feels like the rough draft for a failed revolution.
the platforming and sign-posting is smooth for the most part. the rough edges around the parkour gameplay that are there feel like they were intended to be fixed in forthcoming sequels that unfortunately never eventuated.
the story feels glued on, or in this case, crudely animated and inserted in. the game didn't really need a plot or heavy characterisation. what's left feels like a half-thought idea scribbled on a napkin.
and that's the frustrating problem with mirror's edge. everything feels half thought out; half fleshed out. or like every idea was walked back to make it more marketable in a post Modern Warfare shooter market. nothing other than parkour movement and maybe the bold primary colour palette feels particularly cared for or loved and laboured over.
a lot of mirror's edge leaves me saying "what if?". what if this game had a more fleshed out lore or setting or characters. what if had a more engaging plot. what if the combat were a little smoother to match your movements, instead of this precision, time-based crap. what if there no guns or shooting. faith doesn't feel like a murderer. the guns have no hud elements; no ammo counts. they are designed to encumber your movement and your ledge-grabbing. there's clearly some conscious element at play regarding gun violence and typical video game combat. what if i didn't make this game, or someone like me, because everything about reminds me of every poorly thought idea i've had, and the lack of connective tissue between concept and execution made me sit up and point at my tv several times like the rick dalton once upon a time in hollywood meme, like, "hey i recognise this kind of creative failure!"
anyway. the colours are cool, and when you find the game's flow state (which is often less than you'd like) and moving and jumping without flaw, the game shines as bright as any action game i've played. it's a shame it's a formula that wasn't sanded down to perfection and we never got the holy grail (or Casino Royale) of free-running games. maybe one day. because this a great template for a more pacifist form of video game action/violence. instead now we get a battlefield every few years.
the platforming and sign-posting is smooth for the most part. the rough edges around the parkour gameplay that are there feel like they were intended to be fixed in forthcoming sequels that unfortunately never eventuated.
the story feels glued on, or in this case, crudely animated and inserted in. the game didn't really need a plot or heavy characterisation. what's left feels like a half-thought idea scribbled on a napkin.
and that's the frustrating problem with mirror's edge. everything feels half thought out; half fleshed out. or like every idea was walked back to make it more marketable in a post Modern Warfare shooter market. nothing other than parkour movement and maybe the bold primary colour palette feels particularly cared for or loved and laboured over.
a lot of mirror's edge leaves me saying "what if?". what if this game had a more fleshed out lore or setting or characters. what if had a more engaging plot. what if the combat were a little smoother to match your movements, instead of this precision, time-based crap. what if there no guns or shooting. faith doesn't feel like a murderer. the guns have no hud elements; no ammo counts. they are designed to encumber your movement and your ledge-grabbing. there's clearly some conscious element at play regarding gun violence and typical video game combat. what if i didn't make this game, or someone like me, because everything about reminds me of every poorly thought idea i've had, and the lack of connective tissue between concept and execution made me sit up and point at my tv several times like the rick dalton once upon a time in hollywood meme, like, "hey i recognise this kind of creative failure!"
anyway. the colours are cool, and when you find the game's flow state (which is often less than you'd like) and moving and jumping without flaw, the game shines as bright as any action game i've played. it's a shame it's a formula that wasn't sanded down to perfection and we never got the holy grail (or Casino Royale) of free-running games. maybe one day. because this a great template for a more pacifist form of video game action/violence. instead now we get a battlefield every few years.