Mirror's Rough Edge

Like it or not, Mirror’s Edge is a really important game. It’s an innovative title backed by EA of all publishers (Spore, Crysis, Command & Conquer… all EA and a topic for another post). Its visuals are intertwined with gameplay at a level previously unseen in most action games. It built up a lot of hype through 2008, but, with mediocre sales, will probably end up the best sleeper of 2008.

I’ve read a few more reviews of Mirror’s Edge recently, and I find it interesting that some people absolutely fawn over the game while others call it a missed opportunity. I find myself sort of stuck between both camps. There’s plenty to disagree on with Mirror’s Edge; DICE took some real risks with the design. Personally, I think it’s slightly easier to forgive a game of its flaws if they occur by design rather than underdevelopment. But getting back to the point…

On the one hand, in trying to avoid repetition, the game strays too far away from its winning jumping-off-rooftops formula for slow, cramped indoor sequences that are really really not fun. To me, this is what threw the game off the most. If DICE foresaw repetition as a problem, they should have come up with a more creative way to break up the pace.

Combat was the other part of their solution, but I found the gunplay to be a unique and fun twist (melee combat slightly less so). For a game that supposedly wasn’t about guns, all the weapons looked, sounded, and felt like they belonged in a triple-A shooter. The enemy AI moved pretty well too. Admittedly, aiming was difficult and the guns only fired a few shots and couldn’t reload, but changing either of those would have made the game a run-and-gunner, and that’s clearly not what DICE wanted. As it stands, the gunplay provides a quick distraction from the platforming for those who want it. A game based entirely on these shooting mechanics probably wouldn’t work, but in quick bites it works great. And those who don’t want to bother can have fun jumping around, finding the next path while dodging bullets. I really looked forward to the encounters where I’d run into a group of SWAT, disarm, fire, repeat. It was unforgiving and exhilarating; despite dying often, I didn’t mind it nearly as much as I did dying after missing a jump or having to search around for hours for the way forward.

But while I’m on the subject, I couldn’t believe how many people complained about the trial-and-error gameplay. That’s where the challenge comes from: either be careful, observant, quick-thinking, and fast all at the same time, or die and do better next time. Yes, the sense of unbridled speed is great, and the story mode should have had a few more of those easier sequences, but the challenge needs to come from somewhere. Sometimes the checkpoints were a little too far back, but for the most part, they could have been worse. Get over it, guys.

Mirror’s Edge has a great premise, and some great core gameplay; it’s just rough around the edges. Hopefully the announced sequel will iron out these issues, but I really hope they don’t do too much to change the gunplay I enjoyed so much.