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I Hate Heights.

Mirror’s Edge is a 7 out of 10. A big fat 7. I haven’t reviewed it myself because I couldn’t be arsed. You can get plenty of other opinion over at Metacritic should you desire it.

So, why exactly would this particular video gamer give it a 7? Well on the positive side it’s innovative, COLOURFUL, mostly fun and makes you feel badass. On the negative side it’s frustrating, JAGGED, somewhat irritating and makes you feel like ass. Mirror’s Edge is as up and down as a… yoyo?

To say I have been the biggest Mirror’s Edge fanboy EVER leading up to it’s release would be an understatement. I think people actually questioned whether I worked for EA or not. Which I might by the way. You’ll never know.

So anyway - with Mirror’s Edge having it’s fair share of problems I thought it was high-time someone pointed out in detail how you can turn that frown upside down for the inevitable sequel.

• Please God no more “I know where to go but have no idea how the fuck I get there” moments. I actually don’t have a problem with runner vision being on everything. Every ledge you need to grasp, every wall you need to wall run, every block you need to climb up. I know they didn’t do it in order to make you think but… I just feel Mirror’s Edge is a game a bit like Sonic - you should spend more time feeling bad ass and less time thinking. Runner vision on everything would allow you to consistently see your way, how to get there and keep the flow of the game constantly moving.
• Make Faith tougher or the guards less tough or take out combat all together. There are moments in Mirror’s Edge where you’re like “shit, guards, shit I don’t know where to go, shit if I punch them they’ll kill me, shit if I run past them they’ll kill me, shit… SHIT” and your face will go purple and explode. If there was an easier way of getting past the guards it would be much, much better. A hand gun perhaps would work extremely well? You could pull it out when you need it, get some quick headshots and keep running? Whatever they do the combat needs to be tweaked because I understand the purpose of Faith not being very tough (because she’s not really meant to fight at all) but getting past the guards at times can be frustrating at best.
• The graphics could be more simplistic. I’m a big fan of the art direction in Mirror’s Edge. A big fan. It’s so refreshing, so gloriously fresh and clean that it makes me want to cry red, white and blue tears of joy but we all those that have played it know it’s not quite perfect. The problem is, given the nature of the game you’re constantly closed in next to walls and various other elements of scenery. And while the game looks glossy and sassy from a distance, those textures become horribly yucky when up close. The solution? Don’t have textures at all. Am I the only one that thought Mirror’s Edge would look much better if every element of scenery looking like a shiney piece of rubber. The shape of the objects would remain unchanged… I just think it would stand out even more if it went for an entirely minimalistic look.
• Get rid of those “animated” cut scenes. Faith is a fucking cool character in my opinion. Celeste is a fucking cool character in my opinion. All the characters are fucking cool characters in my opinion. So how come they never get rendered into cutscenes. If Mirror’s Edge was a bit less video gamey and a bit more Half-Lifey, Dead Spacey, Bioshocky where the story unfolds as you play without “cut-scenes” as such I think it would be a lot, lot, lot, lot, lot more immersive. They need to find a way of getting you more attached to Faith. I’d need to put more thought into how but I loved the way they did the reflections when Faith is hanging from the helicopter. The game is called Mirror’s Edge after all? Perhaps more of a focus on the ol’ looking glass could be made? Everytime I pass glass, everytime I see water, everytime I’m near a metallic surface there’s Faith’s face staring back at me, reacting to what’s going on, beads of sweat on her brow.
• More lovely swooshy electronic dream pop. I’m sure one of the things that sold the game to a lot of people was the soundtrack. It may sound odd but it just walked hand in hand with the tone of the game the trailers were setting. So it was a shame to see said soundtrack horrendously underused. Music is a big part of the video game experience even though it’s often the last thing people talk about but I think Mirror’s Edge is the kinda game that would benefit from a real kicking soundtrack. At present the ambient blips and blobs suit the tone but they don’t exactly stand out… it would be interesting to hear the synths swoosh when you’re high up and then the mids and bass shuffle into the mix as you move between varying heights.
• Tweak the story please. I realise they’ve kinda already set the story in motion now, and I have no desire to give anything away to those that haven’t played it yet, but please can it be more like Brave New World and 1984. I love the whole dystopian nightmare setting thing… but in this game… I dunno, something felt wrong with the government. From the way they were called “blues” to the way they were constantly trying to kill you. I’d rather it was much more a gothic, frightened world that TOTALLY antithesised the visuals than the current world with pro-wrestlers and just cringey moments.

