Game: Mirror's Edge
Platforms: PS3, X360, PC
ESRB Rating: T
Played on: PS3

Game Overview

The game is set around the story of Faith Connors, a runner. The setting is an overly clean city. Many years ago, changes were made and all information was monitored. This was done for the "greater good". Many people protested the changes, but they were all criminalized. Faith's family was among the protesters, although she was only a child at the time. During a protest gone wrong, her mother was killed. Her family fell apart soon after.

Faith left home and trained to become a runner, a transporter of sensitive intelligence who's hired by criminals to try and by-pass the information monitoring by the government. Runners are highly athletic people who move via rooftops to deliver information. They stay low and out of trouble, so the police generally leaves them alone. The public remains blissfully ignorant to the runners' existence.

Now, however, everything is changing. In the prologue to the game, a group of cops immediately open fire on Faith and chase her relentlessly. After narrowly escaping, she learns that a murder has taken place, and her sister is the one framed for it. The game is spent navigating the city in an attempt to free Faith's sister and avoid being killed by the police, who seem to be working on a secret project.

Gameplay

This game is the first of its kind. The entire game is played in the first person viewpoint, but it's not exactly a "shooter" game, per-say. While there are weapons and they can be used, it is not required to beat the game. In fact, you can earn a trophy/achievement if you play a level without firing a gun or beat the game without shooting somebody.

Unlike most first person games, it's a very strict first person view. You see exactly what Faith would see if you were in her spot. The camera moves as Faith moves, imitating the views while running. The player must use strategy and a list of very interesting moves to make it from A to B and clear each level, completing various tasks along the way. Of course, the camera moves to match each complex move, so motion sickness may be a side-effect of playing this game. Consult your doctor before attempting to play Mirror's Edge.

Another unique feature of the game is that it does not have an H.U.D. The closest thing you get is a small blue dot in the middle of the screen, and it's only there to let you know where "center" is. To aid with finding where to go, however, certain objects will be highlighted in red. This is called "Runner Vision" and can signal useful places, as well as help the player to find his/her direction.

Finally, there is a time trial/speed run for this game. Players can log in via an EA account to clear each level as fast as they can and try to beat scores from around the world. Additionally, stars can be earned for each level. A total of three can be achieved per level, the number actually achieved decreasing as the player takes longer. Each star earned contributes to a rank that can be bragged about wherever possible.

The Review Begins

Storyline - 80/100

A predictable "help me clear my/my friend's/my family's name" storyline, but one that never gets old when used properly. There were enough interesting plot twists and it progressed nicely. Some characters died, others changed sides, etc. However, the ending didn't answer enough questions. I have no idea if one of the new main characters lived or what, and no information was given on what happened. It's simply way too obscure. In a book or movie, that's ok. However, in a game, you do not leave cliffhangers! Even if the game will have a sequel, that is not ok. You complete the storyline in the game and make a new one in the next game with the same characters. That's one of the things that pissed me off the most in Ratchet & Clank Future, and it's the same case here.

Graphics - 90/100

Simply beautiful. The Unreal 3 Engine is amazing. Everything was rendered so well, all effects were there at all times, blurring was perfect, etc. It was just so well-rendered. I can tell that DICE spent their time on this, and they did it right. It rendered completely smooth without any choppiness or lag of any sort. However, I played it on a 1080p tv. The game doesn't support 1080p. The xBox version does, but I'd be willing to bet that even that version is upscaled. That just killed the effects that were being achieved. It could've been so awesome at full, non-upscaled 1080p. I'd have given it a 100 if it supported it. But alas, it doesn't.

Puzzles - 60/100

I like Tomb Raider style puzzles. Analyze the situation and think up a solution. This game is different. It's fast paced. Don't think, just run. However, some of these puzzles are just really obscure. I spent a good 40 minutes trying to beat one in level 8. It took me forever and I kept falling, which only killed me 50% of the time, leaving me to make my way back up the other half (it autosaved "up there"). This really made me want to cause bodily injury to the person nearest to me. I did stop myself, though. These puzzles don't fit this game and are way too irritating. Runner vision really didn't help out enough.

Time Trials - 100/100

It's not a good game without a time to beat. The game was made for quick play, so it's only natural that it will have a speed run. The system itself is really well made. There's also a ghost saved for each best run, and you can download the ghost of other players online. This is soooo useful for improving your times. I really liked. Also, as far as I know, the times are saved on EA's server, meaning they're cross-console. That guy you're looking at now may very well have played it on an xBox while you're playing on a PS3. I like that.

Game Programming - 40/100

Complete garbage. The programmer for this game needs to be shot. If you hit the jump button, it will work roughly 70% of the time. The timing is also far too precise. There are too many x-factors to make the time window as narrow as it is. HDTVs have lag, and that was proven with Guitar Hero. This game is also about timing, and milliseconds can and will make a difference. Nobody took that into account. This means that, in addition to you screwing up like an idiot, the game itself may not be responding correctly. This ruined the game for me. I would've totally bought it if had better programming. However, I just don't know now.


Replay Value - 80/100

Pretty decent. It'll get repetitive after playing it many many times, but it'll make for a good run when it is played. It's more one of those games that goes away for a while and you get the urge to play it a few months later. It'll get pretty old pretty fast, but it'll make a comeback if you leave it alone for a while. That's to be expected with most games, though.

Final Verdict - 75/100

The game's potential was soooo high. If the storyline would've been more conclusive, puzzles less irritating, and programming less sucky, it would've been a valid candidate for "game of the year". Instead, however, it just got really annoying at certain times and takes a while to get used to. I forgot to mention the controls, but they are pretty simplistic. It takes a few runs of the training course before you get them down.

All-in-all, it was a good game, but nothing worth raving about. EA set my expectations higher than the game could deliver. It was nice to finally have a game that supported trophies, though. My PSN rank finally exists, so that's good.


Last Edit: Nov 30, 2008 5:51:08 GMT by Scorpian