"Big plans" for Brink 2 and 3

UK shooter specialist Splash Damage has told Eurogamer it's already mapped out two sequels for sci-fi FPS Brink - even though the first one isn't due out until next spring.

Such is the studio's confidence in its first original product (being best known for entries in the Wolfenstein, Doom and Quake series), creative director Richard Ham believes it could become "another landmark franchise [gamers will] want to keep coming back to. I'm looking forward to Brink 2 and 3 as well - we already have big plans for that."

He added: "We're trying to make a multiplayer game that invites more people in that wouldn't normally give multiplayer the time of day," referring the likes of COD, where the environment and standard of play online can be off-putting to n00bs.

"How often in life do you pay for a form of entertainment that makes you feel bad about yourself?" Every Friday night in Camden, mate.

Ham acknowledged the risks of releasing new IP against brand titans like COD and Halo - "Players are putting a lot of money on the table - they want to know what they're getting into" - but said he hoped they would be "willing to take a chance".

"It changes the way a shooter feels," he claimed, whether you're after "a lot of depth and backstory", or "in-your-face, balls-to-the-wall action."

Offering co-op play for two teams of up-to eight per side, Splash Damage is touting Brink as the evolution of the experience Valve offered with Left 4 Dead. Which is certainly aiming high; but the game attracted plenty of admiring eyes from those who checked out the demo at gamescom last week.

Brink is coming to PC, PS3 and 360 next spring. You can see our full chat with Ham over on Eurogamer TV.