So, is it too late to talk about E3 2009?

We don’t think so, especially when it’s one of the much anticipated titles for 2010. When you hear big names like Splash Damage (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars) or Bethesda Softworks (Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls III) behind a title, you know it’s more likely to receive a positive feedback from gamers. And last time we checked, we were pretty avid gamers as well, so you bet we were excited as we walked out of the presentation room.

But let’s talk about what happened before we walked out of the room.

As the presentation started, we were greeted by a bright futuristic design with a little bit of  grunge textures here and there. If you guessed a war theme, then you’re correct.

The story starts from a floating city called “Ark”, made by hundreds of different floating islands in the sky. With the rising ocean, the Ark became one of the few remaining hopes for humanity; yet it’s a place stricken with civil war.

After a short explanation about the world of Brink, we were introduced to the gameplay controls, which caught our attention right away; it uses a first person view, but you’re not just jumping or crouching; you can run and grab the object and pull yourself to the upper level, or you can run and crouch to slide. These character movements aren’t anything new to the FPS concept, but what’s interesting is that Brink has its own system called “S.M.A.R.T (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain)“.

Let’s say that you want your character to hang on a 7′ tall object, then pull himself up so he can stand on the object. With traditional FPS controls, you would press the jump button to hang, then jump button again to make your character pull himself up. But with the S.M.A.R.T Button system, you can just look up slightly while you run to the object, then hit the S.M.A.R.T button instead of the jump button; and your character will climb up on the object for you. So with Brink, all you need to do is to press the button once to climb up, instead of twice or more. Honestly, I’m more of a mouse-and-keyboard kind of guy when it comes to FPS, but I can see that once I get used to the controls of the S.M.A.R.T system, I might actually enjoy FPS more on a console than on a PC. Maybe.

Brink has a class system you would commonly find on other FPS games. But the implementation is a bit different; you can actually change the class on the fly, meaning while you’re playing the game, you can adjust your class, in real-time. Just because you know how to build a turret doesn’t mean you’re stuck with a pistol and a monkey wrench until the mission is over. Awesome.

The missions and objectives system runs a bit differently as well. The main objective of the mission won’t change, but you can enjoy it in many different ways by taking on different quests to proceed with the mission. For example, you can either plant a bomb, or you can fix up and control the machineries to break down the wall; it’s all up to you. The harder the quest you choose, the more experience points you get. You can use these experience points on single player, multiplayer and online/offline  co-op mode so you don’t have to play again and again just to gain experience points for a certain mode.

Overall, even though the title was in its early stages of development, the sound was in places where it should have been. And thanks to their Vitual Texturing technology, the graphics reminded me of something you’d only see on a very high-end PC with oversized graphic cards. And right after the presentation, just when the story was about to get interesting, they told us that the session was over.

They were so good at playing a game of tease that we thought they were coming on to us. Photos and/or videos were not permitted at the Brink presentation, and they didn’t gave us any extra screenshots or videos to really show their title. So in an attempt to feed your whet appetite for extra screenshots of Brink, we’ll just add more pictures of hot car-models from Korea.

But on a serious note, we really can’t wait until our next preview or hands-on of Brink. If you haven’t check them out, please do.

One game I haven’t had a chance to discuss yet is WET, centered on a blade-wielding, gun-toting, wall-running, frequently-acrobatic “problem fixer” named Rubi Malone. Now, Rubi hasn’t exactly had an easy time of things. She gets crossed, double-crossed, and then some, until the only thing keeping her safe is her own weapon-filled hands and sprinting feet. And you know what Rubi is best at? Doing what she does with style.

I’m actually serious on that point. WET is an action shooter published by Bethesda Softworks set to come out later this year. The players will have swords and guns at their disposal, but to really take advantage of their full potential, they’re going to have to dive headfirst into the game’s acrobatics system. Rubi is able to run on walls, slide one way while shooting the other (she can aim 360 degrees, baby!) and rack up style points while executing her attacks flawlessly in the process. In fact, your weapons are only at their full potential when Rubi’s on the move. If you’re mid-acrobatics, Rubi is able to dual-wield her guns, with the player taking manual control of one and the other automatically aiming. Don’t expect such perks if you clumsily attack head-on.

I really liked the look of the game. It’s just slightly cartoony enough to be different, without being fully cel-shaded like so many (read: too many) games out there. The graphics engine runs slick, and it was fun to watch the battles play out so fluidly. Not only that, but when Rubi enters “Rage Mode” in certain levels, reality seems to shift as the entire palette shifts to reds, blacks and whites as Rubi tries to rack up a decent multiplier by chaining up kills by taking down as many enemies as possible by whatever means necessary. I always appreciate when a game decides to change the pace up a bit.

After you’ve gathered some hard-earned style points in the levels, you’re free to upgrade skills, buy new moves, shuffle weapons, enjoy the fruits of your labor. Throw in the voice of Eliza Dushku, a plethora of different cities to fight your way through, and you’re good to go. I guess the biggest question mark at this point is the story. Of course, we don’t have the chance to get a sense for the plot in our relatively short span of time with the game, so I guess we’ll have to wait until the game’s release to find out how well all of this is tied together. PS3 and Xbox 360 owners, keep your eyes peeled and your wall-running talents sharp for the release later this year.

The vivid, surreal world of Rage Mode.