Broken But Beautiful: ‘Brink’ Review

What happens to society when you run out of resources? That’s the question lurking in the background of new post-apocalyptic first-person shooter Brink. On a massive floating city known as the Ark, two extremes of troubling human behavior come to the fore in view of the game’s theme: perpetual conflict. The Security faction wants to [...]

How to Build an Awesome World: “Brink” Devs on Narrative and Visuals, Part 2

In the first part of the talk with Brink‘s lead writer Ed Stern, he talked about how the look of the game can inspire plot and gameplay ideas. In this interview, art director Olivier Leonardi–the man in charge of Brink’s aesthetic–discusses how the eco-pocalypse FPS’ distinctive approach to character and environmental design came about.

How to Build an Awesome World: “Brink” Devs on Narrative and Visuals, Part 1

There’s a lot of moaning about how so little though goes into the story and scenarios of most video games and the first-person shooter genre, especially, catches a lot of that criticism. Some of that grousing is justified, with all the grim, square-jawed super-soldiers and cookie-cutter corridor combat that gets churned out year after year.

On the Brink, Part 2: Talking with Splash Damage

As 2010 winds down to a close, this game critic’s finding himself for all FPS’ed out. True, the genre gave us the year’s biggest-selling games in Halo: Reach and Call of Duty: Black Ops. But, it’d be hard to argue that either game gives players an entirely new experience. As I wrote earlier, Brink seems [...]

On the Brink: Hands-On with 2011′s Experimental Shooter

While other first-person shooters will be vying for gamers’ thumbs in 2011, no game next year will look like Brink. The characters look lived in, with pockmarks, scars and receding hairlines all among the options for customization. And that customization’s amongst the best I’ve ever seen in any game in recent memory. Sections of the [...]

E3 2010: What We’re Looking Forward To

One of our Techland colleagues who shall not be named asked, “Is it bad that I don’t know what E3 is?”

What Did Bethesda Softworks Just Send Me?

Rarely do I ever feel compelled to write about swag or promos that get sent to the office. The amount of stuff that gets sent sort of makes me sick considering all the wasted materials and gas needed to make it all happen.