Counter-Clockwise

By Joseppie November 10, 2008 4 Comments

I've been bad about doing these thingamajigs...that needs to change.

When Mirror's Edge was first shown, the game immediately caught my attention. I mean, why wouldn't it? It's a first-person parkour game. It earned my attention for sheer originality and craziness of concept. Add on top that it was coming from EA and DICE, I was even more interested. It was another new original IP from EA and it was an entirely new style of game for DICE. Battlefield this was not. The game also sported a very striking asthetic. The world had a very manufactured, clean, and ultra-modern look to it. It appeared to take place in some sort of pinnacle of corporate society, where everything is made of steel and glass. It looked like a city designed entirely by Apple.

Following the initial announcement, I've made special effort to pay attention to coverage about Mirror's Edge. This has had a strange effect, though. The more I see of the game, the less excited I become. Honestly, I can't say that's never happened before. Take the animated shorts - I don't understand the point. Not that they aren't interesting to look at, but from my point of view, I'd rather just see those same sequences done as cinematics. The game looks great, why not show it off? More importantly, though, is the demo. I don't know if this kind of gameplay can last for 8-10 hours. This thought popped into my mind mid-way through my time playing. The action itself is enjoyable, that is not what I'm talking about. Variety is the problem I'm seeing. Running around on the rooftops is fun, but that won't get me through the game. Combat doesn't seem like it will be either; the gunplay especially struck me as thrown together. (I know it's not a core feature of the gameplay, but if you're going to put something in a game, give me a meal, not the scraps.)

So, on the eve of the release date, I sit here and wonder. I certainly don't hope for the game to confirm my suspicions and run out of steam in the middle. I never hope for a game to be bad or even middling, and I don't understand why anyone ever would. But I normally don't go from excitement to apathy. Please blow my mind DICE.

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