[comments] Mirror's Edge review

[VR46]

Mirror's Edge review

Thanks to Charles for the text and Jamie for the banner.

[Roddie]

I thought there weren't meant to be public comments on reviews any more?

[VR46]

It's up to the individual writer, must have been this way for about four or five months now.

Have a scroll through the threads in the General Gaming sub-forum and you'll see.

[merf]

I'd say the benefit of retrospectively reviewing titles is the ability to take into account a wider range of feedback from gamers and incorporate this into the review.

There would be not much wrong with this as a review at launch but bearing in mind even the dev has been doing 'what went wrong post mortem' interviews (see crispygamer) I'd say this is a bit rose tinted glasses in its upbeat presentation of all that is good in the game.

needs a bit of balance as many clearly enjoyed this but a lot played it only once or twice (me) and many more just didn't bother at all.

Clearly I didn't like this so not arguing the score or anything stupid like that, just feel on a title that really divided gamers a bit of discussion would have added to the review.

[charlesr]

Thanks for that crispygamer pointer.

Looks like the things he said he would have liked to have fixed were varying difficulty levels for jumping around (it only includes difficulty levels for combat) and ditching the "no guns" achievement, although I think the former has the most relevance on people deciding whether to bother playing it much (although personally I found it easy to judge the jumps, so it never occured to me that this would be a problem for anyone else).

I note he loves old 2D games where you get limited lives and they are difficult and although I adore 2D shooters too, I wouldn't like to guess whether there's a direct correlation to loving Mirror's Edge.

I was worried I should have put more emphasis on warnings why some people might not like it (as you mention). The level of control is so deep that it would be easy to miss the whole point of the controls even if you played the entire way through the story mode and perhaps a more in depth tutorial explaining all the nuances would have attracted more people. Or maybe put them off even more. Personally, I thought that if it had not included the story mode and was a pure TT, it would be a flawless game. It's certainly my GOTY.

[charlesr]

(note: Apart from the first play here, I didn't read any other reviews or comments on the game before doing mine, although this is because I just don't ever visit other games sites and not because I was trying to avoid them, so I'm not well placed to comment on the general response to the game).

[DeathAdder]

Nice to read a cheery positive review. Personally I got frustrated and gave up with the demo of Mirror's Edge, but I like to see other people enjoying innovative games.

[Darwock]

I was a guaranteed sale in the weeks following the demo - but after initial impressions were posted I changed my mind and never bought it. I'm wavering now on account of this review and that interview, but still not sure.

[capcom_suicide]

I enjoyed the review. I came to the same conclusion but gave more credit to the SP game. I honestly thought it was the perfect length for the style, and my reasons for dropping marks were down to some poor design in places.

I also felt the the 360 pad "Bumper" was a bit sluggish to respond, which led to many unfair deaths. The PS3 demo didn't suffer with this, so it maybe a controller issue.

Anyway, great game & a nice review.

[charlesr]

I was a guaranteed sale in the weeks following the demo - but after initial impressions were posted I changed my mind and never bought it. I'm wavering now on account of this review and that interview, but still not sure.

Anything else I can add to help you make up your mind?

[Kubrick]

I really enjoyed this game and think that some of the changes being proposed in that interview would be dumbing-down the experience quite considerably. I can't say that anything really leapt out as being "wrong" with it as I played. In fact it was quite the opposite as the level design, graphics and soundtrack (you should've mentioned that in your review, Charles) constantly impressed me.

The story is quite short, and predictable, plus the amount of combat towards the end was slightly tiresome, especially since I chose to go for that "no gun" achievement. Which, btw, seems to be the way the game is supposed to be played. Some of the unlockable artwork etc suggests this (Faith had a gun in early builds and eventually lost it during the development process), plus the game even tells you whether you've shot anyone or not in the pause menu.

I guess the trial-and-error aspect isn't for everyone, so I can understand why the critical reaction has been mixed, but I like these games that effectively force you to become good at them, so for me its one of the game's strengths. Negotiating the tricky sections, or putting together a clean "run" in Mirror's Edge is comparable to the satisfaction you get from "learning" a shmup so that you can earn a higher score, or clear the levels without losing a life. I would hate to see this type of game disappear.

[Kieran76]

I enjoyed reading the review, as someone else mentioned earlier it was ncie to read a postive piece of writing. Due to my stupidly heavy workload over the past few months I have not really read much about the game but was toying with the idea of getting it.
This review has pushed it to the top of of my Christmas shopping list.

[charlesr]

In fact it was quite the opposite as the level design, graphics and soundtrack (you should've mentioned that in your review, Charles)

Gah. Completely forgot to mention the soundtrack. It's divine. It perfectly matches the game, much like World of Goo.

I'm totally with you on the way you have to learn it. You can't just be good at FPS games and pick it up and expect to be able to play it properly straight away. I wouldn't like to suggest that if you like shmups you will like this, but I expect there's a general cross over there. Similarly, if you don't like the work involved in learning shmups, you might not like this. However, I don't like Devil May Cry and I liked this, whereas in theory they both require a similar level of dedication, so the "learning" aspect is only one part of the picture.

[112]

This game came through the door yesterday and i played it for the first time last night. I would have to agree with Kubrik in that the soundtrack adds so much to the game........ I love the colour pallette in the game too as it reminds me of some of the simple 3D models i put together in work, and how they are meant to resemble buildings............ At first i questions the mix of anime with the ingame graphics, but it seems to blend in well. The game is very stylish im my eyes and a good example of modern gaming........ If there ever was a game to show off gaming, id say this has to be one of them!

The trial and error element i understand can be tiresome, but its kind of like old school mechanincs, but as i grew up with that type of mentality its what i am used to.

The review actually came just in time as i read it yesterday and play the game last night so, great timing and was most helpful in preparing me for it. I can see where the flaws are, but the game sets a lofty height for such a simple idea, that you can't help but reward its own individual charm.

112

[Miguel007]

Love the game, enjoyed reading the review and the banners are awesome too.

Does anyone know where I can purchase a copy of the Soundtrack, I love the music, I've had a look in a few places but to no avail. Is there one out for sale?

EDIT - Doh! found it at Amazon to download: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Still-Alive-...88095&sr=103-1