Mirror's Edge Comments by Tom Bramwell

1st!

Yes, yes Mirrors Edge is very good! I will go and read the Article now!

Alrighty, so a few extra graphical effects and some 'new levels' good if you don't already own the console versions I suppose.
Yeah the game is short but I think everyone should experience the seamless gameplay style and some clever design aspects of the levels too.

Hope you get overtime.

what

i'm in the process of switching from pc gaming to console gaming, but every time i play this game i wish it was on the PC. the 360 controller is alright, but wouldn't it be nice if we could have the option to plug in a mouse and keyboard? wishful thinking i guess...

shame about the storyline, i found it very hard to get into

Prince of Persia:
Gorgeous visuals, great soundtrack, terrific frustration free fun, a truly immersive and memorable experience.
6/10

Mirrors Edge
OMFG F**king Stop F**king Shooting Me F*ck Off F*ck Off F*ck Off!!!
8/10

Tom Bramwell
He's played way too many platformers
1/10

Thank goodness say I! With the apparently-disappointing ports of GTAIV and Saints Row 2 my PC-only lifestyle was becoming depressing...

It's still not worth paying full price for though.

Prince of Persia:
Gorgeous visuals, great soundtrack, terrific frustration free fun, a truly immersive and memorable experience.


The first two points are all very nice, but as proven with GTA4 they don't equal a fun game experience. As for "frustration free run" I assume you mean how it wasn't frustrating at all because the game played itself for you? Simply press forwards and jump and that's it? How "immersive" it was as i fought the same boss over and over and over again.


I never understood people's problems with the shooting in ME. Whilst the last couple of levels are a bit fucked (goddamn snipers and "oh here's a small room full of guards") the rest of the game creates a perfect balance. The shooting is a threat but not to the extent that I can't use my skill to either run away or disarm them.

Complaining about the gun combat in Mirror's Edge is like complaining about the limited hand-to-hand moves in Resident Evil 4/5.

They're simply not the point of the game. The point of Mirror's Edge is running the hell away, because that's what you're good at. You're not playing as a one-man-army space marine/physicist, you're playing as a five foot tall glorified papergirl. She's got some slick martial arts moves, sure, but she aint supposed to be able to slaughter entire brigades of armed police on her own.

Prince of Persia better than a 6? GTA IV no "fun"? People here are geting madder by the day.

Anyway, will pick this up if I see it anywhere comparatively cheap.

Damn it, I knew it would use that bloody securom drm system. I will need to think a lot more about it now, still seems as one of the most interesting games arriving this generation.

>OMFG F**king Stop F**king Shooting Me F*ck Off F*ck Off F*ck Off!!!


+1

>Damn it, I knew it would use that bloody securom drm syst

Like it actually effects you.. come on.. tell me you're actually one of these people who actually claims their machine is useless (or whatever) because of it.. and you're not just jumping on the "i hate drm" bandwagon?

the main problems with mirrors edge are:

1) levels 2 and 8, where it suddenly switches from a great running experience to a pseudo crappy FPS platformer, full of vents and dodgy jumps

2) not knowing where the heck to go, because the hint button makes you face a wall or shows you the direction as the crow flies. Not helpful when indoors.

its a frustrating experience, that yields some rewards if you persevere, problem is there are so many other great games out why would you bother?

Who cares about stupid PC game reviews? We want more Holly Valance!

Oh wait a minute, I came here specifically for game reviews. Go figure.

Now imagine how cool this game would be using this:
http://hothardware.com/Articles/NVIDIA-G...

'Quantum' being the smallest possible? ^__^

Lovely review. I really wish I had the sort of PC that could do this justice because ME's cityscapes (most beautiful dystopia ever?) deserve to be viewed at their best.

"The point of Mirror's Edge is running the hell away, because that's what you're good at."

There are moments when you can't just run away though, like in the mall where you gotta swing onto the platform at the very top. There's "blues" shooting all the time, it would be impossible to run away etc

Overall it's a good game (something different, which is a good thing), but IMO the "blues" just ruin the game. But I suppose if they took them away then the game would be a lot shorter than it already is!

Unless i'm just shit at it!.

Prince of Persia:
Gorgeous visuals, great soundtrack, terrific frustration free fun, a truly immersive and memorable experience.
6/10

joyless interactive movie for people that can't handle more than two buttons.

i'm not saying mirror's edge is perfect, but in terms of a game it's a hell of a lot better than PoP.

"As for "frustration free run" I assume you mean how it wasn't frustrating at all because the game played itself for you? Simply press forwards and jump and that's it? How "immersive" it was as i fought the same boss over and over and over again. "

"joyless interactive movie for people that can't handle more than two buttons. "


Oh FFS here we go again.

Right. The game didn't play itself for you. Otherwise how did you get past the bits where you had a 'double-jump', pole, pole, ceiling hoop, ceiling hoop, pole, double jump, wall run, wall, run, hoop, wall run, hoop, hoop, wall run, double jump?

