So I just finished Mirror's Edge and here is my verdict: Disappointed.
Allow me to explain...
I had been looking forward to this title for a while and when the demo was released on PSN I was in heaven. I played through the demo aprox. 10 times and then pre-ordered it right away, anxiously awaiting for the game to be delivered at my door. The impression that I got from the demo was that the game would be a hybrid between Wipeout(time trials), FPS and PoP-like moves, which it is at some points throughout the game, but far from the whole game consists of this potentially amazing mix of genres.
I finished the game in about 7-8 hours including all my retries caused by my pathetic attempts at parkour. While this is a fair length for a singleplayer experience I was only having fun half of the time which is far from acceptable and that's a shame since the game reeks of potential that the developers just didn't seem to exploit well enough.
The running is the main attraction in this game and when the game requires you to run, it's really good. High tempo, sick moves and pure adrenaline are the ingredients that make up the running and when you get into the rhythm and learn to use the controls, which are excellent, the game is simply good old fashioned fun. It should also be noted that the graphics are very potent and the aesthetic of the game is beautiful, both visually and soundtrack-wise.
So, that was all the good things now let's dive into the aspects that annoy me. First of all the story is weak. I didn't care about the characters, the dialogue is mediocre and the plot twists are foreseeable and I didn't care about them either. While the setting is interesting at first there is not much info on it and therefore I lost interest pretty quickly again.
What irritates me the most though are some of the gameplay aspects, especially the combat. Many reviewers bashed the combat for being unsatisfying but I don't mind that. Actually I don't care how the combat works because in my opinion it just shouldn't be in the game, simple as that. For me the game suffers from the excact same thing as the first of the "new" Prince of Persia games suffered, which was the mere presence of combat. In my head it just doesn't make any sence why you would put combat in these kind of games when all it does is break the flow and tempo of the game. Who actually liked the combat in Pop:SoT? No one, that's who! And the same mistake was made with Mirror's Edge.
Now, I'm not saying that there shouldn't be any enemies in the game, that would obviously be a bit boring, but if they were chasing you instead of standing in front of you, that would be much better. What it does to the gameplay when they are in front of you is that it forces you to stop running and take cover or engage in the unsatisfactory combat and both of these options destroy any momentum, tempo and adrenaline that you had while running. This means that instead of running, jumping and doing wild acrobatics I am forced to play almost half of the game with poor shooting mechanics and melee? Probably the worst design choice they could have taken, what a shame.
Also they have these weird platforming moments in the game which don't feel polished enough and serve the excact same purpose as the combat which is to slow the game down, and while this is good once in a while when you combine these two gameplay elements it just annoys the hell out of me that this game is more walking and fighting than running and jumping.
I expect some major changes in Mirror's Edge 2(if it happens) and I think that I will spend more time with the time trials than I did with the "actual" game. With all this said I still had a fairly good time playing it and it feels fresh and innovative so if you're looking for something other than, say WWII shooters, then by all means give this a try.
Btw this is my first blog post so comments would be nice;)
-Blommen out-
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