Bethesda just announced that they’re dropping Brink on the gaming public one week earlier than planned. So if you’re scratching your head, wondering just what Brink is and why you should care (and I assure you, you should), we’ve got the goods right here.

Developed by game studio Splash Damage, Brink is a new breed of MMO for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Others have attempted to make a first-person shooter that works as a multiplayer online world, but no one’s really succeeded. Brink brings some new ideas to the formula, with a single player campaign and a multiplayer campaign that are interchangeable. You can play through the campaign by yourself, or take it online anytime you want to play alongside your friends. Go back and forth, playing the game any way you want.

The setup for Brink is thus: Earth’s oceans have risen to such levels that every land mass is now underwater (which is where its similarities to the movie Waterworld begin and thankfully, end). Years before the oceans rose, a man-made floating city was constructed off the coast of San Francisco called the Ark. The Ark was planned as a self-sufficient, green habitat for its 5,000 forward-thinking inhabitants. But this supposedly utopian society (BioShock, we’re looking at you) is disrupted when the ocean disaster strikes, causing thousands of refugees to rush to its artificial shores and magnifying its occupancy to above 50,000.

With too little food, water, and clothing to support so many, two social classes quickly emerge: the eco-friendly, high-minded founders of the Ark, and the lower-class society that forms around the refugees. The Ark’s Security forces are constantly fending off offensives by the Resistance, who mostly inhabit the shanty town that’s been cobbled together on the outskirts of the floating city. Security deems the Resistance to be terrorists, while the Resistance believe they’re fighting for their very survival under the boot of their cruel overlords.

(Personally, I’m curious about what calamity caused the oceans to rise so fast. That’s a big mystery that jumps out at me. But I have no idea if the game plans to address this.)

Brink allows you to choose which side you want to play on: Security or Resistance. You begin developing your character immediately in the single player campaign, but that development continues as you play alongside friends in co-op and/or multiplayer. The customization options are nearly endless, with more options unlocking the longer you play.

One of Brink‘s key selling points is its “interpretive movement system” called SMART, whereby characters use fancy parkour moves to navigate any environment they’re in automatically. SMART stands for “smooth movement across random terrain,” and it determines whatever movement you need to undertake, be it vaulting, climbing, sliding, seeking cover, and more, and with a single button press, makes it happen fluidly, using some sweet character animations. Here’s a video that demonstrates the SMART movement system:

Check out the screenshots below, and then get ready for a true FPS/MMO when Brink arrives on May 10th.

id Software doesn’t want you to forget that Rage — its next-generation first-person-shooter — exists. So here’s a handful of lovely new screenshots that show some of the impressive visuals the game has to offer.

Rage been in the works for at least four years now, having been first announced way back in 2007. The game sends you to a post-nuclear-apocalyptic land, where you’ll fight for your life against terrifying mutants, engage in breakneck vehicular combat, and explore a vast new world full of colorful characters and fascinating locales. Pundits have drawn similarities to Fallout 3 and Borderlands, and from these screens, it’s easy to see why. But it’s from id, so you know it’s going to offer an experience all its own.

Rage is built on id’s new “id Tech 5″ engine, which ups the ante from the Doom 3 engine with all sorts of new bells and whistles — not the least of which are bright, expansive, outdoor environments. No id game in history has quite managed to master the art of huge, fully-explorable outdoor settings, but Rage looks to fix that, with seamless transitions between inside and out, and plenty of fast-paced vehicle action through the ruined plains and valleys of this strange world. It’s a definite departure from the company that gave us the basic FPS game mechanic — fighting through hellish 3D environments against hordes of demonic monsters — in games like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake, and then polished that mechanic with each new release. Rage is a feast of a completely different flavor, offering a deep, immersive, fully-realized open world with RPG elements added to the mix.

id Software has also just relaunched rage.com in anticipation of the game’s September 13th release for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Now this is all very flashy and impressive with first person shooters, because FPS are pretty much what’s hot in new releases these days. So, the litmus test for a gaming machine would have to be how well it performs in FPS action.

But I’m not such a big fan of FPS. I can tolerate them. Heck, I even loved them once upon a time. But nowadays I find myself pining more and more for the golden era of RPGs – when compelling stories were told without the need to go all MMORPG instead of a plain old, good clean fun single player campaign.

It truly is increasingly difficult to find a good single player RPG because of the jungle of MMORPGs one must hack a path through along the way. There are some pretty MMORPG worlds out there, and indeed, some have quite addicting gameplay. But if you’re looking for the RPG aspect one would expect to find in most massively multiplayer roleplaying games, you’re more or less stuffed. MMORPGs are more about bashing NPCs and randomly engaging in mindless PK than actually roleplaying, or making roleplay-oriented, strategic decisions.

So what am I doing? I’m moving backwards in time. Beginning with Oblivion, and traveling all the way back to the Might and Magic days, I’m actually stepping so far back in time that my machine’s amazing specs are completely wasted. All because I can’t find a decent RPG that’s not overrun with 12 year old hack n’ slash aficionados, as too many MMORPGs seem to be.

Thus I am posing a question to you, as someone who’s more than likely been around the gaming block. What good quality RPGs do you recommend? What’s the most eye-catching? What has a gripping story? What will simultaneously take advantage of my machine’s 100% pure grade A win and provide an old fashioned RPG thrill? Is there such thing as a freshly-released RPG that’s not a MMORPG?

Suggestions will be deeply appreciated. Please, help give my gaming machine a reason to live.

