My sojourn in Bethesda Software’s booth sat my sights on a playable version of Brink, a first-person shooter that combined free-running (a la Mirror’s Edge) and a class-based system that very much resembled Team Fortress 2’s own class system. I did see the trailer for it back at E3, but it left such an unmemorable impression that I nearly dismissed it entirely. Despite there being eight demo stations spanned across the entire wall of the Bethesda booth, the wait to demo the game reached upwards of at least two hours or sometimes four hours. The reason for this became immediately clear—the demo lasted approximately 25 minutes. And it was downright awesome.

Attendees were split into attackers (Resistance) and defenders (Security) in a four versus four throwdown that took place in a grimy-looking shipping crate area. I played as an attacker (of course). Before I was able to dive into the nitty gritty details of the game, we were forced to watch a quite lengthy but very informative tutorial on the game’s mechanics. It basically all came down to different classes and how their unique roles complemented one another and helped meet mini-objectives that moved your team toward progression. This delightful insight into the game introduced four playable classes. You have the standard Rambo-style Soldiers, mechanical whiz kid Engineers, healbot-like Medics, and computer-savvy Operatives.

Finally, I rolled into the game as a bald, scruffy-looking ruffian sporting blue-tinted aviators. I am sure I could’ve spent hours combing through customization options had I the luxury of time. After a cursory analysis of the various weapons available and their stats, I settled on what appeared to be a well-balanced SMG. Distinctions between the various weapons did exist, but time was my enemy plus I was eager to jump straight into actual gameplay. When I dropped in, the game had already predetermined my starting class: an Engineer. As an Engineer, I buffed weapons and tinkered with a number of things that were made distinguishable by a wrench icon. The team scattered like roaches and chaos ensued—nobody knew what they were doing exactly, but one fact was indisputable: everyone was having fun. It took but a few moments to acclimate myself to Brink’s controls, which were mapped out to be pretty intuitive to any first-person shooter veteran.

As the team pushed forward to our mini-objective (whatever it was) a few things became apparent. For one, it occurred to me that this was one of those games that required far more tactical finesse and an emphasis on communication to fully appreciate the intricacies it had to offer. Don’t get me wrong—there was much fun to glean from simply vaulting over high obstacles and sliding across the ground, an interesting aspect to this team-based first-person shooter. It was just that each class had a role to fulfill, and if it were not pursued continously your teammates would hate you. I remembered our initial Medic completely neglecting reviving fallen comrades and how that irritated me enough to warrant my own switch to the class. In essence, this was a game that rewarded proper team-playing, which I assumed was measured by how much you buffed your teammates, used your unique skillsets, and the number of kills. At the end of the round, regardless of the outcome you were awarded experience points—what they’re used for, however, still remains unknown at the moment (although to be truthful I had forgotten to ask).

If there were a need for a class change, you were able to do it at a computer terminal upon respawn. This feature allowed for more tactical flexibility as you filled much needed roles in the battlefield. I have to admit though that there was so much going on, so much to learn, and so much to experiment with that I hadn’t fully grasped the overall objective of the level—something about escorting someone or some tank. I was far too busy playing around with the free-running, fully expecting to display acrobatics all over the place, but seeing it in action proved to be a little less practical.

By the end of the demo, my team had narrowly missed victory, but the brief time I spent with Brink spun my impressions of this game around like a U-turn. I only wished I had more time and freedom to play around with its various offerings. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to get a more in-depth look at Brink in the near future to form a more concrete opinion. Until then, Splash Damage, I tip my proverbial hat to you for this fun-filled time. I eagerly await the day I get to play more of Brink.