Ben-DutkaBrink is one of those games that has appealed to us from the start; it could be quite original in more ways than one.
In addition to an interesting artistic style and gameplay design, we've learned that gamers may have the ultimate freedom when playing through the adventure. Richard Ham, the game's creative designer, spoke to PCGZine about the concept of letting participants completely "ignore the story." Said Ham:
"In Brink, we're presenting a big story about an epic civil war that wraps all the individual missions together," explained the industry veteran. The important thing for us to keep in mind is that some players will appreciate the story, get interested in the characters, their motivations and the conflict between the factions, but a lot of players won't care at all. This is why you can basically ignore the entire story if you like."
In other words, Splash Damage has worked to deliver a complete storyline with engaging characters, and if you wish to indulge in that aspect of the game, than so be it. On the other hand, if you'd rather just throw down with enemies and don't quite have the patience for a plot, you can do that as well. Choice and freedom have become very important in this generation, and many gamers are really embracing the idea of "doing as they will."
Related Game(s): Brink
This tells me the story wil be half assed. I dont really know about this game. I will wait for reviews.
hey kevin, haven't seen you in a while
Yeah i've been busy, nice to be noticed though 🙂
I certainly enjoyed "doing as I willed" in Fallout 3, Far Cry 2 and even Just Cause 2, but will Brink bring that kind of fun? I don't know. I was ignoring this game completely but maybe now I'll up that to a "wait and see." Any good open world deserves at least that.
You forgot to mention Grand Theft Auto: 4.
I just finished Borderlands. I enjoyed it, but the story was pretty much nonexistent. And don't even get me started on the games ending… still it was fun.
I want to see more of Brink. I think it could end up being pretty good.
"Brink's storyline will be evident, but can be ignored".
That's pretty much the case with most FPS's, except for the likes of Bioshock where emphasis was on single-player rather than mp.
Not really sure how to take that one. It could be that there really will be a good amount of development to the story and the characters, with a simple option to skip. But if that was so, then why would he make the statement, "you can basically ignore the entire story" instead of simply saying you can skip the cut scenes and what not?
Maybe I'm over-thinking it but it seems like they are bowing down to the twitch gamers, something which might not benefit the overall outcome of the game.
umm, I don't really know what to think of the whole ignoring the story part, but Brink does look awesome, unlike most fps' since it has the whole freerun thing going on, which in my opinion sets it apart from the rest of the fps crowd and those new ones like bulletstorm, which I see as just gore and mindless shooting, Brink also has a bit of strategy in it, as seen in the trailers, which I appreciate.
mmmmmmm, another mediocre shooter for some reason this really is not on my must buy list.
i can see myself selling my ps3, 360 soon and buying a wii im sick of playing nothing but shooters for the past few years!!!!!
come on developers for christs sake can anyone show me the law that says 99.9999999999% of games released on the ps3 and 360 have to be shooters?
come on enough is enough, its about time for some freaking variety please!!!!!!!!!!
Then you'll be inundated with 99% shovelware minigame compilations with 1% good games thrown in for good measure.
I have all three systems and the Wii has fewer good games than the PS3 or 360.
true, but at least you have access to all the old classics.
Are you dense enough to think that all there is to buy out there is shooters. Even the best games that have shooting in them (to me) should not be defined by that aspect. Sure Red Dead Redemption has shooting but it is also an a game that will immerse you. Sure Uncharted has shooting but it also has a cinematic flair that sets it apart from the FPS genre with the same hackneyed set pieces. Fallout 3 has shooting but it also happens to be one of the best role players around.
ahhhh yea but what are you essentially doing????????
only reason why im sick of shooters is they are all the same.
take cover, pop, shoot, dodge grenade rinse and repeat.
i buy a new game to play something different, not to play the same sh*t i played the previous day.
if they had some variety than id be fine with it, as FPS are my favorite genre but there not every shooter out there is a clone of another shooter.
will probably end up being a really fun shooter with a story that takes a back seat like Borderlands did. Awesome game but no one will say the story was even remotely good
Im pumped about this game! Boarderlands x mirrors edge, I have seen all the trailers for Brink and it has some very good character creation but then again it comes down to how well they fuse it all together!
So now developers feel they need to cater to people with attentions spans so short they can't even sit though a few cutscenes? That's REALLY a sad commentary on the state of society. And it makes it sound as if the story and characters in their game must be awful.
Although it's hard for me to accurately contribute to something like this since it's usually the story that ropes me into a game, I have to ask if the story is any good if it doesn't draw at least some interest from people. I've played games where I didn't care for the story and just liked the gameplay, but I mean… that's only because the story sucked.
I'm wondering if this article just implies that you can go against what the story would suggest you do next, as opposed to just simply be an unengaged story.
If I want a compelling story I'll read a novel. As long as a game is fun I'll play it. That said, Brink looks fun and I'm interested in it. I just hope it isn't released at the same time as some other games that I'm interested in purchasing.
So you're telling me you wouldn't enjoy compelling stories in other forms, such as stories from Uncharted2, MGS4, GOW3…?
