I agree that the idea of Brink is an absolutely fantastic one. Brink got movement mostly right… a very nice mesh between boring COD plodding and ADS snooze-fests and Quake rocket strafing. It’s not perfect, but it’s decent, as I think most movement complaints could be tossed up to SMART features not being used as effectively with respect to map design.
I’d instead look at the expectations of the spoiled twenty-somethings as the source of that which drags this game down
Vehemently disagree. As an older gamer I expect a few key things out of my FPS titles: They should launch without crashes or game-halting bugs when I run them. At least the first bullet out of my gun should shoot where I aim. Doom, Quake, RTCW, ET, ETQW all at least met these simple criteria. Sadly, Brink does not. While the launch bugs may have been driver related for many (Holy Christ ATI sucks balls… they’ve strugged with every game release this year–so glad I have a nvidia card), the gunplay is just… silly.
When I first started playing, it was after a long tour of shoutcasting w/o much game time. I was rusty as hell. However, with Brink, since spread = random luck, I happened to have had excellent luck and would get enough headshots to think things were okay.
Then, the more I played and the more I honed my aim back into shape, I started to clearly see that a confident headshot from me would be a solid miss reported by the game. Again, as someone with a Quake/ETQW pedigree on the PC, such lackluster purely console-noobified gunplay is ridiculous and has no business in a PC title.
Take BF3. I’m not a BF fan. I’ve never played BF competitively. I always hated the idea of hill-humper snipers and 3 minute treks into the battle area. But guess what? BF3 gunplay on the PC is quite excellent. First shot rings true. Every time. Guns pack a punch. Hits feel visceral. While the (lack of) movement is entirely not what I enjoy, the gunplay is solid enough that I keep going back for more.
So the miserable naysayers, let 'em sulk.
Sulk? No. Lament? Yes. There was/is so much potential in Brink, it’s saddening to think how close to the mark SD came to having the blockbuster title that could have potentially captivated team-based shooter e-sports AND casual play for years, yet so widely missed the mark on FPS fundamentals. I’m hoping these will be addressed with the upcoming weapon tweaks, but that hope is tempered by the reality that I’m unlikely to find opponents or friends to play with or against once they’re released.