Leap of faith
I was really pulling for Mirror's Edge to be one of the best games of the year. I mean, with a concept this unique, the development expertise of DICE, and EA's deep pockets, ME should have been superb. The harsh reality is that all the hype has built up to a game that is broken in more ways than one, and more frustrating than entertaining.
It really took a while for the full extent of this game's lack of polish to sink in. From the moment I put my hands on the controller, ME just gelled with me. The controls felt great and very intuitive, and i thought that the introductory level was pretty much amazing. The concept of a first person free running game is borderline orgasmic in my eyes, and in the beginning it really seemed as if ME would deliver.
However, very soon after starting the game, little issues started to poke their heads up at every turn. First was the graphics; ME has the worst aliasing and screen tearing problems I've ever seen in a video game by far. Every movement reduces straight lines into wobbly, pixelated snakes. Sometimes it's not much of an issue, and sometimes it looks downright horrid. This really isn't a huge problem to me, as I am far from a graphics snob, but one would think an issues like that might get ironed out before being published by a massive company like EA, or at least that there would be a patch available for download to fix the problem.
Moslty unfazed by the graphical issues, I plowed my way through the rest of the campaign. By the end of the second "proper" level (not counting the tutorial/prolouge level) I found myself cursing the horrid combat. In the training exercise it was easy, but training is always simple. In the field, there are always multiple enemies with guns shooting at you. On average, I've found that it takes around two bullets to put Faith down, give or take a shot depending on the AI's accuracy. In other words, they can put you down alarmingly fast when they travel in groups. This wouldn't be much of a problem if the melee combat actually worked, but unfortunately it does not. Punching anyone other than a normal cop actually hurts you more than it helps (it barely does anything, and the officer will just smack you in the face with his gun afterwards.) The disarms range from easy to impossible to pull off, which is where the prerequisite slow motion feature comes in. When activated, this allows for easier disarms. Of course, there are problems with this feature as well. Once activated, slow motion cannot be deactivated until it runs out, so if you mistime it you're stuck looking at a cop lowering a gun to your face and firing, followed by Faith splaying out on the floor dead, all in super slow motion. Also, this feature is basically pointless outside of combat. When combat actually does work, it looks fluid and cool, but it only works about 1/5 of the time.
It also became apparent that it is easy to lose your sense of direction in the world of ME. This seems almost impossible since the worlds are actually pretty linear, but the so-called Runner Vision (a feature that highlights the correct path in red) never quite strikes a balance between being too helpful and not helpful enough. When you need it, it's rarely there, but when you could easily figure it out on your own, it's all in your face pointing you in the obvious direction. Of course there are exceptions when it workes perfectly, such as highlighting a vent in red, but there were many cases in which I did not know where I was supposed to go. Pressing the O button will point Faith's head in the right direction, which is often more helpful. Still, in a game all about momentum, losing your sense of direction for a second can kill the buzz.
As I played ME, I found that the storyline gets increasingly rediculous and irrelevant as the game goes on before crashing to a halt around six hours in. And that's it. The end. I never really expected ME to be a long game, but six hours of storyline for $60 is a bit steep. Of course there are time trials to beat, which are actually more entertaining than the story itself due to the lessened amounts of combat encountered threin, but they can only last so long before most players get bored of them.
While much of this review may sound like a rant against ME, there are a few aspects that I really enjoyed that made me wish that I liked the game. The concept of runners delivering messages is perfect for a parkour game, but the stupid story never capitalizes on it. Instead, players are thrust almost instantly into a political conspiracy that doesn't really seem all that connected to gameplay.
Another thing I enjoy about ME is the art style. Aliasing issues aside, the city is a place of beautiful contrasts. The squeaky clean environments have a great style that really suggests the presence of an oppressive government, and bright colors stand out amongst the mostly white backgrounds. The music is just as impressive as the art style, and its usually relaxing style is often at odds with the frustrating trial and error gameplay.
While the art style and music are great, the thing that I love most about ME is that it's just unique. This type of game has never been attempted for consoles before, and the sheer novelty of the concept carried ME for an hour or two. The feeling of speed and power delivered after a flawless run are absolutely intoxicating. This is what makes the time trials so much better than the story.
Still, all of the flaws I mentioned before stand. And through all of this, I got the feeling that DICE just didn't quite know what it wanted out of ME, like they didn't know enough about their own game to make it fully entertaining. So often, the perfect run will be interrupted by a rediculous leap requiring more luck than skill, or an army of cops shooting at you, or a rancid jumping puzzle. If DICE had known more about their own game, they would have reduced the number of direct enemy encounters and increased the number of paths that could be taken through an envirnonment, making it more about the running and less about the fluff. ME demands (and is already getting) a sequel, because if DICE had concentrated more on the running, ME could have been a masterpiece. As it is, it's the very definition of a mixed bag.
Graphics: 8/10: Great art style marred by the worst aliasing and screen tearing I've ever seen.
Sound: 9.5/10: The music is great, and the little touches such as Faith's heavy breating as she sprints really make the game.
Gameplay: 7/10: Platforming great, everything else crap.
