and "drop you jaw, like nothing you've ever seen" features the "cream-in-your-pants" Brink website and drool inducing cinematic trailers led us to believe was just around the corner.........then.... this. Admittedly I didnt play on the hardest level, I didnt play multi-player online yet, I havent unlocked all the add-ons or achieved all the upgrades yet, so to keep the "die hard loyalists" out there happy and prevent them from jumping down my throat as a "passive weekend gamer that wouldnt know $#!*%", Il admit i havent seen every thing the game has to offer....... but I was disappointed. Sadly, regrettably, disappointed. Where was the groundbreaking customisation I was promised? Where was the unique gameplay and intense action scenes i saw in the trailers? Where was the "edge of your seat" story line that the setting of this truly imaginative theme of mankind struggling for survival on the last remnant of civilisation hinted at? Here i was expecting a game that would change first person shooters forever and leave us all breathless at the way all of this new layout was stitched together over the past four years by the studio that brought us killers like Quake Wars and Wolfenstine... but it just let me making that sound... You know the sound. That one you made when you were 10 and you really wanted that super cool BMX bike for Christmas and you realised at the last second that you got a scooter instead. That slightly let down, "oh.... yay.... um.... thanks" sound. Where was the game I was told was coming to rock my socks? Where was my BRINK?! Now before you pass judgement on me as another [censored]ing know-it-all that flicked through some game review mag on a dentists waiting room table, saw the write up on the up and coming Brink title, thought it would be a good game to try out, and then was let down, let me defend myself. Since the very first press release i have watched with baited breath every single update about this game. Like many countless others, I trolled review sites and mags for their shining reviews they gave SplashDamages new baby... Like an obsessed stalker I prowled Youtube and Machinima and countless other sites, watched and re watched the trailers, poured over all the forums, and admittedly even joined a fan club populated by 13yolds who eagerly pvssyd about their future clans and how they were gona "pone" each other into oblivion.... All in anticipation for a game that was hailed "up and coming game of the year" by so many. Almost four years of my life I have devoted in loyal commitment to following this game.... So I think I should of deserved better. A story line that was as basic as the detail that went into the customisation options I was given left me wondering about the alcohol consumption of the creative department of the studio during development. 2 dozen pre set outfits and face masks, a dozen awkward looking arkotypes and a few cheesy voices.... THAT was the amazing customisation features? And map layout.... you look at the ARK on the web site and you see an amazing world layout that you had hoped you could use fully to your advantage, and spend hours exploring every nook and cranny for new secrets, as in Borderlands, GTA or Fallout, but instead I was placed in these tiny, crudely laid out arenas that had me running around trying desperately to cover my own [censored] and finish a mission almost by myself for lack of assistance from my cumbersome, artificialy un intelligent bot team mates. If I wanted to play in an arena and get blown away while doing a mission alone i would of stuck to Counterstrike. Give me freedom, give me open spaces! And give me a longer game.... 10 or so maps?? Thats it?? Gee.... Halo was short i know but atleast I could play it on legendary and have a challenge. And what is with the story line?? I was disheartened as i heard myself let out a sigh. Now dont get me wrong.... as a gamer who has been there and done that since i was old enough to play Pong with my cousins and have grown up seeing how my passion has evolved from the simple beginnings of Packman and Super Mario Brothers to the now orgism inducing experiences of Modern Warfare and Crisis, i still think Brink has a lot of awesome upsides to it. The ability to choose a side was a nice touch, as was the SMART mobility, and the game plays like a dream as far as combat and "leveling up" is concerned. I spent ages laughing as I went covert behind enemy lines only to pop up and blow my foes away, and loved the satisfaction i got from sliding like a bad [censored] into my opponents shins as i sent him flying, only to jump up and cap him one before bounding up some wall to find my next victim.... but the whole time i was left with this empty feeling of wanting.... I duno.... more. The game had so much potential, so many possibilities for greatness... where did we go wrong? Then i realised its not their fault. Dont blame the studio, or the producers that this game failed to satisfy all our desires.... the fault lies in a more unadmitted place.... Its our fault. Its my fault this game didnt live up to my wildest dreams and expectations. All at once I realised iv lived in a dream world, blissfully accepting the idea that this game would land with the sound of angels singing and boast the blessing of the Almighty himself and solve all my irrational desires for the "perfect game", one combining the ultimate blend of cool graphics, divine game play, awe inspiring AI and breathtaking multi-player features..... When in reality, It, like many other highly anticipated titles before it to come and then fall into the bottomless pit of let downs, was designed with one main goal in mind..... to be the thing we needed at that moment when we just need an escape from our reality we call every day life and entertain us for as long as we give it a chance to.... and then to be finished... or discarded (whatever comes first), and be appreciated as a piece of the journey that we call gaming.... a long and winding road we travel in our quest for entertainment and adventure. Brink wasnt an entire let down for me... I love the game, and, in due time with more gameplay, Im sure il end up getting over my disappointment at its many flaws and failures and learn to accept it for what it is... A good game that had its ups and downs. If anything can be learned though from my experience, its that sometimes holding your breath for something for too long can make you expect more than what is really on offer. Next time i wont be so overly excited for "the next big thing".... then again... RAGE looks like its set to rock my socks off... back to holding my breath i guess....... Cheers guys.

