Honestly, I don't know how I have any fingernails left at all. Every time I see a screenshot or preview article for Splash Damage / Bethesda's 8-player co-op title Brink, I have to remind myself that there are still around seven months to wait. Excuse me for a sec...
...Okay, I'm back. Sorry - had to be sick there for a minute. The free-flowing tears of woe didn't help things... So anyway, like I was saying: the game is bursting with promise. GameInformer magazine printed an interview with Richard Ham in the February issue which I devoured. Now, it's available online.
Richard is the creative director of Brink, and his attitude on co-op is one of the most refreshing I've ever seen, ranking up there with Randy Pitchford and Joe Staten.
"We decided that we didn’t want ‘the story’ to stand in the way of friends playing together, so you can leave your storyline behind and jump into the mission with your friend. And after that’s over, maybe he’ll jump into your storyline and play with you."
Wow. Apparently there are still developers out there that realize they're making games, not movies.
Aside from a slew of hype-worthy co-op comments, there is a ton of new information regarding persistent customization and RPG elements, gun upgrades, and the balancing act between the modes of play: single player, co-op, and multiplayer...and the factions: the Resistance and the Security force.
"There are actually two complete storyline campaigns you will experience as you play through Brink -- one for Security and one for Resistance -- but you can keep your leveled-up character when you switch sides."
I particularly love how your upgraded characters can be used in either faction back-and-forth freely, and I'm stoked to see the Objective Wheel in action during online co-op and multiplayer matches.
"You’ll get your XP for doing what needs to be done, at any time. However, there is bonus XP you can only get if you complete a task that you’ve selected from the Objective Wheel. The reason we want to encourage players to use the wheel is all about communication within the team.
For instance, let's say you're about to hack an enemy turret on the fly which will bring it under your team's control. If you first set it as your objective, the rest of your team will actually hear you say 'Attempting to hack enemy turret!' This can be really valuable information for them to have."
Check out the full interview, which is a solid three-pager full of great info. Just try not to think about how long we have to wait. Oh, no...be right back...
Source: Gameinformer.com