As much as books are brilliant story tellers… great stories can come through other mediums…
Yeah I do enjoy compelling stories from other mediums but from GAMES I kind of take it as an added bonus and not as something that should be required if that makes sense. I usually play games to relieve stress and relax. Just something to pass the time. If it's fun and it doesn't have that great of a story I'm not going to stop playing it altogether or say the game is crap. I just lowered my expectations and standards I suppose since it appears that 99% of games nowadays are created to be played online or think they need to have some type of multi-player aspect to it. Usually when that happens to games do not turn out too well with a few exceptions. That's kinda why I'm worried about the new Assassin's Creed. I don't know I just think people are way to critical sometimes on games. I mean SNES Mario's only story was to save Princess Peach and defeat koopa but you can't honestly tell me that is not one of the greatest and influential games ever. It's just my personal opinion; I hope I don't offend anyone.
Anyways I've played all the games you mentioned except for MGS4 and have enjoyed their story to be honest. (I will play MGS4 when I go home though. My brother told me my dad just found a random copy somewhere lying on the floor of where ever he was and gave it to my brothers and it works perfectly.)
Last edited by Miggy on 5/28/2010 11:16:35 AM
@Miggy
I completely understand where you're coming from, and you make good points to support your stance.
As for me, I'm not suggesting the game will be bad or un-fun with the ability to not care about the story, I'm just confused as to why this article singles out this game is such a fashion. You can enjoy the story, or have fun not enjoying the story? That's cool, but I don't get why that's an announcement… know what I mean?
@Underdog015
Yeah I understand where you're coming from. By them stating this they could possibly be turning away potential buyers. Especially those that really like a good story with their games.
@ Miggy
Yeah i actually do understand the whole relax thing. But i suppose that just not me. I like the competitiveness and i like the story of games, so while i do relax with pokemon everynow and again (im not too focused on the story of pokemon for example… its more for the game), my PS3 is something i get into. I like the feeling of satisfaction of completing an epic story, winning a match… etc etc.
I suppose I relax with a good book. Catcher in the Rye anyone?
lol, I just picked up a book called "Final Fantasy and Philosophy". Any FF fan will appreciate it, and if you're a philosophy or a psychology major, it's a must buy.
*Ben if you're listening, you need this book. It's a fun read, and I think you'll especially appreciate it since you're a psych major. All the authors are well educated.
EDIT: @Zorigo Don't worry, I do read other books NOT associated with v. games. lol
Last edited by Underdog15 on 5/28/2010 3:44:37 PM
😀
I wouldn't even know where to go to find them. well amazon probabaly…
Sophie's world is a brilliant book on phillosophy if you've go the time btw.
Last edited by Zorigo on 5/29/2010 5:18:44 AM
I;m not gonna ignore the story. That's what mirror's edge did. It had a fairly good story, but the focus was solely on the innovation, and while brilliant… there could have been more.
So I'm lookin forward to brink a lot.
On a side note; i just finished GOW3… what a brilliant, brilliant ending. and btw people, if you dont wanna sit through the credits… do so. It's worth it…
Um, the ending of GOWIII left me with more questions than answers. I'll take your advice and see what is so worth it by watching through the ending credits. I think I already did, but I don't remember anything significant.
I wont spoil it for people by saying what happens, but it is intruiging.
I had only one question… whats gonna happen to kratos?
The rest i thought about, and it made sense in my head, so i dont know bout you, but i think it was nicely rounded off. well… i say rounded off…
@ _________:
I really must object to the comment, "enough is enough, its about time for some freaking variety "
Yes, many of the newer games either are shooters or have somebody holding a gun somewhere in there but that is only one genre of games. Movies have plenty of shoot em' ups, detective/cop shows, action/dramas that involve guns and some sort of combat but there's also comedies and musicals out there too. Well, those exist for the PS3 they just aren't as well done because it dosen't seem to be what people want. (ok, maybe not musicals but there are puzzle, and adventure games and what not) What about 3D Dot Heroes? And even amongst the shooters there is a large amount of diversity, FPS 3rd person, different time periods, different story lines, different control schemes, open world environments vs. more restricted ones, the list goes on and on. It all come downs to what you choose to play and I guess if you want to play nothing but brushed up flash games then the Wii is for you. (no offense intended)
yes but the gameplay is essentially the same.
why does there have to be a million shooters released and zero horror games or platformers.
when was the last proper horror game released?
fear 2, but that really was not a horror game it was a action game same as RE5 so go back to dead space but again that really was not a horror game.
the latest game that i can honestly call a horror game is freaking doom 3 4 freaking years ago.
or even platformers when was the last proper platformer released?
R&C ACIT 6 its been six months since the last platformer released, how many shooters have we had since then?
catch my drift?
No I don't catch your drift Mr. ______. Gameplay is always similar for games in the same genres. R&C has similar gameplay to other platformers, Dead Space has somewhat similar gameplay to other horror games, etc. Its unfair to single out any game that involves shoothing as having "essentially the same" gameplay as an FPS. Uncharted is nothing like a normal FPS, neither is Gears of War, neither are several other shooting games out there. If you can't deal with the fact that games involve similar gameplay mechanics yet are different and can be very rewarding experiences, then you shouldn't be calling yourself a gamer IMO.
ya know im really excited to see what the story is like. but i'm also really excited to play the multiplayer. all my friends are tellin me that sniping will be impossible but im also excited to prove em' wrong.
To be 100% honest bioshock has one of the only stories i've ever got extremely into. (in my opinion the bioshock stories are my favorite) i also loved the homefront story to.
that being said im really excited to play the story and to play online. (i wonder if you can customize your character for story mode?) i also can't wait to wear my psycho pack for pre ordering from amazon haha. i can't wait for the 10th