I finally got to sit down and play through about half of Mirror’s Edge. What went wrong, DICE?
Ever since the first footage of the game was shown, I was in awe. What a beautiful, amazing game. From the stunning visuals to the unique gameplay, to the lovely soundtrack… it looks stunning. And I’m sure you’ll agree. And nothing has changed drastically in either the gameplay or the visuals department. So what went wrong?
The pitfalls of Mirror’s Edge have been talked about by pretty much everyone. Having played it myself, I can agree wholeheartedly – the combat, and level design. Oh, and the story. After the first mission, you’re forced into this story you don’t really care for. You’re confined into a building almost immediately after having only a taste of the freedom of the outside. Sure, you get some of that later, but it’s all underground tunnels and sewers elsewhere.
The game sometimes knows it’s good. Sometimes, you catch moments of brilliance and a truly classic game inside. But somewhere, somehow, someone thought that saying you should “always avoid enemies” and then forcing you to fight your way through groups of them was a good idea. And the first time it did this, it didn’t even make it clear – I was sprinting around in this small area trying to run my way out while being shot to bits. It was disastrous.
I could go on for a bit longer about this. I can only hope that Mirror’s Edge 2 (Subtitle: At the Edge Again) will be greatly improved. DICE, I know you can make a good game. The battlefield series are good. (I can forget about 2142, it’s ok.) So please, make Mirror’s Edge 2, if there is one, better. You have the vision to do so.
And now, I point you towards what other people have written about the game. Tom Francis (Of PCG) has written loads about it. From the police, to the combat, to art and motion, to simply taking in how stunning the game looks. And RockPaperShotgun’s take on the game is a good read too.