Alright then, last week I had the privilege of playing a friend's copy of Mirror's Edge for the Xbox 360. I went into this game not expecting much: mixed reveiws from professionals, as well as scores of mild contempt from my peers, had made me extremely wary of Dice's strange 1st-person running/platformer thing.
However, when I got into the game myself, a soothing feeling began to creep into every cell in my body. I gazed out onto a bizarre new game and found something unique, something FUN.
I suppose I should give some backstory: you play as a Runner, Faith, that earns a living running around on roofs delivering messages for people who don't want the crazy goverment folks to get their info.
I've seen you before somewhere, haven't I?
You get drawn into a conspiracy when a up-and-rising politician out to make reforms is murdered, and your sister and you are framed. The story works well enough, but the enviornment sells it. The city that you wind up traversing so much of seems to be the very image of utopia, but when you look around you see subtle hints that things are not so well in town. Newsposts on current events, as well as blatant propaganda in favor of the people running this city, are displayed every once in a while to show you what it's like, living in this world that provides its citizens with only the illusion of being free. However, not enough is done with the story. It winds up being predictable after a while, and if you don't appreciate the art in the Esurance commercials, the style of the non-in-game cutscenes will most likely make you want to curl up and weep. It's a real pity too, because one or two in-game scenes are simply far more involving.
Most of the game is essentially a platformer: you figure out how to get from point A to point B via a series of runs, jumps, and slides. The controls feel awkward at first, but soon enough you don't even notice: the contoller becomes a natural part of your own body.
When the enemies come out to play, things become even easier. The combat in the game is absurdedly simple. Here's what you do:
1)Lure an enemy away from the group far enough so that you can escape later if his backup decides to care that you beat his buddy up.
2)Punch him in the face till' he blocks you.
3)Low kick him when he does, and hit the punch button once more when he keels over.
NO! BAD MAN GO AWAY! MY ROOF NOW!
This three-step strategy is more than enough to get you the achievement for not firing weapons throughout the whole game, with the sole exception of latter enemies that you can simply outrun. And if you already have the achievement or don't care, you can just hit X for the standard-issue bullet time effect that comes with games these days, disarm an enemy when he tries to smack you in the gob, and shoot his buddy in his manly bits with it. If you use guns, the experience turns into a bland shoot-em-up until your gun runs out of ammo, and that disappoints me, because while the fisticuffs was a bit lacking, it still felt individual. The shooting bits just don't belong in Mirror's Edge, and it shows.
The audio and visual quality of this game is great, and Faith animates well, giving you a deep sense of immersion. The movement was well done: rarely has a game been this fluid. And while I may gripe and groan about the easiness of the fights, they still feel rather intense and lifelike. Never does the game really break you out of playing it: save for when a truly complicated puzzle comes up or when Faith forgets to grab onto a ledge, thankfully both rare occurances.
Is it worth full price, a whole $60? Not really. And most people will be put off by the inherent trial and error in the game. However, when the price hits $30 or below(if it hasn't already), I would recommend grabbing yourself a copy, or at least renting it to see if it suits your sensibilities. To wrap this all up, Mirror's Edge is a unique title, one that I hope Dice comes back on in the future to improve. If I had to give it a score numerically...I'd give it a high 7/10.
Now then, where are all those nuts I was promised?
EDIT: As this was my first review here, it doesn't have the past reviews section I've included in my later ones. Search for my Braid review if you want to read some of my other work: there are links to all my reviews included thus far.
However, when I got into the game myself, a soothing feeling began to creep into every cell in my body. I gazed out onto a bizarre new game and found something unique, something FUN.
I suppose I should give some backstory: you play as a Runner, Faith, that earns a living running around on roofs delivering messages for people who don't want the crazy goverment folks to get their info.
I've seen you before somewhere, haven't I?
You get drawn into a conspiracy when a up-and-rising politician out to make reforms is murdered, and your sister and you are framed. The story works well enough, but the enviornment sells it. The city that you wind up traversing so much of seems to be the very image of utopia, but when you look around you see subtle hints that things are not so well in town. Newsposts on current events, as well as blatant propaganda in favor of the people running this city, are displayed every once in a while to show you what it's like, living in this world that provides its citizens with only the illusion of being free. However, not enough is done with the story. It winds up being predictable after a while, and if you don't appreciate the art in the Esurance commercials, the style of the non-in-game cutscenes will most likely make you want to curl up and weep. It's a real pity too, because one or two in-game scenes are simply far more involving.
Most of the game is essentially a platformer: you figure out how to get from point A to point B via a series of runs, jumps, and slides. The controls feel awkward at first, but soon enough you don't even notice: the contoller becomes a natural part of your own body.
When the enemies come out to play, things become even easier. The combat in the game is absurdedly simple. Here's what you do:
1)Lure an enemy away from the group far enough so that you can escape later if his backup decides to care that you beat his buddy up.
2)Punch him in the face till' he blocks you.
3)Low kick him when he does, and hit the punch button once more when he keels over.
NO! BAD MAN GO AWAY! MY ROOF NOW!
This three-step strategy is more than enough to get you the achievement for not firing weapons throughout the whole game, with the sole exception of latter enemies that you can simply outrun. And if you already have the achievement or don't care, you can just hit X for the standard-issue bullet time effect that comes with games these days, disarm an enemy when he tries to smack you in the gob, and shoot his buddy in his manly bits with it. If you use guns, the experience turns into a bland shoot-em-up until your gun runs out of ammo, and that disappoints me, because while the fisticuffs was a bit lacking, it still felt individual. The shooting bits just don't belong in Mirror's Edge, and it shows.
The audio and visual quality of this game is great, and Faith animates well, giving you a deep sense of immersion. The movement was well done: rarely has a game been this fluid. And while I may gripe and groan about the easiness of the fights, they still feel rather intense and lifelike. Never does the game really break you out of playing it: save for when a truly complicated puzzle comes up or when Faith forgets to grab onto a ledge, thankfully both rare occurances.
Is it worth full price, a whole $60? Not really. And most people will be put off by the inherent trial and error in the game. However, when the price hits $30 or below(if it hasn't already), I would recommend grabbing yourself a copy, or at least renting it to see if it suits your sensibilities. To wrap this all up, Mirror's Edge is a unique title, one that I hope Dice comes back on in the future to improve. If I had to give it a score numerically...I'd give it a high 7/10.
Now then, where are all those nuts I was promised?
EDIT: As this was my first review here, it doesn't have the past reviews section I've included in my later ones. Search for my Braid review if you want to read some of my other work: there are links to all my reviews included thus far.