Dreams-Visions
Member
Let me first say that when it comes to my PC gaming I am the stereotype (read: a game hoarder). I am one of those players that has 100 games in his library that have never even been installed (and I have several console games in shrink wrap after a year+). I'm one of those players that sees something on sale and goes, "I think I should buy that...looks damn good!" only to discover moments later that the game is actually already in my library and has been for months if not years.
Everything in its place. ///
One of the aspects of the game I'm sure everyone immediately notices (and indeed one of the most critically-celebrated) is the visual design. Playing it in 21:9 at 1440p on 34" of screen were glorious. The sharp, crisp design of the buildings and the "just enough" presence of splashes of bright color (usually red, orange or blue) made for a fantastic presentation. I greatly enjoyed the styling of the buildings, the lobbies, the hallways. It's the kind of minimalist design I enjoy seeing in general and employ in my own life when the opportunity presents. The Kruger building basement level (where the labs and research signs are) and just about all of The Shard stand out as the showcases of the minimalist interior decorating, which of course reflect the overall Orwellian "nanny state" (read: controlling) story and atmosphere. It's only natural that the symbols of iron-fist order and thought control be clean and orderly, with everything in its place. Hell, even the tattoos in this game are crisp.
Speaking of everything being in it's place, let me say now: the soundtrack is fantastic. It's got that futuristic, synthetic electronic flavor and style to it that suit everything about the style and presentation of the game. It sets a great ambiance throughout and paces well with the heavy action scenes just as well as it does with the chill sequences. I find myself humming the opening score and probably will for years to come.
(I really like the internal design of this building. Can I hire your architect?)
Controls, Clarity, and Confusion. ///
You know what? It just keeps happening to me. I want to do a jump kick and my mind wants to press the button opposite the jump button to attack. On my XOne controller, the jump is defaulted to "LB". So my mind for whatever reason desperately wanted "attack" to be "RB". It, however defaulted to "RT". I don't think this is a criticism so much as my mind simply refusing to adjust. Or maybe it is a criticism, idunno. But I do know that as a result, I would often times find myself jumping at an enemy with a great intent to do grievous bodily harm...only to find myself flipping backwards and falling on my back, in great position to look at their finely-laced shoes.
(In my mind I'm about to do this, but there's a 42% chance that I'm actually going to just land back-first and get shot)
Dead again. But that's okay because death is a recurring theme for me. The confusion of failing a jump and not knowing why eventually gave way to a feeling like I was playing a Souls game. Where death is part of the trial & error style learning process after which you'll do it right forever more. This by and large proved to be the case, but it was often times an exercise in frustration after figuring out a "platforming puzzle". The frustration came not because the traversal problem was difficult to solve, but because sometimes the answer was far simpler than I wanted -- no, needed -- it to be. There were times where my mind wanted to double jump off a wall, then flip around and grab a ledge...but the answer would simply be to jump up and grab it. I would want to try to find a way to scale a building guarded by an electrified fence, trying to jump on or scale structures nearby...when the answer was to drop down to a lower ledge (that couldn't be seen and you probably wouldn't look for) and simply climb up behind the fence.
In a very early sequence (tossing Celeste "the package"), I'm pretty sure I died at least 10-15 times running around the building, trying to go inside the building the gunman came in, tracking back towards where I came from...trying to fight them...trying to climb on the little building they came in... checking around the edges of the skyscraper to see if there were any ledges below...before realizing that I could jump onto the helicopter. "...oh ok >____>" Just me? Anyway, aside from some the moments of confusion, the game controlled superbly. Faith was as responsive and easy to manage as I could have asked for, really. Very satisfied with the overall controls.
(I spent quite a bit of time roaming around this crane because it was BRIGHT RED just like most places the game wants you to go...but the answer didn't lie in climbing that crane...I just needed to walk through a nearby door. But the bright red crane was all my mind was interested in.)
