EA has been known for making unoriginal (and often cashcow) titles for…Well, a long time. A few years ago, they started trying to be more unique with their releases. The game many considered the flagship of their fleet of cool and hip games was Mirrors Edge.
An example of the anime cutscene, showing off Faith and her city
Mirrors Edge didn’t do too well, which is why you’re seeing more Sims and Medal of Honor games lately. I had been interested in Mirrors Edge since the demo, so as soon as Steam marked the price down to twenty dollars, I leaped on it like a Hunter on Louis. After playing the game, I realized there were some misconceptions held by many of my friends who read about the game when released.
The first thing you’ll want to hear is yes, the game is ridiculously short. I’ve played it twice, and finished it each time under six hours. That’s not a terrible thing, however. The game began to get old toward the end of each playthrough. There was no plot to motivate me to keep going, which is almost ironic for a game that pressures the player into never slowing down.
The bland cityscape of Mirrors Edge
The majority of the game is running away from ‘blues’ (the police) over a bright dystopian city. The little bit of plot there was, was told through some pretty cool animated cutscenes. It’s centered around a woman named Faith, living in a dystopian city working as a Runner, a freerunner who delivers information or something. I didn’t pay much attention to the story, because of the dull voice acting and equally dull plot. The gameplay however… Very not-dull.
Faith manages to take a break from running to kick some ass
As I said above, the game is about running away from badguys in the city. Sometimes the player runs over the open rooftops, claustrophobic buildings, and even the sewers. The annoying thing is, aside from the light, all the textures and objects are the same wherever you go. This can make it quite confusing to navigate, and being shot at doesn’t help too much either. Another annoying mechanic is the combat, which really had no place being in the game. However, it can still be incredibly exhilerating..even when falling to your death.
When you fall, you can hear the wind blowing against you, and the streets getting louder until the screen goes black. Then you just hear bones breaking. Always fun. Unlike the storytelling, the sound design is actually quite good. The music always seemed fitting, especially in faster-paced-than-normal action scenes.
Even with all the annoyances, I do recommend the game. If it’s on sale, a rental, or you reeeaally want to play something original. So yeah! Thanks for reading. I know I’m terrible at writing, so if you wouldn’t mind giving me some advice I’d appreciate it.
Thanks again,
- Sinoda
