PS3 Review - Mirror's Edge

Despite the mixed reviews is it worth it?

The first time I saw Mirror’s Edge I thought that it wasn’t a title for me to be honest, but that all changed when the demo was released via PSN a couple weeks back. I have never played a title that was like this. I think that is why it intrigued me so much.

The demo alone made it purchase worthy to me. Though I will not deny that when I saw so many negative reviews prior to the launch of the game my confidence in the title was diminished some. But once I actually looked at the reviews a lot of them based the low scores on one main thing, length of the game. Anytime there is a complaint about the length of a game it immediately makes me think of one title that was hurt in the reviews department, Heavenly Sword.

A lot of people missed out on it because of the low scores, but in the end Heavenly Sword is one of my all time favorite games from this generation. Mirror’s Edge is becoming that way as well it seems. While I will say this, Mirror’s Edge is not for everyone, and it will not appeal to everyone. But it appealed to me, and in the end I am glad I purchased it. Hopefully this review will help you decide whether or not the title is right for you.

What I Liked:

-The Artistic Approach—I don’t know how to explain it, but this game has such a “clean” feel to it. Overall the way the city looks is just beatiful. The cutscenes also have a whole different feel different from the entire game. They have more of an anime look.
-First Person View—I love that they basically made a game that you can beat in the first person perspective without actually having to use a gun. Also they added in that you can see Faith’s hands, feet, and legs while moving about throughout the city.
-Choices With Combat—There is actually choices for the player to use. You want to shoot, fight, run away? They all work regardless in this title depending on how you feel like playing at that time.
-A Puzzler?—This game reminds me a lot of Portal in a lot of ways for some reason. While Portal was the better game overall, Mirror’s Edge is innovative and a great title in it’s own right. Many times throughout the game you will need to get to a certain place within the city. Typically to find the destination or direction you can hold down the O button and it will show you the general direction. Well a lot of times when this is done it will show you, but leave out several steps. Some of these steps require a specific action to be taken to get across that gap, down the building, etc. I’ve heard many people complain about this, but I actually like it. People are spoon fed entirely too much in today’s games. There is actually some challenge within this title.
-Great Controls/Gameplay—It is very solid in the way Faith moves when running throughout the game. The gameplay is very solid as well. Everything just moves so fluidly while playing throughout the game. There are a couple of complaints that I have about things like jumping though, but they will be addressed in the disliked section.
-Edge of Your Seat—this game will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. There is nothing like running across buildings while a SWAT team is chasing you and a helicopter is following your every move. You dart in and out of buildings trying to get away while bullets are flying by you. To sum it up, it is an amazing experience.
-More than Meets the Eye—I would’ve been happy if the game would’ve just have been like the demo overall, but it is so much more. There is so much more depth to the title that can’t be experienced through the demo. The level diversity is an example of this. You go through malls, the city, train stations, shipyards, etc. These are just a few of the levels available throughout the story.
-Time Trials—There is a cool mode that is considered online but doesn’t include any multiplayer, it is called Time Trials. You basically are going through the levels as quickly as possible and depending on the routes/paths that you take you are judged by your time and a number of stars. It is quite addictive and your times are compared to everyone who owns the title.
-An Actual Challenge—There is no two ways about it, there are parts of this game that will make you want to break your controller, especially on Hard Mode. But personally I loved it. There are two many games that are a cakewalk nowadays. I enjoyed the challenge.

What I Disliked:

-Story Disappoints During Second Half—This is for the first half of the game only though. The story had me very intrigued up until I basically figured everything out for myself. I think that the easy route was taken on the second half of the game.
-Length—The length of the game was a bit of a downer. It definitely left me wanting for more. Luckily there are other modes that can take up a lot of your time.

Buy/Rent/Stay Away:

There is no doubt that there are a lot of titles out right now that deserve your attention. These holday times have been a great time for gaming. In fact at times it has been overwhelming. I have noticed that this game has a bit of a love/hate relationship, meaning that people are typically in love with this title or they can’t stand it. It kind of reminds me of the whole Assassin’s Creed mixed review fiasco that happened a while back when it was released. This is why that I am saying if you are unsure about it then go ahead and give this title a rent before you purchase it. If you absolutely loved the demo like I did then you will most likely enjoy the title quite a bit. But in the end there is much more that could’ve been done with the title, both length and story wise. I am by no means saying it is even close to a bad title in my opinion, it’s just lacking in some areas.