Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

Mirror's Edge

1. Official Site
2. Platform: PC
3. Publisher: Electronic Arts
4. Developer: Digital Illusions
5. Release Date: 01/13/09
6. Genre: Action/Adventure

by Jerome Koehler

I remember watching the first trailer to Mirror's Edge with eyes wide while taking in the vast vistas that were present in the game. At that time, I did not know any of the background information about the game and only knew what I could see in front of me: One amazing looking game! As the game finished development, I noticed the focus on having the game released on consoles before it would be released on the PC and my anticipation was slowly extinguished. Lucky for me, the game was finally released to the PC crowd in January of this year.

In Mirror's Edge, you take control of Faith, a runner in an utopian, big brother is watching city. The government controls all facets of life and everyone seems to be happy as it would require too much effort to fight against the system. Why fight when everything looks to be peaceful? Runners are a method to transmit information between two points without using one of the government controlled routes. As the player takes control of Faith, they are entangled in a web of deceit and lies as she attempts to find out the truth.

Computer Specs: Q9300, 6 gigs of DDR3, Windows Vista Ultimate, 9800GTX.

Running the game at the 1900 by 1200 resolution and with DX10 enabled, the scenes were breathtaking. Gliding over the perfectly formed roof tops looking at the city skyline and attempting to figure out where to go next never gets old (too bad most of it is on rails).  While running, "runner's vision" takes over and you begin to see everything via a sort of tunnel vision until you slow down.  Just be careful that you don't fall off of a building while concentrating on avoiding the obstacles and jumping from structure to structure.

I would like to reiterate that the graphics look amazing in the game and a beefy computer is needed to run the game with all of its bells and whistles enabled. When you do take a breather and take a look at your surroundings, it reminds you of a lego builder's paradise. I can only imagine what a creative mind could construct with an SDK. Not only are the environments spectacular but the way that Faith interacts with them is one of a kind. The player's point of view actually changes as Faith runs on walls, does rolls, or performs the plethora of other gravity defying stunts in her repertoire.

The only issue I can see with the leading edge graphics that are present in the game is that they seem to overpower the gameplay. Sometimes I just stare at the awesome vistas that are in front of me and then the gameplay takes a backseat in my mind. Lets not forget that the game will need a beefy machine to run everything at full bore.

If you haven't heard the song Still Alive, I recommend that you purchase it via iTunes or find it on Youtube and just listen to it. The song is amazing and, luckily, if you purchase the PC version, comes included with the game (with a couple of remixes). The rest of the included music adjusts itself depending on what kind of situation Faith finds herself in. If you are in a hectic predicament, the music changes accordingly. If you are in a deep, dark, dank sewer pipe, the music will remain foreboding or almost non existent.

The sounds that are present in the game can you lead the player to believe that they are running around on the tops of buildings with the wind flying through their clothes. When Faith jumps between buildings and grasps a pipe or hits a door open, the sound that emanates from the game isn't weak or dampened and sounds just right. This is what I would expect to hear if I wear to punch open a door. Even dying after missing a jump causes the player to flinch as Faith's bones are shattered in a sickening crunch.

Controls are simple and are introduced to the player during the introductory phase of the game. The player only has a limited amount of buttons to press, but they can be combined to perform other tasks like disarming an opponent or slide tackling them.  They can also be remapped if you don't like the out-of-the-box setup.

The controls in game are very fluid and responsive, but sometimes it is very difficult to get that exact combo to go off - which usually causes Faith to die.  Remapping the controls did help, though, as you could change the buttons around to a layout that is more conducive to kicking people, running across rooftops, and just being an all-around anarchist. All in all, the controls don't detract from the game experience and are very easy to learn, meaning that anyone can pick up and play this game (even though it seems to cause motion sickness in a wide variety of people).

So, the game controls well and looks pretty...but how is the actual gameplay?  The tutorial at the beginning of the game gives the player a nice entryway into the story line, showcases Faith's abilities, explains how to use them, and demonstrates how to combine them into combo moves.  Once the player finishes up the introduction level, Faith is sent on her first mission and the proverbial crap hits the fan.

For anyone purchasing this game thinking it will be a combat game with Faith taking on mobs of security guards and police, please rethink your purchase. This game's primary focus is on the ability to get around tough situations using your environment. Think of it as an environmental puzzle game. As with most puzzles, you shouldn't hit a point where trial and error will be the only way to continue on the game. I personally have hit areas in the game that I would have to replay a couple of times till I got the rhythm down to get past the obstacle. The player might have a wide-open view of the city in front of them, but the gameplay is frustratingly linear. There is only one path to go down to accomplish the objectives in each mission. Luckily, the story is moved along by some cool comic-style cutscenes that move the betrayal tainted story forward. For those that love combat, there is a little bit sprinkled throughout the game and is actually very satisfying. You can actually choose to skip combat but life is easier when you steal a weapon from one of the guards and take out his buddies with his rifle. Sadly, once a weapon runs out of ammo, your only choice is to throw it away (think of the environment) and steal another one. Also, there are a couple of quicktime events that have you pressing a button to get a positive outcome. Let me tell you, I screwed up twice on one of them and I had to start over every single time from the last save point.

On the subject of save points, why the heck am I not able to save when I please? If you do port a game over to the PC, please allow us to save when we please. The checkpoints are not apart far enough for it to be too painful, but I was slowly starting to build up rage when I died for the fourth time and had to jump, jump, grab pipe, jump over ledge, and fall to my death. Repeat ad nauseam with one extra step added on for every time I die. Bottom line: We are PC gamers, give us the ability to save anywhere!

Multiplayer was a feature that was tacked on as a last minute thought (the question is, was it even a thought?). The player has the ability to run through arenas and finish them quickly to upload the time to an online leader board. The ability to download other people's times and run against their ghost is the most online play that is possible in this game. It would have been cool to run against another runner online and push obstacles in their way or just be that annoying little gnat and screw up their par times. Sadly, only time trials are present.

With the game only about 6-8 hours long and set on rails, once you finish the game and have "fun" with the time trials, the game will more than likely be shelved. More than likely there will be downloadable content available, but who knows when it will be released. For the price of a full game, I rather pick up L4D or another game and just play this game on a console or a friend's computer. Maybe we will see a SDK available to the general public down the road...

If you like an environmental puzzle game with some combat mixed in and like a little of betrayal on top, Mirror's Edge is the game for you. If you are looking for a game that will keep you hooked for days on end, this game is definitely something you can skip over. Even with the gorgeous graphics and the awesome soundtrack, it seems that the game is only a tech demo of what is available for us in the future. Even with this review, the section on gameplay is almost as long as the graphics section, showing that I personally paid more attention to the sights and sounds then the actual gameplay. As I have mentioned before, if a SDK comes out, this might be able to salvage the game from the bargain bin and allow other people to construct their own cities that Faith can jump through.

Gaming Trend Score

78

1. Graphics: 92
2. Audio: 91
3. Controls: 85
4. Gameplay: 65
5. Value/Replay: 68
6. OVERALL:78