IIRC that would be: A, Y, A, A, up, A, B, B, down, A, Y, A, A, B, A, B, B, A, Y

AND that is indicative of one of the shorter sequences! And when you start to add other things like magic pads, vines and wall grinding, you will end up using the entire pad (almost). Also if you don't jump or move do an input in the right window (even if the game is rather generous) you would fall and have to start the whole sequence over again.

But maybe I’m wrong? I guess I should have just put the pad down and watched the prince do his stuff on his own!

Oh no wait - i can't do that because the game doesn't play itself :/

/groan

Anyway, for what its worth Mirrors Edge was all right. I didn't agree with its constant switching of its design ethos (run away! fight them!, run away! No! FIGHT THEM!!) And I hated its complete lack of subtlety to create an immersive world.

Look at portal, a game that shares a similar aesthetic and world. In portal, everything is subtle. The look of the Aperture Science facility, The signs and iconography used, the sinister overtones that only become apparent the more you play.... Mirrors Edge has obviously looked at Portal. A lot.

And on first glance it seems to work very well. But just scratch the surface and you can see that it’s just a very cheap paint job. The story doesn't work, some of the level layouts just don't make sense in a real world way – and icons/signs/posters are a joke!

For example, the "no runner" signs sprayed all over the place depict a Faith silhouette with a no entry sign over the top. I mean c'mon? I thought that this totalitarian government hated all runners? What makes my character so special? I mean please get over yourselves…

Anyway, the list goes on and I’ve ranted enough. Lets just say that after I finished Mirrors Edge I traded it in, but Prince of Persia now proudly sits on my "keepers" shelf, right next to Shadow of the Colossus and ICO.

Oh no wait - i can't do that because the game doesn't play itself :/


Taking things a bit too literally, maybe? Yes, PoP does play itself. Yes, you need to input the odd approximate instruction.

Great visuals, awful game and level design.

I don't think Mirrors Edge was so hastily assembled after Portal, surely.

Loved Mirrors Edge, even though I'm sure my controller almost got throw through the wall at one point.

Strange game, I usually hate irritating games, but there is just something about this game which made me keep going back to it until it was finished.

"Now imagine how cool this game would be using this:"

I can imagine, it would be exactly this fun: not at all.
3D glasses and the like are gimmicky crap.

glad that there is respect for this game, a lot of people didnt quite see how ace it is,*cough* edge *cough* and were disappointed that there wasnt enough pew pew. It has beautiful blue skies and an amazing score.

@septimus

"Strange game, I usually hate irritating games, but there is just something about this game which made me keep going back to it until it was finished."

+1

spot on, couldnt agree more. I almost tore my hair out on some occasions but needed to see it through. Only games ive ever finished , if anyone cares lol - deus ex, metroid prime, windwaker, outcast.

Frustrating as hell but still one of the best games of last year.

Good to see it got a decent PC port. It's on Steam as well for anyone who's wondering.

@PearOfAnguish
"Now imagine how cool this game would be using this:"

I can imagine, it would be exactly this fun: not at all.
3D glasses and the like are gimmicky crap.

Sorry to correct you PearOfAnguish but you mean it'd be no fun and you would have this odd feeling that your eyes were being baked by the desert sun.

Screens that close to the eyes are normally a very baaaad idea.

Edit:

/screeching brakes

Woah, misunderstood them. They're like 3d glasses from the cinema in that you need a real monitor too? Hmmm... interesting. :)

Limited activations and spyware, courtesy of SecuROM? No thanks, pity - it looked promising. But I'm glad EG finally actually mentioned DRM in a review, it's helped me make an informed decision to not buy it.

"Frustrating as hell but still one of the best games of last year.

Good to see it got a decent PC port. It's on Steam as well for anyone who's wondering. "

Are you in America, or is it coming to UK/EU steam do you know? I still couldn't see any of EA's games last time I checked.

@Unclelou

If people can be theatrical and take it to one extreme I sure as hell can take it the other for the sake of sarcasm ;)

Lowest form of wit, granted, but it's the only form i know :)

does it still have cutscenes that look like they were done by a five year old with some coloured paper and a pair of scissors? God they were bad.
shame you also need a Nvidia card for the lovely flappy fabrics.

Still at least the PC version is the definative

'Are you in America, or is it coming to UK/EU steam do you know? I still couldn't see any of EA's games last time I checked.'

I'm in Ireland and it appears i'm mistaken about it being on Steam in the EU just yet as it's listed as coming soon on it at the moment. The rest of the EA stuff is there however.

Excellent, been waiting for the PC version.

PhysX effects look fun too; good demo for high end gaming hardware. :D

Are you in America, or is it coming to UK/EU steam do you know? I still couldn't see any of EA's games last time I checked.

