good story, unique take on first-person action, atypical female
by plaztiksyke Sep 10, 2009, 4:47 PM PDT
MIrror's Edge makes just enough small innovations that it adds up to a unique experienced that should not be missed. The world and characters have a great look (overuse of the now cliche bloom lighting shader notwithstanding) and design, the controls are fairly tight, and the acrobatics and melee and accessible and entertaining. The way my husband and I summarize it is like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, with a first-person futuristic female twist. We loved the PoP trilogy, and we love MIrror's Edge for similar reasons.
What keeps this game from being 5 stars?
1. Graphics are pretty good, but the PS3 can do better. Aliasing artifacts are particularly distracting, when many less-than-1080p titles use FSAA to mostly eliminate these to great effect.
2. The trophies make you play through the game at least twice to get them all (and, in turn, the Platinum trophy). I *hate* games that do this.
3. The sound assets sound like a lowest-common-denominator, much lower than the 360 is capable of. It's not distracting, but once you've heard how good a game can sound with 24-bit DTS, games without it sound kind of flat.
4. The Time Trials DLC pack, which is really great looking and fun, is too expensive. They partially make up for it with a LOT of trophies added as part of the DLC, but even a dollar cheaper would have been more acceptable. (EA took this same strategy with the Prince of Persia and BioShock DLC.)
5. Sometimes, the bags are hidden pretty ridiculously. I don't like games where I basically have to consult a trophy guide/walkthru, rather than figuring it out myself in a decent amount of time. (Ghostbusters is an example of a game that does this kind of thing much better: finding artifacts with the PKE meter.)
My husband and I are looking forward to a sequel, especially if it solves these (mostly technical) deficiencies and keeps the characters and their stories real/believable.
Summary: Highly recommended.
