Mirrors Edge (game)

Gren · Lost in Cyberspace Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 93

Game: Mirrors Edge
Reviewer: Gren
Release Date: November 12th 2008
Developed by: EA Digital Illusions CE
Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Degree of Cyberpunk Visuals: High
Correlation to Cyberpunk Themes: Medium
Rating: 7/10

Mirrors Edge was one of those games I was psyched about for months. I hung on every second of the hauntingly beautiful trailers, did my best to chisel out every little detail I could about the games stirring theme: A lone girl named Faith (who happens to be a Parkour expert) attempting to live free in a society ruled by a psychotic surveillance state.

The product they ultimately delivered possessed all of these qualities in theory, but the theme was more or less ignored in favor of a simplified plot involving a kidnapping by the government, a thinly veiled conspiracy, and a daring rescue. It was about when I was sneaking into the office of a pro wrestler turned 'goon in a suit' named "Rope Burn" to interrogate him that I realized the game was getting a little bit off message. Also, the game sometimes seems like it's trying to convey some sort of political message, but apparently it keeps getting confused on which message it's trying to send. On one hand, the cuddly nanny state which takes the place of the games thematic antagonist is typically a perversion of an overly liberal society ("you don't need guns, we'll keep you perfectly safe, there's cameras everywhere, self defense is so last century"). Yet halfway through the game your apparent enemy becomes a cartoonishly evil Private Military Corporation (which is why it scores "Medium" on the theme rating instead of "Low"), which is a theoretical scenario associated with an overly de-regulated or libertarian society. It's also entirely possible that this mash up is entirely apolitical, but the theme seems to be at odds with itself in this regard.

There's a lot of cyberpunk fluff padding out the games plot, such as hideouts bristling with computers constantly monitoring the city's surveillance grids and police patrols, the members of the protagonist's organization all have these cool circuitry tattoos denoting some sort of 'hacker status', but it rarely has anything at all to do with the game itself. Also, because the cutscenes are delivered in a trashy 2d flash animation style, it removes these elements even further from the experience.

However, the visuals of the game itself warrant a mention. When you're standing on the edge of a sky scraper, over looking an endless white city sprouting from the earth like fragments of polished bone, speckled with only sporadic blotches of color (usually propaganda billboards), watching cars drift silently up and down the thoroughfares like drone insects, you'll feel for a moment that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

You can find plenty of reviews that will explain the particulars of gameplay and story in gratuitous detail, but for the purpose of this site, suffice to say the gameplay is fair and with an emphasis on movement rather than combat (though combat certainly exists and is seldom optional).

In closing, Mirrors Edge is still an enjoyable game, even with the afformentioned detractors from the plot and theme. It's extremely linear and has no significant multiplayer to speak of, so replay is limited. It's definitely not a game for everyone, and some folks will tire of it exponentially faster than others. If you can forgive it's short comings, though, somewhere in the midst of a forty foot jump between buildings, with the streets below passing like a dizzy dream and the birds scattering in anticipation of your landing, you might find the feeling the game is trying to convey.

Hammerjack

I completely agree with this review. I was also one of those people anxiously waiting months for this game to come out and dropped $50 to buy it the day it was released.... and beat the game 6 hours later. Maybe it was 8, I might be exaggerating.

I agree the game kinda forgot what message it was trying to send and changed its mind a couple times. At the beginning of the game it's all about the yellow suitcases the couriers carry, but after picking up ONE suitcase it just becomes a pickup for unlocking extra content. Then the game makes you think you're gonna bring down the totalitarian government... and you just end up saving the character's sister instead.

Also, for a game that was supposed to prefer movement over combat there were far too many enemies shooting at you. With each level I was excited to explore it, find all the different ways I could go, and chain moves to gain momentum. Unfortunately, it felt like after clearing the first building all of a sudden there were police sirens and guns firing. I never got to explore anything.

I actually liked the cutscenes. They felt more cyberpunk than the levels did. In the levels you're just someone running on rooftops in the daylight with guns shooting at you. In the cutscenes Faith actually talks and moves and acts like an underground street-smart hero. Plus, like you said, they had a very cyberpunk hideout with computers and "watching the watchers" type stuff.

Thanks for the review Gren, it reminded me of all the mixed emotions I had over this game. Smile

chaoseye

I miss that game so much.
Wanted it all last semester, didn't have money, finally got it from gamefly...

I miss it...
So much fun, running around and parkouring. And that city looked amazing. Those time trials are insane, ever watch em on youtube?
This review nails the feeling perfectly, good game, with ideas but it doesn't know what it's doing really, in a cyberpunk sense.
I'm hoping for a sweet sequel, hopefully with some type of multiplayer. And better combat.
_________________
my only pair of slacks blew away in the wind
I'm never going outside again

Milanautica

i also love this game. i love it so much that i plan to get faith's tattoo on my back, to cover my youthful folly, a barcode Very Happy

_________________
sometimes i pretend to be normal. but it gets boring. so i go back to being me.

Lex · Lost in Cyberspace Joined: 11 Nov 2009 Posts: 176

I love this game for its design, if for no other reason.

The story was okay, but (as stated previously) a little unsure of where it wanted to go. The imagery in the game (along with the score, Solar Fields did a great job) is really what keeps me coming back to it. Its even fun to take what they give you and imagine the rest for yourself, ignoring the real story...

Yep. Thats all.
_________________
Twitter: http://twitter.com/squidsex
Tumblr (somewhat revived): http://squidsexlex.tumblr.com/
BlipFM: http://blip.fm/squidsexLex
SHINY AND NEW (and also dead at the moment):
http://squidsex.wordpress.com

Yes, I know. I'm a terrible person.

HOO-HAA

I've admired this game, from afar.

Are there any side-quests or general interactions/ gameplay which you can engage with instead of following the main story? Or, would you just be jumping about the city?
_________________
Check out my debut PUNK HORROR novel, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS....

http://WWW.DROPDEADDOLLS.COM

chaoseye

It's very linear, and it is divided up into levels and there isn't any free roam that so many games try to have. The only real freedom is in how to get from point a to b to c. Would be epic if it was more free. I've watched the time trial runs on youtube, had no idea you could even go that way. Kind of crazy.
_________________
my only pair of slacks blew away in the wind
I'm never going outside again

Gren · Lost in Cyberspace Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 93