More Mirrors In Mirror's Edge?

And that’s how I think they should make Mirror’s Edge 2. Because the basis is there. And it’s fucking great. Don’t get me wrong I love Mirror’s Edge. But you just feel that it could be so, so, so much more.

Still, props to DICE and EA for doing something totally, totally different.

Mirror's Edge In 2D!

EA have commissioned a 2D browser based release of Mirror’s Edge to be released by Borne Games. And it’s actually really, really awesome. They pretty much nailed it.

Check it out.

Ahem.

Chances are you probably attempt a Faith, fail miserably, end up evening out all your wonky lines in Photoshop, realise it looks dreadfully Photoshopped because you don’t really understand the “art” of photo editing but post it to the Internet anyway.

For a few minutes I felt like I could do parkour at least.

Better Makeup Than I Can Do.

I’m stoked. Are you?

MMMMM.

There’s no denying the comparisons between Mirror’s Edge and 1984. It’s just a futuristic version. Let’s face it - Orwell’s vision didn’t quite come true but if we look further into the future we can see the same ideals just in a different world.

Orwell’s vision is carried forward in Mirror’s Edge where the government confines and censors information that is passed through their city. Only “runners” - parkour athletes that jump from building to building - can deliver information safely.

Thus welcome Faith and Mirror’s Edge, the second promising new IP from EA in as many months.

EA and developers DICE have clearly been very clever with Mirror’s Edge. The colouring is attractive, the controls are simple and the story is interesting. It’s the kind of game that inexperienced gamers can play and will want to play.

Without being entirely shallow, the first thing you notice about the game are the eye catching colours — particularly the contrast of blue and red. This game is almost like a showpiece as to why people should upgrade to a HD TV. Put simply it looks unreal.

But then we’ve known that for a good while now — it was always going to have to play well to win over the sceptics.

Mirror’s Edge is so simple to control it’s untrue really. Your analogue sticks work in a typical FPS style with the L1 and L2 controlling jump and slide respectively. R1 and R2 are your combat buttons. It’s what happens when you combine these presses that really makes the fun happen - for example L1, R1, L1 does a wall jump and if you quickly tap R2 after that you’ll be able to kick a nearby enemy. It’s intuitive but from what I played is going to be a compelling system to master. I’d imagine the harder levels we’ll have you jamming a whole number of buttons in order to progress through the set pieces it puts you in.

And I have high expectations for the full game. In just the short 15 minute section I played I was able to climb through vents, jump across buildings and even latch onto a helicopter. It’s liberating to say the least.

There are a few more jaggies than I expected and I noticed at one point a teensy amount of screen tearing but from what I played this game is going to be a revelation.

Now all we have to hope is that the rest of the game keeps up the same dramatic pace and set pieces that the “trailer” level has been promising for so long.

Mmmm...

Seeing as Mirror’s Edge is not out for a good 15 or so days now, I’m actually quite shocked they’ve decided to put out a demo of the game so early. It must show something about their confidence in the game if they’re releasing a demo so soon because - well potentially if it’s crap it could put off a lot of buyers. Having said that if it’s awesome it’s going to persuade a lot of buyers and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be awesome.

I’m all Mirror’s Edge kitted out at the moment: my desktop is Mirror’s Edge, my MSN icon is Mirror’s Edge, my iPod is spinning Mirror’s Edge, my Mirror’s Edge t-shirt is in the post, my copy of the actual game is preordered. Let’s hope it’s not shit then eh?

Now let’s be clear - I’m aware of other versions of this song floating around the Internet - of which I have no interest in. I only care about the version in Mirrors Edge because it literally makes every bone of my body quiver with - angst? I dunno - there’s something haunting about it. Whoever at DICE decided this song suited their video game instantly gets more credit than Einstein in my eyes.

Anyway, news is that Lisa Miskovsky’s “Still Alive” will be released as a digital download to coincide with the games launch in November, along with five other less-interesting remixes.

I’m still waiting for the moment when people go - “woah! Faith. Woah - Mirrors Edge”. She’s the next Lara Croft ladies and gentlemen. Expect a movie. With Kristin Kreuk. And Lisa Miskovsky’s song.

The Next Lara Croft. Expect A Kristin Kreuk Movie.

Is Faith the best designed video game character is a long time? I think she might well be, yes.