Zero Punctuation: Mirror's Edge

[Gormers1]

Good review.
But personally, I really liked the game. Sure the story and dialog sucks but I had no problems at all with the platforming gameplay (I died a few times of course but it never got frustrating for me at least). The combat was a bit irritating the first playthrough but once you get the hang of that the game is nearly pure awesome. I cant understand why so many had problems with jumping etc and I often got a little irritated when I heard people said the game sucked because it was too hard. It wasnt for me. Maybe because Ive spent so many hours jumping around in halo 2 to perform glitches and stuff and had to be pixel perfect with my platforming.

The game also has some of the best replay value to date, I wasn't pissed of at how short the game was. It was one of the best game experiences Ive had this year actually.

And by the way, you use the RB or R1 button to turn around, so looking behind you when you are climbing something only takes half a second.

 

[johnman]

"and then ate his own shoes"

If anyone questions reasons for living then you can say back "But you wont see yahtzees next reveiw!"

Yahztee desrves an award for comedy- its 100% better than all the shite on tv.

 

[ZeCatnipe]

It was a good review and all, but I think the real point of discussion here is that there was a bottle of Hendersons relish in the video. I think its just a sheffield thing though.

 

[Fearzone]

Hahhahaha...

Man Ben I can't believe you turn these out every week. Seriously, medications work. Take a break if you need to... just give us a warning sometime before Wednesday so I can cry myself to sleep!

 

[Safe-Keeper]

Uff. OK, having watched it, and played the demo:

- Govt being evil: There's one thing the game REALLY reminded me of, and that's China, especially the time-lapse cutscene with the demonstration being crushed and skyscrapers shooting up everywhere. Dictatorship keeps people down, people revolt, dictatorship kill them, dictatorship agrees to lessen economic restrictions, dictatorship gets wealthy beyond everyone's wildest expectations - but is still oppressive. The Asian symbols everywhere makes me feel like it is actually some sort of PRC-clone I'm running around in.

- The cops shooting at you nonstop sounds... unneccessary. I haven't played the full game, but they're supposed to be at you 100% of the time. I -suppose- the purpose is to keep the player running, but all it probably does is to create a Hollywood-ish "100 vs 1" experience leaving you wondering how many cops, SWAT platoons and soldiers with machine gun-wielding Black Hawks it takes to off a single unarmed girl! Come on, my Swedish friends, why FORCE the player to run? Sonic the Hedgehog didn't have people firing at you nonstop with machine guns and the player still ran like hell throughout the whole level. The demo level didn't have people shooting at you nonstop and it, too, worked just fine. Just throw in a timer and have the boss yell at you if you stand still for too long.

- Disagree on the 1st person perspective. It brought about unprecedented immersion.

- Agree that the game is sometimes a little bit... dumb. There IS the problem that if you're next to something low and at a standstill, the game won't let you simply climb over it, and you find yourself tapping the Jump button repeatedly before the game finally gets it. Couple of other problems too.

- Combat is a bit of a Tekken deal. Good in theory, but it always seems to come down to tapping buttons ramdomly until the guard is down. Shooting is terrible, but I couldn't care less as you're not really MEANT TO use guns, so at the risk of sounding like the fanboy I am, that actually a plus in the game's favour.

- Make the damned game less restrictive. I don't want an Assassin's Creed-style open world, but it'd be nice to have some freedom of choice.

- A more expanded MP would be nice. I'd love the ability to race a friend through the various M.E. levels.

Yahtzee's still right about one thing - M.E. is experimental and original in a sea of cowardly sequels, and seeing it might just be the first of a trilogy, I have high hopes for the sequel. So what if it does suck, NASA's first rocket exploded on the launch pad, but they still managed to land on the Moon.

And Yahtzee, none of this changes the fact that Faith is ******* hot!

 

[Proto Cloud]

how would you be jealous to be the first to comment? Especially if you're going to make an absolutely useless comment.

Indeed. I mean, look at this:

JimbobDa3rd:
so i was on the AOL home page the other day

Shoddy word construction, plot goes nowhere, dull action and concept. Very poor, see me.

If I was going to be the first to comment, I would done with a little more "omph!"

Say, a photoshop of me and Yahtzee at park.

 

[mGoLos]

Good review for a fun game.

Say what you will about mirror's edge, but it feels so awesome when you nail it and run for minutes on end.

 

[BlueInkAlchemist]

If I was going to be the first to comment, I would done with a little more "omph!"

Say, a photoshop of me and Yahtzee at park.

Hence my mention of Yahtzee's bollocks.

 

[hamster mk 4]

I was actualy looking forward to getting this game after the first price drop, if just to support inovation. However after such a scaithing review I feel I should just play the demo a few times and save my money for something else.

 

[Proto Cloud]

If I was going to be the first to comment, I would done with a little more "omph!"

Say, a photoshop of me and Yahtzee at park.

Hence my mention of Yahtzee's bollocks.

Nice!

Does anyone know if the gunplay/fighting is at least decent? If it is I wouldn't mind a rent.

 

[SuperUberBob]

Damn, $100 for 8 hours of gameplay?

Why not rent it instead of buying it?

 

[TZer0]

Thank you for "pulling me down" . I was hoping that this game was to become great, but it turned to be a case of the old classic "new genre"-syndrome... innovation + sloppy game design = bad game (of course, Portal is one of the games that arn't suffering from this).

 

[Combined]

Ah. Another awesome ZP to brighten up the day.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

It was harsh, but it was funny. I also like that Faith = Hunter from L4D at 2:40

Oh, and remember kids - Mirror's Edge is Parkour, not "Free Running".

 

[klc0100]

$100 payed for by the escapist.
My heart bleeds for you.

Im still running head first into mirrors edge hoping I will enjoy it when I do get round to playing it.

 

[Nivag the Owl]

I've heard nothing but "OMGAMAZING" about this game for the past few weeks. All I can say is it's about bloody time someone put this bloody awful game it in it's bloody awful place.

 

[Ryuzaki]

Great review, I liked the questioning of the games storyline (that the government was evil). Games should give us some reason to believe what we are told, but sometimes they feel content to merely tell us how to feel without giving any real reason at all. Yahtzee pointed this out in DeadSpace and now again in Mirrors Edge.

Looking forward to next weeks review.

 

[Weresquirrel]

I rather get the feeling that Yahtzee is being unfair on this one (Well, more unfair than usual). The game is explained better than he makes out. Maybe not so much on the front of what you're carrying, but as to the whole corrupt government thing, it's fairly self-evident. And I have to confess I didn't see any of the alleged clipping issues, or bloom-blindness.

The quip about having to look down to see your feet to judge jumps confused me somewhat. You can make educated guesses. I would hope that many of you do not need to observe your extremities to use them. I don't watch my feet when I climb the stairs, I just trust that the stairs will be there as I move.

 

[WickedSkin]

I loved Mirror's Edge, in fact I still do! One thing that could make this game awesome would be some kind of Construction Set. You know to make maps and stuff. TIME TRIALS!

Game was good, aesthetics awesome, idea ground breaking and the feeling of speed as you run, jump and kick is sweet.

Mirror's Edge 2 (if there ever is one) will kick balls!