Gameplay, or landing like a butterfly with sore feet. ///
Random button pressing gaffes aside, this was probably the part of the game I enjoyed the most after the visuals. Running felt smooth and I took great pleasure in helping Faith land softly on every jump I could. Sometimes I misjudged the height she would be falling from and felt bad for not pressing "LB", would grimmace at her pain and in my head promise to make it up to her next time. I regularly felt like Usain Bolt when I could simply run free, surroundings blurring in my speed...but most of the time I felt like a gazelle in the Savanna running from so many lions. If it wasn't the hellacious rain of fire from minigun-equipped helicopters (overkill much, guys?!), it was the feeling of being *chased* by automatic weapon carrying goons or the footsteps of Icarus Project trainees tailor made to Taser me to death with my prospects of living married to my climbing and running efficiency under pressure. And my god was it all beautiful. I loved how casual strolling would turn into "OH SHIT! gotta go fast!" with all the pressure (and deaths) it created. Having the Icarus goombas chasing behind me, literally right on my heels freaked me the hell out. There is, I think, a natural fear that is conjured when you know an ominous threat is nipping at your heels and you have to run faster in order to survive. Being able to hear their footsteps adds to it.
That said, I largely despised the combat mechanics.
(lol, combat mechanics)
The fights with Celeste felt awful and picking up guns (which I actually never did until I got to the Boat because I forgot it was a thing) and shooting enemies...I mean, this is just not a game with good gunplay. At all. And in fact I was pretty happy to have ignored it at every possible opportunity. There were only 3 times I really felt I needed to pick up guns. Once in the Boat, once leaving the building after shooting her sister's transport truck, and once in the server room in The Shard. I'm sure the game could be theoretically completed without shooting anyone, but a high volume of deaths would be unavoidable. So yea, I thought the combat sucked and was glad it wasn't a significant part of the game. I'd say 90% could be played without even touching an enemy and I appreciate that. I will say, however, that I found deep satisfaction in gunning down the Icrarus goons with an Uzi. "...bitch."
(This species of snake-in-the-grass is referred to in the common tongue as a "Celeste")
Conclusion, or "Why do we fall?" (so that we hit the pavement at terminal velocity) ///
Whew, was I glad there wasn't an awful boss fight conclusion here! I had been dreading getting to the end of the game after growing tired of the awful combat mechanics. I was imagining punching some OP villain in the face 20 times while dodging punches by pressing back, then forward over and over.
I enjoyed my time so much that after clearing it on normal (I guess about 5 or 6 hours?), I immediately went back in on Hard and cleared it in half the time it took me to finish Normal. Combat was slightly more bullshit but everything else felt just the same. For perspective, the last game I played a single-player game for a second time through completion was Call of Duty 2 in 2005 at the Xbox 360 launch.
Let that sink in.
Suffice it to say, I greatly enjoyed the experience of Mirror's Edge. The visuals have held up extremely well in the 8 years since the release of Mirror's Edge in 2008 (with a few exceptions, I would have easily mistaken it for a newly launched title but such is the PC gaming experience). The controls worked great with only a few random hiccups (really only a handful of oddities) which is all you can ask for. The story was sufficient (good enough, not great by any stretch of the imagination) and the pace of the game had the right spacing between chill and chaos to give you time to catch your breath before you're running for your life again. Those welcome breaks always felt like "the deep breath before the plunge", as Gandalf might have said, giving me an appreciation for both chaos and calm when they came.
If you have yet to play Mirror's Edge, I suggest you to snap to it. I really enjoy getting into the games and their characters, so I felt butterflies leaping across buildings and clutching to ledges, stress when the chase was on, and satisfaction as I navigated the world of Mirror's Edge with speed and boldness. It's one game I'm glad I took a break from my regularly scheduled gaming programming to play and I look forward to its sequel. So play it. Come for the freedom. Come to run (but not to gun, lol). Take your own leap..
...of Faith. ///
.DV (forgive me if this was too wordy; never written a "LTTP" before)