Yes, EA games now in Americas and EU except UK. e.g. Dead Space added on 9 January ... except to UK.

Well that's a bit fucked up.

You could always use Direct2Drive.co.uk. They're pretty good.

I'll just buy it when it inevitably comes down to something like £17.99 after 3 months.

Oh how I wish this verison had come out at the same time as the others. Damn pirates...

I bought this along with 5 other AAA games before christmas - POP on the 360 - which was indeed wank and very linear so got traded after a day, and i got Mirrors on my PS3. I only played it once and thought the conrols were a bit pants but game looked great and wanted to play through. unfortunatly i traded that too, but at least now I will buy it on PC, then I get to play it the best way it seems - with better cotrols and even better graphics on my 4870x2 and 8GB ram. Mmmmmmmm. hehehe

> OMFG F**king Stop F**king Shooting Me F*ck Off F*ck Off F*ck Off!!!

+1

So annoying it made me put the game back in the box - I'm afraid of what I might do if I ever take it out again.

They make the hand to hand combat such a joyless trial, then they force you do it or face a lottery of bullets. Gits! Well it was fun for a while.

So it's a good port?

I will wait until I can get this on steam before buying it though

You can count on the Steam version being significantly more expensive. It'll cost the same as in the EA Store, I guess, which is 50,- EUR. On play.com, the boxed copy is 26 quid, which is little more than half. Unless they adapt the Steam prices for the UK.

Unfortunately, I already own 5 EA games, and as such cannot buy another one until I re-activate one of my "buying slots"

Sounds like a great conversion to the PC, I could even play it with 4X AA forced on (so it wouldn't look as pug-ugly and jaggy as the console versions) and I'd have the PhysX physics as I have a GeForce GTX 280 graphics card. Shame then that the game itself was so lacklustre from the console demos I played that I don't feel the slighest inclination to buy it, not even at the cheaper price point.

A nice concept I guess but a very slight game IMO and, ironically, the first-person perspective doesn't always suit the game as it makes it harder to judge jumps. With such a distinctive lead character, it's surprising that the developers didn't opt for a third-person view but had they done that then the game would have just been a run-of-the-mill platform-cum-adventure game. Certainly it never once grabbed me while I played the demos... it was all very... meh really. The disappointing sales since its release show that it wasn't a game many people wanted to play anyway...

You can count on the Steam version being significantly more expensive. It'll cost the same as in the EA Store, I guess, which is 50,- EUR. On play.com, the boxed copy is 26 quid, which is little more than half. Unless they adapt the Steam prices for the UK.

Steam prices in UK are cheaper than Europe, which is half the argument that the Euro crowd have with the current 1 USD = 1 EUR pricing; some UK games are now cheaper than US ones. Also, UK prices now include VAT whereas the US prices do not.

Many current titles are £27; which for the no-disc, auto-updated, instant access (no waiting for postman to lose), download onto many computers, and download as many times as you like price is pretty good. Personally, even if it's a couple of quid extra those features are worth the price different to me; the question is how much of a price difference can I bear? Hrm...

Still, I am hoping EA has a fair pricing policy for Steam games in UK ... when they are finally available.

Edit: added VAT.

Agreed - I think this is a game lots of people 'wanted' to like but there are too many faults that prevent from being truly enjoyable.

I hope that EA don't drop the game as its was mentioned in OXM that the story is part of a trilogy so would be interesting to see where the story goes from here.

For the next game, I would like to see a choice first and third person view - the truly hardcore option to go first-person like in racing games.

smelly
Like it actually effects you.. come on.. tell me you're actually one of these people who actually claims their machine is useless (or whatever) because of it.. and you're not just jumping on the "i hate drm" bandwagon?

Limited installs/activations effects everyone. I've still not bought a game that limits my use in this way. I don't care for arguments on who installs a game five times, blah blah blah. I bought the game not rented it. I wouldn't have bought Mirrors Edge anyway but I didn't buy Red Alert 3, FarCry 2 or Crysis Warhead because of it.

Thanks a lot FooAtari, now I got to read smellys ignored post :/ (logged out and was apparently correct in assuming it was aimed at me)

smelly: I was actually on the "bandvagon" back in the Starforce days and haven't changed much since then. It completely goes against my principles supporting something that treats it's paying customers as trash with my money, so I generally won't. In the nick of time Ubisoft removed SF from Heroes 5 which is now collecting dust in my collection.

I've never been especially afraid of one of these systems affecting me personally, in the case of activation limits I could and would just crack it. It's all principle, standing up for the rights of doing whatever the hell I want to do with the game I bought.

As I said, I was (actually, I still am) really psyched for Mirror's Edge. It's a shame.

Bah, SecuROM = no sale, not after what happened with STALKER and Outrun anyway :(

Am i mental or something because the copy protection on a game has never made me not buy it.

It's not even something that comes into my head when buying games 0_o