Friday, December 12, 2008

Mirror's Edge Unsung Hero of 2008


It's been a while, I know you all miss me. Well this is probably late news for anyone who cares but I'm going to discuss Mirror's Edge. I'm going to sift through the lies it should not have received and cooperate shilling it should have received.

So what is Mirror's Edge? I assume you don't know because the sales of this game were abysmal. Mirror's Edge is a game where you are a hot Asian chick with monkey like acrobatic skills who can maneuver herself around just about any terrain (preferably 21st century colorless architecture) by means of leaping, ducking, diving, rolling, and of course running. As a game, this is just about as cool an idea as you can get. It is at its very basic a first person platformer. So why didn't it sell well you ask? There are probably a few reasons I'll touch on later, but first I'm going to tell you why it should have sold well.

Mirror's Edge spans 10 levels of heart wrenching, death defying leaps and chase sequences. A game that introduces itself as one where you run away from the police while delivering sensitive materials quickly (in the second level mind you) boils down to uncovering some fiendish government plot involving your sister. So it's up to you to save her!

Okay the plot is a mess, but for anyone who touched the demo knows what is enjoyable about the game. That simply is the running mechanics. You can scale the city scape in nearly limitless ways, and try your best to keep a fast pace going. Keeping a fast pace is why it was snubbed by many reviewers. While it is possible to play through these levels without stopping much or at all, the first play through will often leave you lost and confused for what happens next. This can be frustrating but any gaming perfectionist (not someone wanting to whiz through the game just to review it) understands that it will take patience to do well and map out quick destinations. So how can I fault the game for adding puzzle elements? I can't.

Outside of the main quest are the time trials and speed runs. One mode lets you try and race through one of the 10 levels and the other gives you tiny portions to see how fast you can go through them. This is where the game really shines, as it challenges you specifically to find the fastest routes. If you're not into getting better times and improving through practice this is not the game for you, clearly.

On to the most complained about aspect of the game, the combat. Not too sure what the issue is as there is no point in the game where it forces you to fight anything. In fact it's always more beneficial not to fight. But to speak of the system for a moment in no instance did I feel it was poor in any way. Personally, it feels broken for how easy it is. Every enemy I came across I would run up to him do a slide low kick to the groin and proceed to finish him off. From there weapons can be acquired if you want them and then shoot to death the rest of the enemies. The only time where combat is difficult is if you decide to fist fight one of those SWAT members with a mini-gun. Generally speaking that's just a bad idea anyway so I can't blame the developers for judging that if one should fight someone with a mini-gun then that person should die a horrible death.

So what I'm trying to say is, play Mirror's Edge!

"A leap of faith is retarded, there's spikes at the bottom."

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