I get what you're saying here, but the progression from alpha/beta material to final product is usually an increase in quality not a decrease. In this case the story they showed was cut and is almost non-existent in the game. The graphics are lower quality and more stylized which even if that decision was made due to consoles/hardware limitations, they really shouldn't be so far off when said footage is two years old. The game's release date was pushed back so they could make a higher quality game yet we still get a product that feels a little haphazard/hastily put together (using same footage of aquarium victors taking the boat and just switching out sec/res characters etc.) and repetitive (single primary objectives with reoccurring bottlenecks and little reason to go off exploring a map).

Now don't take this the wrong way, cause I love Brink, I really do. But as someone who not only works in the industry but has been following this game since it was announced, I'm a little disappointed in the final product. I'm really hoping the free DLC will make up for some of its shortcomings and revitalize the game, cause it is still a great idea and a decent game to pass the time with friends but if it completely dies out it'll be because of Splash Damage's poor execution and inability to live up to the expectations they set.

Well said. It simply cant be stated better. I will add that I, personally, believe that SD overshot their own skillset and tried to achieve something which they did not have the ability to pull off. If this game had been created by any one of the other GREAT Devs(wont name names...Valve) that are out there, the game would have been what it was shown to be, IMHO.

I believe that SD had the best intentions when making the game. I think they got caught up in their own hype though. I think they believed that people would be happy with what they shipped and be willing to wait for fixes to issues that they had to have known existed. You cannot have a game in its "finished" state for 2 years and not know that it has these issues unless you are doing absolutely ZERO testing. What makes this all really unfortunate is the fact that we have been intentionally misled as to the finished nature of this product. The fact that this had to have been intentionally overlooked makes it unforgivable IMO. SD obviously takes no pride in what they release. If I were Paul Wedgewood, I would not have released this game, as is, in good conscience. I would have rather delayed the release and fixed the issues. They shot THEMSELVES in the foot and it really doesnt make sense. They had to have fallen into believing their own hype.

Look at Valve as a great Dev. How many times and for how long did they push back the release of Half-Life? It ended up being one of the greatest FPS ever, with few bugs on release. There was a little issue with lag on the MP side but those guys were quick to release patches and the patches actually fixed known issues.

How long has Duke Nukem Forever been delayed? For those that have been waiting, has the delay made you want the game less?