For example, both games have the same aesthetic feel to them. Very clean exteriors to life - clean, yet sinister - and grimy behind the scenes work. Green is almost non-existant, there is barely anything natural. Its either stainless glass or rusted steel. In both games you are rebelling against control, and you don't really have a proper weapon. Both games feature an incredibly innovative control idea. First person parkour has never really been done before, and neither had portal guns. Its a comparison I haven't really seen being made much recently, but it is one I'd like to point out. I shall return to it, now onto my actual impressions of the demo.
You play the level that we've all seen a million fecking times on the only videos ever released of this game, thus removing some challenge from the puzzles etc. for me. I suppose this will be a blessing when the game comes out and most of the levels are fresh, but it detracted from the fun of the demo. However, the controls were a stroke of genius. You use the two sticks like a normal first person game, and mainly the shoulder buttons. LB is the "up" button, as it makes you jump, or hop over objects, or pull yourself onto ledges. LT is down, and you duck, slide, roll or curl yourself up to avoid barbed wire. RB is a quick turn, and RT is the attack button.
Thats it. Pure simplicity. There is a disarm button, a slow time button and other stuff I forget mapped to the face buttons, but they are fairly irrelevant. And I love it that way. I thought that a too simply control scheme would lead to less challenge and too much automated actions, but this way gives full control and it is still simple.
The game played great too. Keeping your momentum up was extremely fun, and while path finding on the fly was made easy by runner vision, which I *may* turn off in the game, that isn't where the challenge comes from, at least, not in the demo. While I'm sure in the real game, actually doing the levels presents a nice challenge, I have a feeling that that the first playthrough isn't where the most fun is. You see, I completed the demo, trying not to die and the usual, but upon replaying, I just tried not to slow down, to do it as fast as possible. I didn't want anything to come between me and the flow.
Unfortunately, the demo is short, and this is where the portal comparisons return. It is very much like a puzzle game, and where is the motivation to do the puzzle more than once? Portal had the amazing writing going for it, but this has timetrials. A much more...erm...well its not going to be used by everybody. I suppose, when I get the game, I will play it a lot simply because of how awesome the feeling of running without walls stopping you is, but it is supposed to be a full game. Portal was basically a fith of full price in the Orange Box, and you got a fifth of a game. One heck of a fitfth of a gamea t that, though.
I suppose I just want Mirror's Edge to have a FULL games worth of game. A reason to play more than a few times. I'm sure the races will be fun when I get to try them, because this game has so much going for it. Check back when I get it for my impressions, and eventually, a review.
In other news, I should be doing a GTA IV review very soon, hopefully next blog.
Til then,
~Tylea
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