Genre: First-Person Shooter

Publisher: Bethesda

Rating: 16 (PEGI)

Platform: Xbox 360

A new competitive multiplayer romp from Bethesda, Brink seamlessly blends environment hoping parkour with lead sputtering first-person action. With these guys at the helm, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility to imagine that we may be on the brink of a shooter revolution.

The S.M.A.R.T. system gives a fluid way to travel over or under terrain. With players able to simply hold a button, they interact with any environmental object they run into. It’s fluid, fast and perfectly complementary to the non-stop, heart-pounding action.

A cliché but harmless plot sees humanity almost wiped out by the rise of water levels, the last known survivors taking refuge on a floating city named The Ark. Two warring factions rise up in disagreement to policy. But this storyline thread is merely the stitching that holds the levels together; the main emphasis of the game is slanted towards online play.

People can play Brink on their own, utilising AI as their teammates, but every level, whether, part of the campaign, a challenge or a custom match, is played as part of a team. As with most games with substitutable AI, it’s best to swap them out for real-life players.

Brink has a heavy emphasis on character class, with each able to carry out particular objectives. There’s the soldier who’s a dab hand with explosives, the engineer that’s good at fixing things, the operative who’s a master of disguise, and the medic whose lips are chaffed from the relentless administration of the kiss of life.

It’s through these different classes that a level of strategy comes about – it’s no good having a team of engineers, each stood around with his tool in his hand.

Customisation plays a huge role, not only in the aesthetics of each character, but also through their skills and their weaponry. With experience comes upgrades, and so it’s a good thing that players have the option to work on multiple characters.

Brink’s unique art style delivers characters with war-hardened looks and impressively toned muscles, yet each still look gaunt and undernourished. It’s strange at first, but eyes soon become acclimatised.

An impressive game because of its mechanics, there’s little doubt it’s going to be revolutionary for first-person shooters. But it feels as though there’s something lacking. Aside from the handful of challenges, there’s no real cessation to the constant team-on-team battles.

SCORE: 7 / 10