Ho-hum, another FPS – or is it? Who is this man on stage, and why is he showing me something so beautiful that it’s making my eyes bleed, and so intriguing that my palms are breaking out in a rash of anticipation?

“This man”, as it turned out, was Paul Wedgwood, CEO and co-founder of Splash Damage. If that name means nothing to you, then for shame; it lends Brink the kind of pedigree that ought to make any multiplayer FPS fan prick their ears. Birthed in the mod community, responsible for the Enemy Territory iD titles, and composed mainly of ex- and current tournament champions, Splash Damage is one development studio that knows their shooters inside and out.

And it shows. Brink looks exactly like what it is; the product of a group of core gamers sitting down and brainstorming what would make the perfect game. Breathe a deep sigh of relief, because that includes dedicated servers – despite Brink’s cross-platform publishing, it intends to deliver an experience PC gamers will be proud to play.

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Get a taste of Brink's backstory

During our presentation, it became clear that one of Brink’s defining features is the fluidity it brings when moving between the single player and multiplayer experiences. Like Borderlands, Brink has done away with the need to synchronise your watches in order to play with your mates, and all those boring menus, too. If you’re looking for a little help, anyone on your friends list can just drop in to your single player experience, at any time, taking over from an AI squad mate.

If the game’s mission-based approach was anything like traditional models, this would probably lead to immediate, Leroy Jenkins-style diaster, but Brink implements an AI commander, a kind of GM, that ensures you’re never stuck with an unbalanced squad. As every squad member can change their class and equipment set at will by locating a terminal, the commander makes sure that if you and your mates are pure run-and-gun types then a flock of support units are there to back you up. Everyone gets to play the kind of game they want, whenever they want, and it all pulls together harmoniously.

Nevertheless, a pack of you pounding on the front doors isn’t always going to achieve anything, and if the AI members (or players…) aren’t cutting it in one area, the commander will attempt to bribe players into achieving optional objectives. Stuck at a heavily defended turret? The commander cleverly points out the lighter defences in a side tunnel, and offers you a whack of XP to turn infiltrator and go interrogate the guards stationed therein. A few moments and a good chunk towards your next level later, you’ve got hold of some handy log-in codes and another squad member can disable those pesky cannons. In we go!

Throughout the course of a twenty-minute introductory level, the commander offered about a dozen of these side missions, responding to changes in the action. Although the overall strategy – infiltrate to the centre of the fortress – remained the same, the tactics employed changed focus numerously, as the commander reacted to battleground conditions; sending support units to the struggling front line, suggesting alternate paths, and even abandoning failed objectives altogether.

This over-arching strategy combined with plenty of variation has enabled Splash Damage to do away with traditional FPS modes; there’s no capture the flag or death match to be seen. This probably has much to do with the team’s own boredom with the endless regurgitation of the same gameplay tricks in every identical title, but it doesn’t mean you’ll be robbed of your favourite experience. Again, the ability to instantly swap classes and wander off in any direction you choose means every arena holds something for everyone, without the need for matchmaking or bickering over level selection.

This ethos shows in level design, too; instead of plonking two sides down in an unrealistic arena littered with carefully matched sniping points and bunkers, environments actually make some sort of sense. Strung across the island and linked by both a narrative sweep and general strategic direction, each area is crafted to make sense from either faction’s viewpoint but also in the context of its original purpose. Multiplayer no longer takes place in a barren universe designed specifically for the purpose of one style of gameplay.


During the demo, I saw two environments: an airport terminal, and a scavenger city built amongst the ruins of an industrial dock. Both were littered with all the furniture you’d expect of a tactical shooter – cover, vantage points, narrow corridors – but instead of having these tactical points stick out like a sore thumb, they blended seamlessly into the background. Of course there’s cover there, the level seemed to be saying. because in the real world that’s where the luggage trolleys would be stacked, and you have cleverly found another, life-saving use for them. Yay you!

Adding to this feeling of reality was a neat little control quirk that banished the clunky, stop-and-jump movement of most shooters. The Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain (SMART) feature combines sprint, jump, and crouch into one button press. When crossing a level, just point the camera where you want to go and watch the resulting gymnastics as your character climbs, rolls, slides, and leaps into position.

You could imagine this feature turning into a Mario Wii-autoplay feature, except it’s really not. The effect only takes place while you’re holding the key, and so can be used like a traditional jump or duck key by experienced players with particular goals in mind. In the meantime, it prevents you taking unnecessary damage while suffering a slow, unnatural transition from sprint to climb, to slide. Alien vs Predator could really benefit from a look at this.

Brink is the first original IP from Splash Damage, and it’s not hard to see why Bethesda have taken a gamble on it. The early build we saw, demonstrated live in both single and multiplayer, was easily one of the most impressive titles I’ve seen this year. With a strong, proven PC-gaming team at the core of the development, and a slew of staff with credits on Killzone 2, Fable 2, the Prince of Persia series, and Mass Effect, it’s hard not to get excited about just how great Brink is going to be come Autumn next year. Save time, and get hyped now.