Sure, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being ambitious, especially if you are developing a video game. After all, some of the best FPS titles of all time have been created exactly because studios were willing to experiment and test new approaches. However, there’s generally a huge difference between trying to make your game better and biting off more than you can chew.

There are cases when developers try to combine so many different mechanics to appeal to all kinds of audiences that they end up compromising the entire experience. This is quite unfortunate, of course, especially when we’re talking about FPS titles that actually had potential.

Brink is a team-based FPS game developed by Splash Damage, and the story takes place on the Ark, which is a floating city divided between its wealthy inhabitants and refugee populations. The storyline basically focuses on the conflict between the city's security forces and the Resistance, and you get to choose which side you would like to support. Perhaps the biggest ambition that Brink had was combining a story-driven shooter, objective-based multiplayer, and the parkour system called SMART.

The idea was to allow players to automatically vault obstacles and slide while sprinting. However, the movement system had serious trouble working properly because of the level design. The problem is that it doesn't really encourage creative movement, as players are often forced through narrow chokepoints, so you can already see why people quickly started to find the mechanics quite frustrating.

What doesn't help the situation is that Brink requires cooperation between players, and teamwork becomes quite difficult when you ignore objectives.

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