Okay, here is the deal. From time to time, my opinion on a game will defer from what we hear on the forums, in reviews, etc. When this happens, I will make my own review of said game, just so I can get my opinion out to the masses, and hopefully, we can get some constructive critisiscm from it. On the other hand, I will focus heavily on the areas where I disagree with the masses, so the reviews don't become retreads of what we have already heard time and again.
Now I will be reviewing the PS3 version of:
Mirror's Edge
Mirror's Edge combines the first person view of FPS games with the platforming we have all known for years now.
The story is short (too short some would argue), but for this game I would say the story is only needed, so you, the player, will have an objective, and the over all story is in fact, shit and doesn't matter.
I can say the story is unimportant, because for me, the gameplay redeems it many times over. I admit though, the game is not for everyone. It requires patience to 'get it', and the game will punish you relentlessly until you do get it. But once you do get it, and you start putting some good times into the time trials and speed runs, the feeling you get when you complete them in a good time, is something few games will make you feel.
Just discovering a new path, that will shave a couple of seconds off of your time, gives you a great sense of acomplishment
But even so, even though you do 'get' the game, you will still be punished by the game, simply because of its technical faults *cough*collition detection*cough*.
Also, the combat is shoddy, the disarm mechanic in particular, and the AI is hardly anything DICE should go out and brag about, but it is all outshun by the awesome running gameplay.
Conclusion:
The game is by far not perfect, but it has touched upon something so utterly awesome, in its running mechanisms, that I feel its sales have far from justified the game yet.
Scoring:
Technical: 6/10 - The AI is nothing to brag about, and the game suffers from glitches such as screentearing, nor is the game impressive to look at in the first place, when compared to graphical behemoths, not to say other games by DICE.
Presentation: 7/10 - While the graphics are not stunning by modern standards, the art style covers it up in a good way, and while the cut scenes use a decent style of their own, it would be nicer to have had them resemble the game in a better way.
Gameplay: 9/10 - I love the running mechanisms, and not even the shoddy combat and the punishing the game gives you will drag it any lower than this.
Value: 8/10 - Personally, I got great value from this game, because I found it for cheap and decided to complete everything there was to complete, but it does get tedious though.
Overall: You need to play this game!
