This is my first review. So play nice.
Mirror's Edge is a recently released, action-adventure game for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 from EA and DICE.
The game is best described as a first-person platform game. In the same vein as the Prince of Persia series and Assassin's Creed, expect to be jumping, climbing, vaulting, ducking and weaving, though this time through more futuristic metropolitan environments like rooftops, subways, and ventilation shafts.
As a platformer, it is inevitably going to be frustrating at times for many. You will fall. You will die. You will become annoyed.
Thankfully, there is a great sense of satisfaction when you nail a series of obstacles perfectly without losing momentum. Unfortunately, with a lacking tutorial, and no great motivation to strive for this hell-for-leather speed in the story mode save for some few chase moments, players will probably adopt a slower more cautious approach.
This, combined with a short, mostly linear story mode, will leave most players unsatisfied. Worth mentioning though, are the speedrun and time trial modes that encourage, nay, require you to go for broke and, furthermore, to look beyond the direct path for faster routes.
The combat sections are difficult and often as frustrating as the platforming. Foes can be disarmed with good timing, but the different guns all have their own specific window of time for disarming and thus the first time around, without using the bullet time feature, failure and death is practically inevitable.
Gun in hand, things aren?t much better. The aiming is a little jerky and ammo is impossible to know thanks to an otherwise beneficial lack of HUD. The regenerating health system is bland and unoriginal but necessary, particularly for the combat-heavy later levels.
The story mode also suffers from a disappointing plot. The totalitarian government angle wasn?t really worked in well enough - trigger-happy cops, meticulously clean surroundings, the occasional radio playing and an elevator television of sorts doesn?t quite immerse you. As such its difficult to sympathize with the rebel messenger protagonist Faith, who otherwise could have been an interesting character.
The framing of your cop sister for murder provides a decent narrative filled with betrayal and mystery. Cut scenes between levels are in an animated style that contrasts nicely with the realism of the levels themselves. In the end, the plot is weighed down by poor dialogue and the ending to the mystery leaves you thinking: ?wait..what?? ? and not in a good way.
The art design is superb with brilliant colours through the varied environments. The music is of a similar quality, sporting an array of ambient tunes for the puzzle/exploration sequences along with faster ones that fit the chase parts well. Sound effects, like Faith?s breathing and footsteps, are top notch too.
To conclude, whilst I enjoy it greatly, this game is not for everyone. Maybe not even for most people. Unless you are strongly interested in platform games, or are open to something original, you are unlikely to be willing to persist with a couple of playthroughs and a good look at the other game modes.
My advice: look before you leap.
Unless you're playing time trial.
Mirror's Edge is a recently released, action-adventure game for the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 from EA and DICE.
The game is best described as a first-person platform game. In the same vein as the Prince of Persia series and Assassin's Creed, expect to be jumping, climbing, vaulting, ducking and weaving, though this time through more futuristic metropolitan environments like rooftops, subways, and ventilation shafts.
As a platformer, it is inevitably going to be frustrating at times for many. You will fall. You will die. You will become annoyed.
Thankfully, there is a great sense of satisfaction when you nail a series of obstacles perfectly without losing momentum. Unfortunately, with a lacking tutorial, and no great motivation to strive for this hell-for-leather speed in the story mode save for some few chase moments, players will probably adopt a slower more cautious approach.
This, combined with a short, mostly linear story mode, will leave most players unsatisfied. Worth mentioning though, are the speedrun and time trial modes that encourage, nay, require you to go for broke and, furthermore, to look beyond the direct path for faster routes.
The combat sections are difficult and often as frustrating as the platforming. Foes can be disarmed with good timing, but the different guns all have their own specific window of time for disarming and thus the first time around, without using the bullet time feature, failure and death is practically inevitable.
Gun in hand, things aren?t much better. The aiming is a little jerky and ammo is impossible to know thanks to an otherwise beneficial lack of HUD. The regenerating health system is bland and unoriginal but necessary, particularly for the combat-heavy later levels.
The story mode also suffers from a disappointing plot. The totalitarian government angle wasn?t really worked in well enough - trigger-happy cops, meticulously clean surroundings, the occasional radio playing and an elevator television of sorts doesn?t quite immerse you. As such its difficult to sympathize with the rebel messenger protagonist Faith, who otherwise could have been an interesting character.
The framing of your cop sister for murder provides a decent narrative filled with betrayal and mystery. Cut scenes between levels are in an animated style that contrasts nicely with the realism of the levels themselves. In the end, the plot is weighed down by poor dialogue and the ending to the mystery leaves you thinking: ?wait..what?? ? and not in a good way.
The art design is superb with brilliant colours through the varied environments. The music is of a similar quality, sporting an array of ambient tunes for the puzzle/exploration sequences along with faster ones that fit the chase parts well. Sound effects, like Faith?s breathing and footsteps, are top notch too.
To conclude, whilst I enjoy it greatly, this game is not for everyone. Maybe not even for most people. Unless you are strongly interested in platform games, or are open to something original, you are unlikely to be willing to persist with a couple of playthroughs and a good look at the other game modes.
My advice: look before you leap.
Unless you're playing time trial.
