The world of video game release dates is a murky chasm devoid of honesty and filled with shattered dreams and broken hearts. It's an epidemic of such extremes that I'm shocked that the CDC hasn't declared a moratorium on issuing them at all. From the iconic "when it's done" we've heard so many times, to the dozens of dates for Duke Nukem Forever (delayed again!), to the the act-of-god-we-have-to-be-sensitive situations that are plaguing MotorStorm: Apocalypse, one can never expect to see a game until they actually see it on the shelf. Even Brink was supposed to be in our hands months ago, before being nailed down to May 17h of this year.

But now, in a quite unusual move, Bethesda has come out and declared that Brink will be ready sooner. Granted, it's only a week sooner, but May 10th seems an awful lot closer than May 17th to the hordes of gamers who have been waiting for this title to drop. While most of us here at TPS have had our shot to check out the game, none of us felt like that was enough time, and count us among the throng to be pleased by this turn of events.

"Production wrapped on Brink earlier than we planned and we didn't see any reason to keep gamers from getting their hands on this highly anticipated game as soon as it was ready," said Pete Hines, VP of PR and Marketing for Bethesda Softworks. "It's apparent from the tremendous reaction so far that people are eager to jump online and play, and if we can make that happen earlier - we're going to."

That means it's just a scant 4 weeks until we can all get together and clamber over walls as friends or enemies in this fast-paced FPS. Keep it here for more info and a comprehensive review in the coming weeks!