Everyone saw the commercials for Mirrors Edge with the perfect 10/10 score from Play Magazine. Just about everyone who saw that and then played the game likely said “……………huh?”. I have only played the Mirrors Edge demo and just from the demo, I could see developers taking the next step in gaming evolution.
Right now, it’s pretty safe to say that Mirrors Edge is a waste of space, but in hindsight we’ll look this game as a pioneer as far as the game play mechanics go. Beyond Good and Evil 2 gives me the same impression as far as game play goes and from what I’ve seen for the concept trailer, even if it is 3rd person and not actual game play.
The mechanics were thoughtful for Mirrors Edge, but more like a rough copy of what’s to come in future games. With the motion controls becoming the norm now from what we’ve heard on E3, this style of game play can only reach a new plateau already after the 1st game to experience it.
A game where you have to think and act like you do in reality, in real time has been attempted in the past, but not like this. Everything must be done as if you are controlling a real person like a ventriloquist. As gaming gets closer and closer to reality with games like Heavy Rain coming up and Mirrors Edge already in the rear-view mirror.
Video games seem to have a brighter future than we might imagine, we have much to look forward to in regards to the Action/Adventure, 1st/3rd person perspective and RPG elements being blended into the latter stages of the evolution in gaming.
One game that could benefit from copying this style of game play is Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic has had trouble jumping from the 2D world into 3D, unlike Mario who has evolved as games have. Sonic could easily benefit from the addition of quick-time events thrown in on the fast paced action as you scatter through 3D environments.
While I’m not too big a fan of quick-time events, it definitely has changed gaming for the better and for the worse. Resident Evil 5 along with the God of War series which has pioneered this has perfected this sort of thing, while just about every other game that has implemented this aspect of gaming seems to fail miserably.
Mirrors Edge even failed miserably, but as I said they have shed some new light on a way to re-invent quick-time events by changing the gameplay and allowing you to navigate through a 3D realm while incorporating fast paced game play.
In my last comparison, I will liken Mirrors Edge in a way to Assassins Creed in how that game started the trend where you could climb anything in an open world environment. In this case, Mirrors Edge tried to make everything look and feel realistic as possible, but it was just a prelude of things to come, as was Assassins Creed. The future for gaming is obviously bright, so keep your eyes peeled, because the possibilities are starting to open.
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Huh? What does Mirror’s Edge have to do with quicktime events? Or anything in this article? (It reads like someone’s drug induced ramblings on the future of gaming.)
Also, I’d hardly call the game a “waste of space.” Even if I do feel ripped off for dropping $60 on it. The parkour mechanics were truly exhilarating and the production design was a breath of fresh air compared to the gunmetal and earthtones that dominate most big budget games.
Unfortunately, the game was scripted and linear practically to the point of “on rails shooter”, combat was a huge chore, and the whole thing ends on an anti-climax of epic proportions. I level the same criticism at Gears of War 2, Dead Space, Too Human, Fable 2, and even Bioshock, but Mirror’s Edge was the worst: I’m pretty sure that the second to last level was cut. A huge squadron of police show up right as the dude who has been barking instructions in your ear the whole game bites it, making you think that you are in for a massive, unguided mega-chase. Just when you think the game is going to finally begin in earnest, there is merely a fade to black and a cut scene introducing the mediocre final mission. They don’t even explain how faith got away from the cops.
So I guess I agree with the article’s premise: it felt like an alpha build for a jaw dropping game set to release in 2011. I still highly recommend digging it out of the bargain bin if you get a chance.
1st off, thanks for the reply knarf black….it was very well thought out..
but Mirrors Edge was like one big quick-time event….you had to hit the precise button to do the certain action in real time…
so maybe you can call it a real-time event?…
but anyways, the game isn’t even worth $30 imo, I’ll say $19.99 is the ideal price for a game like this which is nothing more than a prototype of what is to come…but not in 2011….maybe later this year or early 2010?
come on… with that persective – everygame is made up of QTEs!! dont be so moronic!
a QTE is when the game gives you one option [press X button now] and then it gives you a movie of what happens.
in mirrors edge, and any other game for that matter; you have complete control. sure you have to [press X] before the edge to jump across… but you get to determine everything else, the angle, length, speed. and mid jump you can press anything other button to change your actions.
thats how video games work! thats not QTE.
PS. i hoped you like the DEMO! why dont you play the full game next time…
Haha!!! He only played the demo!?!?! WTF is this article about then??
I played through and got the platinum; and got a brilliant 30hrs of gameplay.
Just because you have a blog you think you can pontificate about your personal choices. Pease!
preciate the comments once again…
by reading the article, you will find that I was talking about the style of game….the gameplay….
it was unique….you don’t have to own the game to know this…..
but keep the responses coming, they were very thoughtful…
Mirrors Edge was complete trash imo. I think the main thing that wrecked the game was the first person view. Nothing in the game interested me. I did not like the controls. The shooting was laughable and the ai was non existent. I hope games in the future dont follow off this game.
, I saw some positives from the approach that was taken from this game….
I was over a friends house when he was playing it awhile ago and it has it’s advantages, but as I said in the article…it seems like it’s a rough copy of something that can be great….
the gameplay and AI is horrible….but imagine a 3rd person perspective with at least good AI and strong gameplay?…
don’t let a bad example mislead you….I think this style can be done well if the correct approach is taken…..even at 1 1st person perspective…
Ironically, I just got done doing the time trials on this.
I thought the game was amazing. I like how it’s fast-paced and you have to think on your feet constantly. The first-person view made it seem so much more realistic than third-person. (Which is how it should be. (I’m actually a huge fan of free-running and DICE wouldn’t be doing it justice if they made it third-person.) I would hardly call it a “waste of space” or say it “failed miserably.” It’s not the consensus of all the gamers I know who’ve played it. In fact, I’ve not encountered any gamer who would go that far. Just because you didn’t like the demo and the gameplay isn’t your cup of tea doesn’t mean it’s a failure.
The only issues I have are that it was too short and the enemy AI could have been worked on more. I attribute the shortness of the game to the lushness of the cityscapes and the fact that you literally have to run through all of them at full speed. Those cityscapes take up a lot of room on disc, so they can only make each chapter so big. As for the enemy AI, it was rather basic, but combat isn’t the point of the game, which is why there are speed runs and time trials (instated to increase the replay value) and most of the XBOX achievements have to do with speed and aerial menuvers.
I see Mirror’s Edge on the cutting edge, not ahead of its time. They didn’t take their time making something only to tailor it to your personal tastes. They made something new and put it out as its own game, not a blueprint of things to come. I only bought a used copy because I’m broke, otherwise I would have gotten it earlier.
As for jaw-dropping titles in years to come, my wife (a Mirror’s Edge fan) read an article that Mirror’s Edge is slated to be a trilogy, so we won’t have to be haunted by a drop-off ending, the likes of which Europeans and Asians (who made the game) like. Just my opinion, but I’m not terribly annoyed with endings that don’t wrap everything up nicely.