Wow. A mature & well thought out post. Who'd have thunk it lol Youve got a point man & I sympathise & agree. I expected more, I enjoy what we do have but I was left thinking that more could have been done. Hopefully Brink 1 is the testing ground & Brink 2 will eventually expand, learning from these mistakes. Dont think ill preorder that, tho. Been too upset by the way things have been handled for the first Brink lol

sorry mate, for all i know you just cured cancer but there is no way im reading that text without paragraphs. many people will think the same. put in some paras and i will take a look

Everything you said is true. That and theirs no replay value once you do it all and RAGE is just a borderlands knock off but yeah all true

Good post, took me some time to read it but good...

Though, the fault is both parties. The devs and the players. its because of Brink really that I no longer have support for the industry, I have decided that the masses of people only want the saturated and over done AAA games, and there is no room in the market for innovators. Devs don't want to even take the risks either, so we are left with the same games being pumped out over and over again, and those "life changing ones" don't get respect, don't get noticed, and end up in the bargain bin at Walmart for 10 dollars 5 months down the road.

Its a shame, but your best bet is to NOT follow anything and get your hopes up considering.. ITS JUST A GAME/HOBBY... unless its a well known franchise/series in which case you have nothing to fear. Go into everything unbiased, unprejudiced, and un-knowing, and you have a better chance not to get let down.


Peace.

Good lawd, you need paragraphs and a turret to break down that wall of text.

Sounds like a good deal, life changing games for 10 dollars?

But seriously, I'm going to have to agree here except that the is AMAZING when played with 7 other friends, but good luck finding people who would rather play Brink then some AAA game right? The game had potential and even now I still play it after having leveled up 3 characters to max, found all the cool little spots to hide from enemy fire, and I've even beaten the hard campaign about four times now.

The main thing about games is the NEVER live up to expectation unless there is alittle to be had, remember Kane and Lynch? (The first one, Dead Men) It had a great multi-player idea which changed the players view on who they're partnered with, "Could he be a possible traitor? Will he kill a teammate and make a run for it? Should I kill him first and risk being a traitor?" Great idea, flawed with terrible problems, but when I played it I loved the idea and how it was made, however I hated the lack of good controls.

But yeah, it is the player's fault for expecting more just look at Duke Nukem: Forever. Too much expectation for 12 year.

What proof have you got? None, I thought so!

Yeah, I'm still enjoying Brink. Played a few games of BFBC2 last night and it was the most frustrating experience I've had in a while.... so then I called up my other friend for a Brink sesh and had soo much damn fun that I didn't realize it was already morning.

Updates coming soon can't wait.

Hopefully that may change all of the naysayers minds! With the patch comes DLC, DLC comes with fun, fun comes with more, dare I say, HUMAN TARGETS! :flamethrower:

haha, pretty spot on review mate,glad i read thru it..... pretty much agree 100 percent.

Man, this speaks to me. I was flipping HYPED for BRINK. Regular poster all day, everyday. Any and every bit of infomation about BRINK, I'd join the rest of the uberfans in digesting it, slowly absorbing the greatness through my computer screen.

I would - on a regular basis - fight for BRINK's honorfrom those who didn't know about it, or those who hated it.
I would defend BRINK from the clutches of Call of Duty, and became a zealot of sorts, pushing out Call of Duty, rigorously believing BRINK would change the entirety of the FPS genre.
I would - for an entire month, without fail - participate in a forum journal story, which spawned into a beautiful precursor to actual play.


Then it happened. Release. I played my heart and soul out for what seemed to be a lifetime...

But it wasn't. It was a mere few hours after I started that I realized this WASN'T the life-changing game I was promised.
This wasn't the great, mind blowing game I had been looking forward to for half a year.
This wasn't the BRINK I loved.


So I stopped. Got my guy to level 20, and we slipped away, without so much as a last goodbye. It became one of those games I don't play anymore because I'm not motivated enough to play it. I ended up slipping to the dark side of my religious rants, and bought Call of Duty: Black Ops.

One: It's not that bad. The community is a bunch of runts that make me ashamed to be a teenager, but it's not the Great Evil One that I've been preaching.
Two: It's not as radically different as it said it would be. It's... It's as different as any FPS is to COD. Yeah, great changes were made, but not THAT great.


I guess it's just a case of over-hype. I was a complete really devoted fan, but now... It's like I gave up.


I've failed you, Jack. I've failed you and your late father.

Not really. If it took roughly a month for the full game to die, how long do you expect people to stick around after they release 2 new maps and some weapons? DLC alone cant and wont save this (or any) game, and I don't understand why everyone seems to think it can. If the core game cannot sustain a healthy population by it self, then it is doomed. Maybe the game-play tweaks released for consoles will help (not sure what the effect was on PC), but 1 little DLC is not going to make this game any more appealing to the masses.