Entertainment: 6.5/10: Could have been so much more. The frustrating combat coupled with the bitterness of missed expectations make ME's campaign mode unpleasant. The time trials are fairly entertaining, but overall this package is not even close to worth $60. If you must play ME, rent it.
It really took a while for the full extent of this game's lack of polish to sink in. From the moment I put my hands on the controller, ME just gelled with me. The controls felt great and very intuitive, and i thought that the introductory level was pretty much amazing. The concept of a first person free running game is borderline orgasmic in my eyes, and in the beginning it really seemed as if ME would deliver.
However, very soon after starting the game, little issues started to poke their heads up at every turn. First was the graphics; ME has the worst aliasing and screen tearing problems I've ever seen in a video game by far. Every movement reduces straight lines into wobbly, pixelated snakes. Sometimes it's not much of an issue, and sometimes it looks downright horrid. This really isn't a huge problem to me, as I am far from a graphics snob, but one would think an issues like that might get ironed out before being published by a massive company like EA, or at least that there would be a patch available for download to fix the problem.
Moslty unfazed by the graphical issues, I plowed my way through the rest of the campaign. By the end of the second "proper" level (not counting the tutorial/prolouge level) I found myself cursing the horrid combat. In the training exercise it was easy, but training is always simple. In the field, there are always multiple enemies with guns shooting at you. On average, I've found that it takes around two bullets to put Faith down, give or take a shot depending on the AI's accuracy. In other words, they can put you down alarmingly fast when they travel in groups. This wouldn't be much of a problem if the melee combat actually worked, but unfortunately it does not. Punching anyone other than a normal cop actually hurts you more than it helps (it barely does anything, and the officer will just smack you in the face with his gun afterwards.) The disarms range from easy to impossible to pull off, which is where the prerequisite slow motion feature comes in. When activated, this allows for easier disarms. Of course, there are problems with this feature as well. Once activated, slow motion cannot be deactivated until it runs out, so if you mistime it you're stuck looking at a cop lowering a gun to your face and firing, followed by Faith splaying out on the floor dead, all in super slow motion. Also, this feature is basically pointless outside of combat. When combat actually does work, it looks fluid and cool, but it only works about 1/5 of the time.
It also became apparent that it is easy to lose your sense of direction in the world of ME. This seems almost impossible since the worlds are actually pretty linear, but the so-called Runner Vision (a feature that highlights the correct path in red) never quite strikes a balance between being too helpful and not helpful enough. When you need it, it's rarely there, but when you could easily figure it out on your own, it's all in your face pointing you in the obvious direction. Of course there are exceptions when it workes perfectly, such as highlighting a vent in red, but there were many cases in which I did not know where I was supposed to go. Pressing the O button will point Faith's head in the right direction, which is often more helpful. Still, in a game all about momentum, losing your sense of direction for a second can kill the buzz.
As I played ME, I found that the storyline gets increasingly rediculous and irrelevant as the game goes on before crashing to a halt around six hours in. And that's it. The end. I never really expected ME to be a long game, but six hours of storyline for $60 is a bit steep. Of course there are time trials to beat, which are actually more entertaining than the story itself due to the lessened amounts of combat encountered threin, but they can only last so long before most players get bored of them.
While much of this review may sound like a rant against ME, there are a few aspects that I really enjoyed that made me wish that I liked the game. The concept of runners delivering messages is perfect for a parkour game, but the stupid story never capitalizes on it. Instead, players are thrust almost instantly into a political conspiracy that doesn't really seem all that connected to gameplay.
Another thing I enjoy about ME is the art style. Aliasing issues aside, the city is a place of beautiful contrasts. The squeaky clean environments have a great style that really suggests the presence of an oppressive government, and bright colors stand out amongst the mostly white backgrounds. The music is just as impressive as the art style, and its usually relaxing style is often at odds with the frustrating trial and error gameplay.
While the art style and music are great, the thing that I love most about ME is that it's just unique. This type of game has never been attempted for consoles before, and the sheer novelty of the concept carried ME for an hour or two. The feeling of speed and power delivered after a flawless run are absolutely intoxicating. This is what makes the time trials so much better than the story.
Still, all of the flaws I mentioned before stand. And through all of this, I got the feeling that DICE just didn't quite know what it wanted out of ME, like they didn't know enough about their own game to make it fully entertaining. So often, the perfect run will be interrupted by a rediculous leap requiring more luck than skill, or an army of cops shooting at you, or a rancid jumping puzzle. If DICE had known more about their own game, they would have reduced the number of direct enemy encounters and increased the number of paths that could be taken through an envirnonment, making it more about the running and less about the fluff. ME demands (and is already getting) a sequel, because if DICE had concentrated more on the running, ME could have been a masterpiece. As it is, it's the very definition of a mixed bag.
Graphics: 8/10: Great art style marred by the worst aliasing and screen tearing I've ever seen.
Sound: 9.5/10: The music is great, and the little touches such as Faith's heavy breating as she sprints really make the game.
Gameplay: 7/10: Platforming great, everything else crap.
Entertainment: 6.5/10: Could have been so much more. The frustrating combat coupled with the bitterness of missed expectations make ME's campaign mode unpleasant. The time trials are fairly entertaining, but overall this package is not even close to worth $60. If you must play ME, rent it.
