Game Review: Mirror's Edge (360)

Hey all-

Although this is a photography blog, as the game industry is my day job, I can't help but speak up when I see something remarkable. Mirror's Edge is a new "next-gen" title (which I played on XBox 360) that in a refreshing way manages to move the industry's controversial first-person perspective into innovative new territory. By focusing on the creative acrobatics of parkour (French for "the art of movement", anything-goes urban freestyle running, climbing, jumping, landing), it brings us one small step closer to the inevitable realization of sci-fi virtual reality, and the truly immersive freedom of movement it implies. It also attempts to avoid (optionally) the action-oriented gunplay the game industry is more commonly known to produce. And although not perfect, it successfully overcomes the design and technical challenges inherent to both experiences. 

First off, some background on where the praise is coming from. While working at Retro Studios, we were challenged with a basic problem... how to make the largely unenjoyable mechanic of plain old jumping in first-person games fun. It was made even more complicated by developing on a home game console (Gamecube), which meant playing without traditional mouse-and-keyboard input, implying less responsive steering or "look" control. Part of the issue was in level design, where most games tended to force players to perfectly nail a maximized jump, or suffer dire consequences (so stressful!). And part of the issue was perspective: without peripheral vision (game cameras tend to have narrow field of view), how does the player keep accurate track of where the end of a ledge is, or where his/ her feet are, or where the target platform is? It was tricky, and it took a long time to find a set of solutions, including more forgiving and consistent level use, combined with subtle automatic camera movements that mimic the human eye in real-life jumps. It was a lot of hard work, but the reward came in watching players enjoy a new level of accessibility in freedom of movement. 

And so I have the utmost respect for DICE, a team that not only also tackled our old 1st-person jumping problem, but has with large success also nailed freestyle wallrunning, jumping, climbing, and landing. At its highest points, the player can string together a smooth flow of continuous hops, slides, leaps, and rolls... pausing for a moment with near-vertigo at a rooftop ledge overlooking the cityscape, just seconds before sprinting headlong into a daredevil leap between buildings. To aid the player, camera movements can be quick when most needed (like an immediate turn-around usually only featured in 3rd-person games), target jumping platforms & landing spots are highlighted with "runner vision" color, and a forgiving "ledge grab" gives a dramatic chance to recover in case you come up a little short on your death-defying leap. 

And next, for a public often wary of the typical 1st-person image of guns blazing, it's a breath of fresh air to experience a game where gunplay is not only optional, but the player is even rewarded for avoiding it. Even with the added challenge, I found myself learning to master the art of avoidance, non-lethal disarmament, and just plain running away, rather than shooting the opposition. For that matter, they probably could have made this game without the ability to shoot at all, and nobody would have noticed. 

Although the game is rarely perfect in execution, there are times when the experience gives a taste of the graceful athletic freedom and thrill a rooftop runner might feel. The difficulty in timing and anticipation to pull off those moments, and the repetitive play often required to get to that level, could almost be described as a contemporary Super Mario Brothers. I can understand if this game's not for everyone, but for those of you also in the industry, take note: you're playing a glimpse of the future. Class, this is required reading. :)