Question: What does a lead shoutcaster do? Is he basically a hype man from a fan forum? Or is that developer run?

Grease me up woman!

From what I gathered, he was an announcer for Quake or ET multiplayer matches and has now moved on to Brink. Yes, he announces for a video game on the internet.

You know what they say -- The mini stats don't lie.

To Goliath I say:

1. Welcome to the forum.
2. Hyping a game by claiming it plays nothing it doesn't coddle like an immensely popular and profitable franchise might not be the way to go if you want to make a big successful new IP.
3. Implying anyone who doesn't like the game just needs to "play moar better" isn't necessarily the best marketing move.
4. Your write-up also made it sound like the game has one way it allows you to play and if you don't do that exact thing then the AI refuses to help and you die in a fire. That is not me playing a game - that is the game playing me.

I was semi interested in checking this one out (although not on release day), but I must say...initial impressions have left me not really wanting to check this out at all.

I'm guessing 6.5/7's on the release day reviews.

I don't expect Brink to appeal to everyone but I at least want people to give it a fair shot based on accurate information, which was absent from this thread earlier.

2. ...by claiming it plays nothing it doesn't coddle like an immensely popular and profitable franchise...

Popular and profitable doesn't necessarily mean good or better. I've had more fun in a single match of Wolf ET/ETQW than I have had in all games of nearly every other modern shooter combined, for example.

4. Your write-up also made it sound like the game has one way it allows you to play and if you don't do that exact thing then... you die in a fire. That is not me playing a game - that is the game playing me.

But wait.. that's exactly what COD does from start to finish. Try doing something other than the scripted, exact required actions and see how far you get. Seems to be a double-standard.

@Liver&Onions: Brink TV is a community-run bunch of gamers that really enjoy Splash Damage games. No official ties in any way.

Goliath,

You are right about one thing. Call of Duty is a strictly scripted game which allows for only one way to play it and that is constantly being forced through missions...advancing to a certain point in that mission before the GAME allows you to move forward.

I have a bad feeling about Brink especially with the lack of reviews prior to the release. If a game is worth the price of admission, why not have it reviewed by the major mags? What better advertising could a company receive then from the major game mags which people read monthly? Hiding a game from reviewers prior to its release does not make people very comfortable shelling out $60.00 for a title that may be worth $20.00 in the bargain bin. I canceled my preorder due to the doom and gloom comments all over the net about this title and also based on one or two comments from people who claim to have actually played it and were not impressed.

Well after talking with my online buddies we're still going to get it. If anything give it a go and if it doesn't pan out trade it in within a month.

From actual in game single player footage the biggest complaint I saw was just how fast you went down taking a few hits. On the other hand the ability of 8vs8, coop and four classes to choose from might help even it up.

Amazon dropped the price to $55 and still has a $10 credit. And like I said if it doesn't work and we don't like it trade in for something like $30 credit which I can live with.

Out of curiosity I came in to see what the buzz was about. I did enjoy last year's E3 trailer. What an interesting turn this thread took.

Pretty much.

Yeah this sucks I was looking forward to this. Now I wake up and it seems someone took a dump in my Cocoa Puffs.

Goliath, if your game is so great, put your money where your mouth is. Release a demo, or raise the review embargo early.

They won't because reviewers don't "GET" it...and will score it to low...

So will there be some reviews tonight or do we have to wait for tomorrow?

I will say that they will not be released until after you have purchased and opened your copy.

Why do you insist on being coddled by reviewers? Buy a copy at full price site unseen, or you are a COD FANBOY!!!!

Just got a useless text from Best Buy that the game is "now available at Best Buy". Don't know if that means it came out a day early or just that the text jumped the gun.

This is why...

"I'm out!"

all new copies will have a code you enter on metacritic to unlock the ability to actually see the reviews...

* Requires active PSN connection.

No you block head I hate COD!!! I just like to read about different aspects I don't really put much into the actual score.

Don't knock cod until you've tried it in a white wine sauce. Yummy!

Just got another text. Correction : Game will be at Best Buy May 10th. Thanks for that, guys. So glad I opted in to your text service

Delete the second text, show up at the store with the first. Maybe they'll give you a coupon for your trouble.

I got those texts today too -- both woke me up at different times while I was trying to sleep. NO SALE!

I don't have a problem with this at all. What I DO have a problem with is all the developer interviews I keep seeing online and elsewhere that show cheerful Aussies chattering away about how much fun the gamers will have with this game -- how it's SP, co-op or multiplayer at once, how it's easy to switch from class-to-class. All the cartoony visuals and light-hearted atmosphere. This game appears to be trying to pass itself off as the next Team Fortress, Borderlands or Monday Night Combat -- all wildly fun, accessible multiplayer games.
If this is actually some sort of soul-crushing, hardcore tactical online-only game, that's fine; there's a place for games like that. But what's been put "out there" is apparently a significant misrepresentation of the actual final product. Combine that with a review ban, the lack of a demo and the ever-present pressure to pre-order the game to get bonuses and credit, and you've got the recipe for a lot of pissed-off gamers and potentially a notorious failure from a commercial standpoint.