Parabellum - a free MMO FPS

Parabellum combines the best elements of FPS (First Person Shooter) and MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) games to create an extremely unique and fully customizable gaming experience. Parabellum introduces the first interactive non-linear multiplayer campaigns in addition to an advanced character & weapon development system and realistic and engaging game-play.

‘Parabellum will set the standard of what to expect from Free2Play games,‘ said David Demers, Associate Producer of Parabellum. ‘Bringing quality Triple-A titles to the Free-to-Play market raises the bar for all and sets GamersFirst apart from the rest.‘

Set in a world in a not too distant future, the privatization of global military forces has created highly profitable opportunities for ex-soldiers, mercenaries and adventurers. Gamers must choose their alignments carefully to survive. You must join forces with one of the two foremost covert reconnaissance organizations in the world. The CTF; an organization avowed to keeping anarchy at bay, or the Syndicate; a legion of bloodthirsty rebels bent on destruction and chaos. Each of them are solicited by the C.I.N. a Global Mercenary Network that provides contract missions to each of these factions who vie against one another with the fate of the World as the ultimate prize.

‘GamersFirst is a pioneer and market leader of the free-to-play model in Europe and North America.‘ Says Frank Trigub, Director/Founding Partner, Acony Games. ‘We are happy to have such an ideal partner in GamersFirst for Parabellum.’

Fear Alma – again. F.E.A.R., the seminal classic shooter, revitalised a tired FPS genre with a great mix of horror, gunplay and Matrix style slow-motion action sequences that proved a huge amount of fun. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin returns to the same formula, and doesn’t really differ too much. However, more of the same means more fun.

Story

The sequel to the original game kicks off just before the original game ends, i.e. prior to the massive explosion triggered by the release of Alma (a girl raised to be a biological weapon used to produce ‘replica’ soldiers) and her crazy powers. The player takes the role of Sgt. Michael Becket, a member of a special task force sent in to rescue Genevieve Aristide – President of the corporation responsible for the replica soldiers and Alma herself. Luckily, quite early in, Becket receives the same power as the ‘Pointman’ from the original game, meaning that he too can slow down time (or rather his super reactions kick in) to take out enemy forces.

Graphics

There’s no doubt that F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin looks great. The environments, whilst at times looking quite similar, are very well rendered with a great level of detail. Textures are good and enemies are particularly well animated (check out how they try to vault walls and react when you shoot them). Perhaps the real visual treats come in the form of Alma and the other ghost encounters. Frequently disorienting, you’ll be amazed at the variety of effects used.

Sound

A true highlight of the game, there’s nothing quite like the ghostly sounds of Alma, the announcements by soldiers giving you a heads up on the plan or hearing the dreaded “I see a flashlight!”. All of the incidental stuff really does add to the game and it serves to really show what a quality package the whole game is.

Mood

I’m still undecided on how I feel about the mood of the game. There are some particularly tense moments provided by the horror atmosphere. However, it can be quite jarring to go from this to an action-packed encounter when you’re piloting a mech. It isn’t Dead Space, but at times it seems like it wants to be. When it does get it right, it’s fantastic, but at other times it does appear to be a little schizophrenic.

Gameplay

Ah, the most important element to any game – and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin does not disappoint. The gunplay is very, very satisfying indeed. Only perhaps Black served up much destruction when using automatic weapons. Moving to the guns, there’s a lot to play with in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, from lasers to shotguns and everything in between.

The other aspect to the game that is more supportive of the horror storyline are the continuing encounters with Alma. They’ll frequently pop up in the game and you’ll have to either interact with a sequence or face a button mash to stop yourself from being ‘merged’. These quick time action sequences are nothing new but sit quite well with the game as a whole.

My favourite addition to the gameplay definitely comes in the action areas where you get to pilot a powered armour suit. The amount of destruction you can wreak is simply superb. There are a lot of destructible environments in the game and you’ll love the unlimited chaingun ammo and rechargeable missiles.

The single player part of the game is quite well plotted with a varied range of enemies to tackle (including Alma herself). The multiplayer modes are somewhat limited but nonetheless reasonably fun. I’m convinced it’ll find some fans out there.

Overall

F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is an impressive achievement by Monolith – though given their previous pedigree of games I didn’t expect anything less. The story will keep you interested, the horror sections will make the hairs on the back of your neck stands up and the action sequences will make your blood pump. What more could you ask for from a game? It provides a heady, intoxicating mix with a lot of brilliant set pieces.

Those who are looking for lots of free-form, open gameplay should look elsewhere, but those seeking a superb action title with a nice line in horror and some truly awesome set pieces should go out and buy immediately. A worthy sequel to the original game? Hell yes. Monolith… You’ve done it. I F.E.A.R. Alma – again.

Available on: PS3, Xbox 360, PC
$50
8/10

Legendary (just imagine Barney Stinson saying it for goofy effect), is a new FPS with a fantasy bent. You play Charles Deckard, a thief who unwittingly opens Pandora’s Box. You’ll be battling various mythological creatures in this FPS, which is where my excitement stems from. The opportunity to frag Griffons and other fantastical creatures is one that I would like to experience. There has been talk that this game may be crap but I really don’t care. My PC is eagerly awaiting this game.

A highly addictive first person shooter written in Shockwave. Very “Unreal Tournament-like” in the look and feel of it. You can even customize what keys are used to control the movements, the mouse sensitivity, the view bob…basically everything you could set in an FPS that runs on your machine. You can also tell it how many bots to put in the game.

The FAQ says that AI and network play are currently in development.

UPDATE

Apparently this was just a beta test and the software has now gone back into development. It was fun while it lasted.